A few highlights from 2023, for people who are interested in my work but may have missed something here or there. It was a bit of a “between-projects” year for me (though I did mark the one-year anniversary of my book by making a section available to read online here), on top of the fact that self-promo has been the furthest thing from my mind over the last three months, but here are some links.
Writing and Signal-Boosting: On Gaza
As I mentioned, I’ve been focused on using whatever little platform I have to signal-boost calls for justice, peace, and liberation in Gaza, and Palestine more broadly. As someone who came of age politically during the intense propaganda environment of the second Iraq war, this is just where my head is at, and where it will remain for the foreseeable future. A few specific links:
- My ongoing “recommended reading” project, first, with a ton of really good writing and insight on the issue from people who are not me.
- My piece for MN publication Racket: For Artists and Musicians Who Want to Speak Out About Palestine But Aren’t Sure How (That link also has a video of me talking about why I signed on to the MN Artists 4 Ceasefire letter).
- Another piece I pulled together, though it’s less about my opinions and more about signal-boosting organizational solidarity statements: Gaza, Media Literacy, and What We Can Learn from Solidarity Statements
- More on the way.
New Zines + Merch: Of What Future Are These the Wild, Early Days?, BTS 40K, and Button Zine Bundle
I shared two new zines in 2023, as well as the Poetry, Protest, and Possibility zine bundle:
- Of What Future Are These The Wild, Early Days? (Resources for Emerging Movement-Builders) is a collection of my favorite quotes, resources, and wisdom on collective power and organizing, aimed at people out there who want to “make a difference” in the world but aren’t sure where to start.
- BTS 40K is a zine-length contrapuntal poem juxtaposing the K-pop group BTS with the dystopian sci-fi setting Warhammer 40K.
- The Poetry, Protest, and Possibility zine bundle collects both of those new zines, alongside five older ones, and is available for order via Button Poetry.
New Music: Megatongues Album, Matches Remix, and Roguelike
No official announcements yet, but I have two projects potentially releasing in 2024, and had some fun in 2023 with these as well:
- MEGATONGUES is a wild, chaotic, beautiful collaborative album, and I’m proud to have contributed to a bunch of the songs on it.
- Matches (Olson Remix) is a remix of one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite producers, Dave Olson.
- Roguelike is the first new Guante & Big Cats song in years… and a preview of things to come.
New Poem/Video: When It Really Is Just the Wind, and Not a Furious Vexation
Aside from the aforementioned BTS 40K, this is the only new poem/video I released this year, but it’s something very close to my heart. I think it’s one of the best pieces I’ve shared in a while; video below, and here’s a link with the text and some background/commentary.
Fred Again Connection(s)
Having people send me photos and videos of superstar producer Fred Again using my poem as part of his performances continues to be surreal. Check out his Tiny Desk performance here. I share a photo of me as part of his Lollapalooza set at the top of this page; here’s another one from the Osheaga Festival:
Teaching, Keynoting, Performing, and Working
As always, all the stuff here is cool, but my actual work continues to be traveling to colleges, conferences, high schools, and wherever to speak, facilitate/teach, share my poems, and *use* poems as doorways into critical dialogue. 2023 ended being maybe the busiest year of my life, which I don’t think is a good thing or a bad thing, just a reflection of how this work is still resonating with people—which I am forever grateful for.
From keynotes at the IMPACT National Conference and VA Tech Hokie Student Leadership Summit, to performances at the Stone Arch Bridge Festival, CONvergence, and the 22nd Century Conference, to talks/presentations at the Wordplay Festival, Teen Lit Con, the YWCA’s “It’s Time To Talk” series on racial justice, and beyond—it’s been great to connect to so many people. On top of all that, I’ve also been able to visit over twenty MN schools for residencies and class visits through my work with COMPAS and TruArtSpeaks, and got to present on narrative and counter-narrative to all 2,500 (or so?) liberal arts first-years here at home at the University of Minnesota.
Just wanted to share all that in case anyone out there is interested in bringing me to their school, conference, festival, or wherever. Find all my booking information here.
