In the spirit of the traditional artist salon, I’m inviting guests into my home for an intimate evening of great art and fabulous finger food.

I’m very excited to have Tara Betts as the inaugural poet for the Salon. Tara is the author of Arc & Hue. She is co-editor of Bop, Strut, and Dance with Afaa M. Weaver. Tara teaches at Rutgers University and Urban Word NYC. Her work has been featured on WNYC, Steppenwolf Theater’s “Words on Fire,” HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, the Black Family Channel’s SPOKEN, and the film-in-development Violets Are Read. Her work appears in anthologies and journals. In 2011, Tara was commissioned to write a libretto inspired by the friendship of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X by Peggy Choy Dance Company.

The Salt Salon was born from the realization that pretty much my whole life is taken up by food or art. This is where I combine the two. Each installation of the Salt Salon series will feature an artist performing her/his work — poetry, prose, music, performance art, you name it — and a featured chef’s culinary creations. A simple recipe for an extraordinary evening.

For more information about the Salon and to keep abreast of developments, follow the Salt Salon Blog!