Some upcoming opportunities, food-for-thought, and resources:
1. First, to contextualize everything else here, a few thoughts on what it means to recognize National Poetry Month during a genocide. What are the role(s) of poets in times of crisis? What are some concrete, specific things we can do, in the spaces we move through, with the audiences we have access to? A few tactics and resources in the link (it goes to a nine-slide IG carousel). Related:
- The piece I wrote back in November for Racket, For Artists and Musicians Who Want to Speak Out About Palestine But Aren’t Sure How
- A Handful of Poems as Doorways into Dialogue About Palestine
- Palestinian Poets on the Role of Literature in Fighting Genocide
2. Second: A few local appearances, online opportunities, and more coming up. So much of my work is on-the-road, at schools, colleges, and what basically amounts to “private” events. But these are ones that are more open. Details below:
APRIL 19-20: I’ll be hosting the Finals slam in the Midwest Poetry Mashup; get tickets here. Also: Please note that you must buy a ticket for the correct bout(s) that you are planning to attend, and each bout is sold separately, including Finals. You are welcome to attend more than one event, but you must purchase a separate ticket for that event with the correct dates and times. If you would like to attend all 5 events, please purchase a Festival Pass, which can be accessed by clicking any Saturday bout and choosing the “Add-on” Festival Pass. You do NOT need to purchase a separate bout ticket in order to purchase the Festival Pass.
APRIL 29: I’ll be facilitating a virtual workshop on “anthemic” writing via Unfold; find more information on the Unfold series (“30 days of Writing in Community”) here.
MAY 22: Spoken Word and Slam Poetry workshop with Kyle Tran Myhre at the George Latimer Central Library in St. Paul. I know we’re out of April now, but thought it fit here. More info here.
JULY: Happy to announce that I’ll be facilitating another six-week course via Button Poetry! This one will have a dual focus on science fiction and “anthemic” writing. Register here, because these classes usually sell out. Here’s the blurb:
Poetry can speak truth to power, but it can also help us understand and activate our own power. In that spirit, this course will weave together two threads: science fiction as a genre for poets to explore, and the concept of “anthemic” poetry—writing that inspires, challenges, and helps us imagine a better future. What role can poets play in narrative-shifting work? How can our writing succeed not just at a poetry slam, or in a literary journal, but at a rally or political action? And how might science fiction provide a doorway into those questions? We will explore all this and more via examples, generative writing exercises, and discussion.
3. Finally a note to check out the new REVERB RADIO presented by TruArtSpeaks on WFNU Frogtown Radio 94.1FM. Every Friday, 7-8pm. Hosted by MaLLy and Desdamona, powered by TruArtSpeaks, Re-Verb Radio amplifies the work of MN based Spoken Word and Hip Hop artists alongside national and global artists in the genres as well. We feature live, in-studio performances, interviews, music, poetry, and dialogue centering the arts and creative arts practice. Re-Verb Radio is a program of TruArtSpeaks supported in partnership by WFNU – Frogtown Radio.
Speaking of TruArtSpeaks, the ReVerb open mic is still running every Thursday, 6-7pm at Flava Cafe.
More to come this month. Just wanted to have this one post with all these links in it. Thanks for reading.