activism

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The difference between full and flood is a drop…

a photo of KTM holding up a copy of "witness: poems to address the past, present, an future of policing."
a photo of the back cover of "witness: poems to address the past, present, and future of policing" featuring a list of contributing poets: Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams, D. R. Bernstrom, Fong Li Blessing, Ty Chapman, Kinsale Drake, Margarita Engle, Amanda Gorman, Ronald Greer, Nikki Grimes, Carolyn Holbrook, Kari Anne Holt, Douglas Kearney, Tae Keller, Erin Entrada Kelly, Halee Kirkwood, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Ada Limón, Mariama J. Lockington, W. J. Lofton, Kyle Carrero Lopez, Kekla Magoon, Kyle Tran Myhre, Alice Paige, Junauda Petrus, Bao Phi, Jason Reynolds, Karuna Riazi, Laura Ruby, Aida Salazar, Hannah V. Sawyerr, Ollie Schminkey, Taiwana Shambley, Sun Yung Shin, Danez Smith, Ari Tison, Padma Venkatraman, Jasmine Warga, Kao Kalia Yang

Here is the Bookshop link; it’s available to pre-order before the release on 9/1/26.

I’m in this new anthology (edited by the incredible Ari Tison and Ty Chapman, featuring art by Damon Davis) …but I would be recommending it even if I weren’t. It’s kind of a wild elevator pitch, especially for me and the kind of people who are usually interested in my work. Imagine three bubbles in a venn diagram:

  • The lineup: this anthology features big names like Amanda Gorman, Ada Limón, Danez Smith, and Jason Reynolds, alongside locals and personal favorites like Junauda Petrus, Ollie Schminkey, Bao Phi, Kao Kalia Yang, and so many more. The lineup in-and-of-itself would be enough reason to check this out.
  • The theme: “poems to address the past, present, and future of policing,” a topic I’ve written about a lot (like here, and here, and here, and here, and even stuff I wrote nearly 20 years ago like this). My poem in the anthology is something new, though.
  • The anthology also has a YA (young adult) focus – which I think is a really good match with poetry—not just for young adult readers specifically, but for anyone who is curious about (or maybe even a little intimidated by) poetry. The work here is approachable, powerful, visionary, and sometimes even fun, in the midst of this very heavy and important topic. And the visual art is gorgeous and evocative. Even if you DON’T think of yourself as a poetry fan, I’d recommend this one.

And whether or not you like poetry, I also hope abolitionists check this out. In this work, culture matters. Story, art, expression, vision, coolness, and invitation all matter—and this anthology is overflowing with all that.

A Few Early Reviews

“The collection’s greatest strength lies in its multiplicity. The complex realities of anger, grief, exhaustion, tenderness, humor, and hope coexist without diminishing one another.” – starred, Kirkus Reviews

“Though often disquieting, in giving voice to the sometimes voiceless and providing space to consider their troubling subjects, the poems offer hope for a better future.” – Booklist

“For those seeking poetry of protest and resistance, this intense compilation offers fruitful fare. . . . Art and verse offer potent opportunities for reflection upon the social forces that influence American policing, as well as the deep anguish of the vulnerable citizens most at risk.” – starred, School Library Journal

Release Event – 9/1/26 in Minneapolis

Join us for the release event: Tuesday, September 1 at New City Center (3104 16th Ave S, MPLS), 7pm.

The event will feature Danez Smith, Carolyn Holbrook, Ollie Schminkey, Halee Kirkwood, Alice Paige, and me, as well as the editors. Here’s the flyer and some more info.

a promotional image for the launch of the "Witness" anthology - 9/01/26 at 7pm at New City Center, Minneapolis. Image features artistic representation of a collage of Black and Brown faces, by Damon Davis

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a stick of zines with the title "A zine on the importance of thinking critically about AI"

This zine collects some of the perspectives that have been helpful to me as I, like everyone else, navigate this historical moment and the rise of chatGPT, claude, gemini, and all the other ones. Personally, I am critical and deeply suspicious of these “tools,” and the pullquotes/links below point in the direction of why.

That does not mean, however, that “I think if you use chatGPT you’re a bad person” or whatever absolutist hot take someone might read into it. These tools have become normal to a lot of us, and part of my argument here is that it’s worth thinking critically about that, and that normal doesn’t have to mean inevitable.

