Conney Williams
Renaissance Man | Poet
Official Website
Books:
CDs:
Birthdate:
November 25th
Spoken Word Artist | Community Activist | Preacher
"I refuse to be a wallflower in life. Everyday is an opportunity to live, breathe, create...to love...and love, it's contagious...so go and infect somebody. ~. Conney Williams
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Conney Williams is a phenomenal poet and a Black Superhero. A Los Angeles based performance artist and actor who escaped the Deep South where Jim Crow days were still in full force. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana with eleven siblings.
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Conney quickly became an inaugural figure in the cultivation of art and artists in the Village. He became the Artistic Director at the World and co-founder of The World Stage Press. Recently acquiring a place in the Los Angeles Public Library for their entire catalog. Conney has been a part of the Los Angeles poetry landscape for nearly 40 years and the reputation he’s carved out in the Los Angeles Literary Community as a Poet and Activist deserves to be recognized. Conney has worked on nearly every festival in Leimert Park as a Poetry Coordinator since he stepped on the scene. He regularly curates poetry events in Los Angeles and The World Stage.
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Conney became a member and then the Coordinator for the Anansi Writers Workshop. This workshop at the World Stage has produced some of the most respected African American writers in the country. He has collaborated with artist Charles Bibbs on the production of WordArt; a monthly event of poetry, jazz, and visual art. Conney’s passion for writing and performing his poetry has gifted him the opportunity to perform on television, radio, at galleries, universities, schools, coffee houses, cultural events and organizations for the City & County of Los Angeles and stages around Southern California and across the country. His poetry has been published in various publications and anthologies. Voices from Leimert Park; Voices from Leimert Redux, Writers Resist, America: At the End of the Day and The Drumming Between Us.
Conney’s first book of poetry, Leaves of Spilled Spirit From and Untamed Poet (2002) explores personal themes with courage, conviction, and sensitivity - He is unabashed in confessing his love for children and family while also sharing his weakness, fears, and triumphs as well as tackling tough social issues. His poetry is personal and expresses his heart, ideology, faith, vision, and depth of humanity. Conney’s poems peel away the veneer that we sometimes hide behind as human beings, he disrobes himself before our eyes and stands naked for all to see and examine. Conney is a world traveler, art collector, Inner City Cultural Center Alumnus and a Los Angeles Icon.
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Life Experience
November 1981 - February 2013
January 1984 - December 1985
January 1986 - January 2024
Conney moved to Los Angeles, CA to an area of town referred to as...the “Jungle”. Conney began working for the City of Los Angeles in September 1982 and held several managerial positions.
He was a member of the Los Angeles Association of Black Personnel (LAABP) and helped coordinate many cultural events. His professional accomplishments include managing Emergency Billing for LAFD; he proposed and negotiated permanent salary increases for clerical staff throughout the city. He taught retirement planning and retired from the Department of Water and Power in 2013.
He joined Mt. Calvary C.O.G.I.C. under Pastor C.E. Church where he served as Youth Pastor and became a Pentecostal minister under the care of Bishop Blake's father. Conney hosted a weekly cable television bible study and in 1985; when Conney released a Christian Rap CD entitled L.I.F.E. the church organization rejected it.
That action sparked Conney to write about subjects other than Christianity. Years later he found himself a few blocks away in a place called Leimert Park; he found a new home at The World Stage. It was there he became not just a poet; but, the poet he always desired to become.
Conney quickly became an inaugural figure in the cultivation of art and artists in the Village. He became the Artistic Director at the World and co-founder of The World Stage Press. Recently acquiring a place in the Los Angeles Public Library for their entire catalog.
Conney has been a part of the Los Angeles poetry landscape for nearly 40 years and the reputation he’s carved out in the Los Angeles Literary Community as a Poet and Activist deserves to be recognized. Conney has worked on nearly every festival in Leimert Park as a Poetry Coordinator since he stepped on the scene. He regularly curates poetry events in Los Angeles and The World Stage.
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