Sign up to win prizes and for exclusive updates about this year’s festival

April 26-28, 2024

Word of South

Minton Sparks

Minton Sparks travels extensively, performing at various universities, clubs, and music, poetry, and storytelling festivals to share her unique brand of performance poetry and creative writing workshops with audiences nationwide. This past year, Sparks appeared at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series alongside Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash, and was a featured performer at the Jonesborough International Storytelling Festival.

Ruckus Films recently featured Sparks in the provocative, brilliant, one-woman show, Open Casket, alongside world-class musicians: veteran Bob Dylan guitarist John Jackson, blues pianist Steve Conn, guitar and mandolin virtuoso Pat Flynn, and Irish singing sensation Maura O’Connell.

In her most recent CD, Sin Sick, Sparks’ riveting spoken word guides listeners into the soul’s dark struggle with moments of poignant comic relief. Drawing listeners into her world with charming familiarity and heart-breaking candor, Sparks picks the lock on her family’s hidden stories and pulls each character up into her arms for a memorable dance across the stage.