Conversations in Culture: Celebrating Encore Magazine and Carolina Gold Rice, From a Poet's Point of View

By WHQR Staff

Published January 23, 2026 at 4:23 PM EST

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From a Poet’s Point of View — it's from Speak Ya Peace NC, a poetry collective and platform that facilitates art and conversations about issues stemming from racism and other forms of oppression and discrimination. Today’s show looks at the resurgence of Wilmington's Encore Magazine and taps into the Carolina Gold grains, an important part of Gullah Geeche culture.

This is WHQR Presents — where we platform interesting people and perspectives from around the region.

Today’s show is From a Poet’s Point of View — featuring artists organized by Speak Ya Peace NC, hosted by Mahlaynee Nicole, aka Carrie Assata, featuring guests Robert Bellamy, AKA Scale Hamhawk da Poet, Makeda Baker, AKA Mama Makeda, Shannon Rae Gentry, Wesley Brown, Kimil Anderson, and Shea-Ra Nichi.

This episode was recorded on Thursday, January 23, to celebrate the return of Encore Magazine, which is returning to print this week after going on hiatus during the Covid pandemic, and Carolina Gold rice, a culinary and agricultural tradition of the Gullah Geeche people that's at the heart of the North Carolina Rice Festival.

Guest info:

Shannon Rae Gentry, executive director of Encore Magazine
Wesley Brown, owner and artistic director of Pineapple Shaped Lamps
Kamili Anderson, chairwoman of the North Carolina Rice Festival
Shea-Ra Nichi, board member of the North Carolina Rice Festival

A quick note, while WHQR is committed to sharing voices from around the community, the views and opinions expressed on this podcast series don’t necessarily represent WHQR.