Najee Omar's LITTLE BLACK BOOK

Little Black Book follows a recently out Brooklyn poet as he looks back on the lovers who shaped him, ultimately discovering the power of self-love. Inspired by real stories and personal experience, the play turns memories of heartbreak, intimacy, and desire into living theater through poetry, movement, and live DJ mixes.

The work builds on Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem tradition, using rhythm and lyricism to tell stories that are both deeply personal and widely resonant. Like for colored girls…, it brings the audience into a world where vulnerability becomes strength. Poet Essex Hemphill’s Ceremonies also inspires the play, grounding its exploration of Black gay love in tenderness, longing, and defiance.

At its core, Little Black Book asks: How do we learn to hold ourselves with the same tenderness we offer others? It is a bold, intimate celebration of Black queer love, resilience, and joy.

No one turned away for lack of funds. For more information on subsidized tickets, contact aW5mbyB8IDY1MWFydHMgISBvcmc=.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Najee Omar is a poet, playwright, and performance artist whose work moves at the intersection of storytelling and music. Think Essex Hemphill and Jerrod Carmichael spitting freestyles in Ntozake Shange’s living room. His art invites us to imagine a world where Black queer love and lives aren’t just seen, they’re celebrated. As a playwright and theater-maker, Najee is building a body of work rooted in rhythm, vulnerability, and lived experience. His debut stage play Little Black Book, an exploration of intimacy, masculinity, and Black queer love, was developed through residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm (2023) and Hi-ARTS (2024) and has found its home at 651 ARTS. In Fall 2025, his one-act So I Can Love You premiered at Harlem School of the Arts as part of the Learning to Love Fellowship, furthering his exploration of Black queer intimacy across generations. He also appeared as Stephon in Shaun Neblett’s Homage 5: Life After Death at BRIC (2025). As a poet, Najee writes with tenderness and urgency, often digging into identity, softness, and survival. His poems have appeared in Poet Lore Magazine (2024) and in the anthology That’s a Pretty Thing to Call It: Prose and Poetry by Artists Working in Carceral Institutions (2023). Beyond the stage, Najee designs public art projects and cultural programs that center storytelling and collective imagination. He has been commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (2019), The Public Theater (2019), Lincoln Center (2022), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2023). He was the inaugural Artist-in-Residence with BRIC and University Settlement’s Intergenerational Community Arts Council (2018) and was named a Fort Greene Community Hero (2022). He now serves on the board of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy. When he’s not writing, he’s probably binging Real Housewives, biking through the city, or getting blissfully lost in music. Najee lives and loves in Brooklyn.

Also check out other Arts events in Brooklyn, Literary Art events in Brooklyn.