Syd Stewart is a multifaceted creative force, boasting a distinguished career as a published performance poet, actor, and writer. Her impressive repertoire includes winning various poetry slams and competitions, with a notable feature in the Langston Hughes documentary "Hughes' Dream Harlem" on BLACKSTARZ. Additionally, she has been a featured poet on BET's Lyric Café and starred in the feature film "Everyday People", which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and the prestigious New Director's Film Festival at Lincoln Center, eventually airing on HBO.
Stewart has had the privilege of performing her poetry on prominent radio stations such as New York's WBLS and WBAI, Miami's Hot 105.1, and Virginia's 103 Jams. She has also graced esteemed educational institutions like Medgar Evers College, Wiley College, BMCC, NYU, Adelphi University, Columbia University, CAM, Lehigh University, and Harlem Book Fair. Her impressive roster of performances also includes Rush Arts/The Corridor Gallery, Atlanta's Black Expo, and The National Black Arts Festival, where she paid tribute to the legendary Dr. Maya Angelou and Cicely Tyson. Dr. Angelou was so moved by her performance that she was left in tears and speechless.
Stewart has had the opportunity to share the stage with renowned hip-hop artists Amir from The Roots and Amel Larreux. As a producer and curator, she has organized events such as "Harlem Is..." at The Museum of The City of New York and "Rhyme, Rhythm, Griots and Song" at Pace University. She has also performed with her live band alongside esteemed poets Sonia Sanchez, Ursula Rucker, and Vernon Reid for DEFPoetry at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Regularly performing in Los Angeles, Stewart's talent knows no bounds.
Beyond her artistic pursuits, Stewart is a dedicated member of the esteemed service-oriented sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. As the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization Better Youth, Inc. (www.betteryouth.org),she uses poetry and the arts to inspire young people with self-esteem and self-confidence. Better Youth has collaborated with the NYC Housing Authority to offer film and music after-school workshops to teens and children and with The Ronald MacDonald House in NYC. The organization is also a Community Partner with R&B sensation Usher and his New Look Foundation, as well as the UN Foundation through the teen empowerment initiative GirlUP.
Currently, Stewart is working on her second book of prose and poetry, accompanied by a musical poetry album. Her work has been featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times, Variety, Jane, and People Magazines. She has published works in African Voices, Rolling Out, QBR Magazine, The Lasting Joy (1998),America at the Millennium (2000),Signifyin' Harlem (2002/2003),and Under a Quicksilver Moon. Stewart has also collaborated with renowned filmmaker F. Gary Gray and is shopping her first feature-length screenplay and television pilot.
