Honoree Sonia Sanchez perfected art of storytelling

Sonia Sanchez is often stopped while walking the streets of Philadelphia, or riding the subway or - her children's least favorite - in the grocery store.

"They hate going shopping with me because the supermarket becomes a place where you stop and talk," said Sanchez, who will be the center of attention at the First Person Arts "BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez" tribute Sunday at the Temple Performing Arts Center. "Conversation is a very human thing, and I always mean to have communication about things that are going on in the world."

Conversations with Philadelphians is one of the reasons Sanchez is particularly looking forward to Sunday's "BaddDDD" tribute, which will include appearances by Talib Kweli, Ruby Dee, Rennie Harris, Bernice Johnson, Evan Solot, Odean Pope and Monette Sudler. Sanchez has been a major participant in the Black Arts Movement that grew out of the civil- rights era, and many artists cite her as an inspiration.

"Philadelphia is my adopted home and I love the people here," she said. "When I was a professor at Temple, I used to get queries from people at other colleges . . . but I loved the city and my students too much" to leave.

In classes, Sanchez said she always stressed the importance of storytelling. While teaching at Amherst College during the mid-'70s, she gave a class an assignment to tape a conversation with a family member older than 70 and transcribe it.

"Well, they moaned and they groaned," Sanchez said. "But it certainly transformed the class. They brought back the tapes and learned a lot about their family they didn't know before. It helped them understand they weren't the only bright people in their families."

"BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez: A Tribute in Word, Music and Dance," 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday, The Temple Performing Arts Center; $35 for general admission; $28 for First Person Arts members.