Poetry by Dr. Tanure Ojaide

One Drop of My Blood skillfully unites contemporary African poetry with traditional African dance. April Turner combines dance and original prose with the words of Nigerian-born poet and noted scholar, Dr. Tanure Ojaide, to create a theatre piece that places in sunlight the loves, hurts, longings, strengths and bonds of Africa, ancient and now. In One Drop of My Blood: An African Choreopoem, the drama and rhythm of Africa flow together like the Osun River guiding the audience on the multi-dimensional, transcontinental journey of African people. Through the moving reflections of people living in Africa, Brasil and South Carolina, the play creates a space for exploration of the relationship between Africa and her descendants dispersed throughout the world.

Performances of One Drop of My Blood are available to academic institutions and entities that promote literacy. Turner and Ojaide hope that audiences will enjoy the poetry, dance and personal experiences shared in the play, then be inspired to learn about traditional and contemporary African culture independently.

One Drop of My Blood is a co-commissioning project supported by the National Performance Network Creation Fund. The Creation Fund is sponsored by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).

Turner is an accomplished writer, actress, producer and dancer. Among her produced writing credits are the impactful social dramas Chocolate on the Outside, Starlight and Moonshine Times, Pickle & Lil'Junior and Nikky's Gone. As an actress she has had roles in many made for television movies ("The Perfect Daughter," "The Ditch Digger's Daughters" and "Texas Cadet Murders"). In addition to making a guest appearance on the hit TV show, "ER", Turner has had major roles in independent features such as Truman Capote's "Other Voices, Other Rooms" and "Morning."

In addition to being a prolific playwright and theatrician, April Turner performs traditional West African dance.

A fellow in Writing of the University of Iowa, Dr. Tanure Ojaide has published over a dozen collections of poetry, a book of short stories a memoir and scholarly work. His awards include the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for the African Region, the All-Africa-Okigbo Prize for Poetry, the BBC Arts and African Poetry Award and the Association of Nigerian Authors Award. He is currently a professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.