Prince’s broader reputation as a brooding, sensitive, sometimes dark figure belies a significant comic side to his music, videos, and films. This presentation will point out highlights of the funny side of Prince, and offer some insights into the method and possible purpose of such funny flare-ups.

Scott Woods is an award-winning author  of three poetry collections (Black Night Is Falling, 2024, Urban Contemporary History Month, 2016, and We Over Here Now, 2013) and a collection of essays on Prince (Prince and Little Weird Black Boy Gods, 2017). He is the founder of Streetlight Guild, an award-winning, performing arts nonprofit. He has been featured multiple times in national press, including multiple appearances on National Public Radio. Woods is also an award-winning journalist, having written for LEVEL, Columbus Monthly, GQ UK, and The New York Times. In April of 2006, he became the first poet to ever complete a 24-hour solo poetry reading, a feat he bested seven more times without repeating a single poem.