Greetings! I’m about to catch a flight to Denver to attend the AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) annual conference. So I’m posting a bit early this week to help spread the word about some of the events that I’ll be part of.
Wednesday (today!)
AWP Cave Canem/Kundiman Reading and Salon: An AWP Off-Site Event
8:00pm
Mercury Cafe
2199 California Street, Denver
Featuring Toi Derricotte, Cornelius Eady, Paisley Rekdal, Oliver de la Paz, Dawn Lundy Martin & Kazim Ali + a salon featuring Cave Canem and Kundiman fellows & family.
Emceed by Ching-In Chen & Tara Betts.
$3 suggested donation to benefit Cave Canem & Kundiman (no one turned away for lack of funds).
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Thursday
“Decolonial Poetics: Womanist, Indigenous, and Queer Poets of Color on the Art of Decolonization”
9am-10:15am, Session R117
Colorado Convention Center, Street Level, Rooms 301/302
Panelists:
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhr??n, ku’ualoha ho’omanawanui, Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano, Susan Deer Cloud, Lisa Suhair Majaj, Ching-In Chen, & Tamiko Beyer
Description:
As poets of color, many of us see art playing a vital role in the decolonization of our bodies, cultures, and landbases. In what ways do we use writing as an act of re-creation, as means, alongside other forms of activism, organizing, and spirituality, by which to undo centuries of white supremacist, capitalist, and heteropatriarchal intrusions into the workings of our communities? How does poetry serve to decolonize our lives, and how must we decolonize our poetic traditions in order to live?
Weaving together important conversations in radical arts traditions in Indigenous, womanist, and queer people of color communities, this assemblage of writers will discuss the ways we engage in poetic decolonization. From issues of form, genre, and content to multilinguality, orality, and voice; narrativity and performance to gender, sexuality, race, and class; allusions and the specificity and multiplicity of audience to issues of the erotic, we will show and share the craft(s) of our creation.
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Bookfair
I’ll be at the Drunken Boat table (Exhibit Hall A, Table J-16) on Friday and Saturday afternoon. We’ll be selling Radha Says by Reetika Vazirani, the inaugural title in Drunken Boat’s book series. Click here to read more about the collection and the recent launch party. After you stop by the Kenyon Review table, come by to say hi!
Of course there are tons of other great readings/events/panels happening. The next few days are going to be a whirlwhind. For those of you going, remember to stay hydrated, eat lunch, and make time to enjoy the view Denver’s mountains. Happy AWP-ing!