And while it’s important for everyone, in every field, to have these kinds of conversations, I also want to be clear about whom this zine is for. I think of a spectrum:

  • On one end of the spectrum: If you’re like, a radiologist or an astrophysicist or whatever, and you use some kind of AI tools to comb through data, that’s not really what we’re talking about here. The term “AI” has come to mean a range of things; this zine is more about the consumer-facing LLMS and gen AI tools.
  • On the other end of the spectrum: As a writer, as an artist, I do not ever use any AI tools, for any reason, at any part of the process. Not for idea generation, or outlining, or making promo flyers for events, or answering emails, or even writing alt-text for images. I do all that myself, because I believe we grow by doing. Even the boring stuff (especially the boring stuff) makes me a better writer.
  • In the middle: Should a busy single parent use a chatbot to help meal plan for the week? Should a teacher use an AI assistant to to organize their thoughts into a potential lesson plan? Should you use a gen AI tool to write a difficult email to a co-worker, or an essay for a class you don’t care about? I am not here to tell anyone what to do, or shame anyone for their choices. The title here refers to “thinking critically” about how we use these tools, and that’s the key point: even when there are pros, there are cons too. Even in “innocent” use cases, these tools are not neutral. Even when they’re free, we are paying for them.

As writer John Scalzi put it: I don’t know how to explain to the people who pop up when creatives complain about “AI” to say there are legit uses for it just how much they sound like someone saying “Well actually fire is used to make bread” when people are talking about an organized arson ring burning down their [expletive] houses.

Where can I get a copy!? I’ll have (free!) copies of this zine with me at my next gig: the launch for Witness: Poems to Address the Past, Present, and Future of Policing. That’ll be Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at the New City Center in Minneapolis (3104 16th Ave S) at 7pm. More info.

Want to print, fold, and share your own copies?

Here is the full text; actually the “fuller” text since this includes even more quotes, links, and resources that didn’t fit in the physical zine.

Continue reading “Less A, More I: a zine on the importance of thinking critically about AI”

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(Post-event update, 1/13/26): Wow – what an event. We had 1200 people register, and a really affirming—and practical—conversation. THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by.

HERE are the full notes & slides in a Proton document. Plus a few related links:

  • Proton sometimes has issues on certain browsers, so HERE are the notes as a PDF, as a backup.
  • HERE is a piece I wrote for Racket synthesizing our event notes into something more like an essay.
  • A summary of the event’s big-picture takeaways over on IG.
  • My kind of “home base” for a lot of links and resources right now is at resources for creative troublemakers.

I’ve also done a few interviews to share what we talked about at the event:

what can artists do? post-event notes, slides, and resources

Are We Going To Do This Again?

There was a lot of interest in another session, and of course people who couldn’t make it. Our hope is that the notes are robust enough where you get all the content there, but we also know it’s not just about content; it’s also about community. For now, we’ll see. We live in Minneapolis, and you all know there’s a lot going on here. But if other people want to hold similar discussions, there definitely seems to be some hunger for them.

Bringing this Discussion into Other Spaces

All that being said: sometimes, organizational collaboration can be a good excuse to bring the content into another space. So if you want to bring this workshop to your organization, school, or other community space, get in touch here.

We wanted to do this first installment completely independent of any org collaborators so we could experiment with the content/format, but most of my actual work is in partnership with groups, whether in-person or virtual. Thanks.

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Some people will find this post because they already know me; others may be coming to this post directly from social media. If you’re the latter, here’s my bio, and the basic pitch:

I’ve spent twenty years facilitating workshops – while people might assume that means “teaching poetry classes,” creative writing has really always been just a fraction of what I do. A lot of my facilitation work in non-creative writing spaces has happened organically, via relationships, but I thought I’d set up a page here to make some of my offerings explicit.

a photo of KTM/Guante speaking into a microphone with the text "workshop offerings for activist gorups"
photo by adam bubolz

I would love to bring any of these to your local Indivisible chapter, or DSA chapter, or neighborhood group, or church group, or student org, or informal collective, or any other progressive activist formation. Not because I’m some amazing expert or authority (I’m not!), but because these kinds of workshops can be powerful opportunities to both build practical skills and forge relationships.

The following workshops can be in-person or virtual. Get in touch!

(And of course, while this post highlights these specific offerings, you can find info on all of my other work—school residencies, performances, keynotes, etc.—at that same booking link)

Continue reading “Workshop Offerings for Activist Groups”

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(2026 update) I’m leaving this post up, but it should be noted that it’s from October 2025, and the situation here in MN has shifted quite a bit since then. A few updates:

  • For people specifically looking for whistle-related resources, check out MSPwhistles.
  • For people looking for more information about what “the work” looks like in MN right now (ways to show up, calls-to-action, etc.) check out the first section of my resource hub here.
Continue reading “Whistle Zine Resources – Twin Cities”

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a collage of endorsement images: TakeAction MN for Fateh, Davis, and Hampton; TCDSA for Fateh, MPLS for the Many for Fateh #1, Davis #2 and Hampton #3
via TakeAction MN, TCDSA, and MPLS for the Many

In times of crisis and fascism in politics at the national level, it becomes more and more important to engage with politics at the local level. Even for people cynical about electoral politics in general, it should be clear that local government is, at the very least, one piece of the puzzle when it comes to defending our communities and showing up for one another.

Here in Minneapolis, we have a big election coming up this November, and early voting is already open. For any friends or followers who are just tuning in, a few resources:

Continue reading “Election 2025 Minneapolis: Resources for Those Just Tuning In Now”

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As a teaching artist, I’ve facilitated countless workshops, classes, and conversations on the topic of what art and artists have to offer in times of crisis. What can it mean to “meet the moment?” What kind of work can a poem do, and what can’t it do? For those of us who already consider ourselves creative writers, what kinds of tools and tactics are most effective when it comes to speaking out about the causes that matter to us? And for those of us who don’t think of ourselves as artists, what can we learn from how artists approach these issues?

I do not believe there are easy answers, but in my experience, there is immense value in grappling with these kinds of guiding questions. Meeting the Moment: Political Poetry and the Anthemic Impulse is an asynchronous workshop experience where I share everything I’ve learned from these conversations: examples, frameworks, writing prompts, tactics, resources, and more.

Because I don’t believe that art is ever going to be enough to get us to the world that we want to live in. But I also do not see us getting to that world without it—without some kind of cultural strategy, without narrative work, without artists.

a photo of KTM performing, plus a green vine emerging from his back.
Continue reading “Meeting the Moment: Political Poetry and the Anthemic Impulse (New Workshop!)”

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This is the third in my series of conversations with artist friends where we get to dig a little bit deeper into our own work, reflect on our journeys, and hopefully share something useful. Find the first two here and here.

Official Bio: Shannon TL Kearns is a transgender man who believes in the transformative power of story. As an ordained priest, a playwright, a theologian, and a writer all of his work revolves around making meaning through story.

I recently got to join Shannon for the release of his new book, “No One Taught Me How to Be a Man: What a Trans Man’s Experience Reveals about Masculinity,” and it was such a fantastic and fascinating read that I thought it might be interesting to have this conversation.

Continue reading “In Conversation: Kyle Tran Myhre & Shannon TL Kearns”

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A table full of resources, with a sign that says "free." Resources include zines and handouts on getting involved with activism, and a copy of "enough is enough: a 150-year performance review of the mpls police dept.

Hey- the news is bad. Things are bad. As an artist (whether that’s a musician, poet, or any other kind of performer or person who shares art publicly), it can be overwhelming when we start to think about our role(s) in all this. When I am overwhelmed, I try to find a small step I can take. This post is about sharing one of those small steps: using arts space as activist space.

There are a million ways to do that, but I’ll keep this post down-to-earth. Here are FIVE examples of activist-oriented handouts, zines, or printed materials you can share, for free, at your merch table. I think part of our work, as artists, is to help get more cool stuff in front of more people. And that includes our art, of course, but it can also include more than that. This is a “small” idea, but its smallness makes it actionable.

A quick note that some of these examples are Minneapolis-focused, but the idea of them can be adapted to other communities, and similar resources already exist in some places.

Continue reading “Five Activist Resources Artists Can Share at Our Merch Tables”