Khalisa Rae is an award-winning author, activist, and storyteller. As a queer rights advocate and community builder, she seeks to uplift Black queer voices. She is the author of the poetry collection, Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat and the sold-out play production, Seven Deadly Sins of Being a Woman.
LB ( lyrically blessed) is a multi-talented writer and lyricist that hails from the city of Wilson NC. LB is an N.C.A&T alum where he was a part of the spoken word group Couture Word. He has been writing for roughly 6 years, and fueled his writing passion into the
Christopher Massenburg, better known as Dasan Ahanu, is a public speaker, organizer, curator, educator, poet, spoken word artist, educator, songwriter, and emcee, and loyal Hip Hop head born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is co-founder and managing director of Black Poetry Theatre, a Durham based theatre company that
Ashley Lumpkin is a Georgia-raised, Carolina-based writer, editor, actor, and educator. She is the author of five poetry collections: {} At First Sight, Second Glance, Terrorism and Other Topics for Tea, #AshleyLumpkin, and Genesis. Her book “I Hate You All Equally.”, is a collection of conversations from her years as
LeJuane (El’Ja) Bowens is an award-winning spoken word poet, host, speaker, workshop facilitator, and author. Born in Detroit,Mich and raised in Lima, Ohio El’Ja joined the United States Army in 2000. During his six years of service, which included two deployments to Iraq, El’Ja began to commit his thoughts to
CJ Suitt (he,him/they,them) is a performance poet, arts educator, and community organizer from Chapel Hill, NC, whose work is rooted in storytelling and social justice. CJ was recently appointed as the first Poet Laureate of Chapel Hill, NC.
CJ co-directed, produced, and starred in a historical reenactment of the 1947 Freedom
Krystal Argentin, better known as KrystalDaMuse, is THE very talented and vivacious personality that has been woven, from the very beginning stages, into the fabric of everything that falls under the S DOT P DOT PRODUCTIONS umbrella. Humbly boasting the titles of Co-Producer, Manager, Event Coordinator, and Host for S
Regina YC Garcia is an award winning Poet, Language Artist, and English Professor from Greenville, NC. She is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she received a BA in Speech Communication with a Concentration in the Oral Interpretation of Literature and East Carolina University
E. Gale Greenlee is a book nerd, freelance writer/editor and an independent literary and Black Girlhood Studies scholar from Greensboro, N.C. She holds a doctorate in African American literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her work focuses on representations of Black and Latinx girlhoods in
Fred Joiner is a poet and curator based in Chapel Hill, NC. He is 2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. His work has appeared in Callaloo, Gargoyle, and Fledgling Rag, among other publications. Fred has read his work nationally and internationally. Joiner has received awards and fellowships from the
CRYSTAL SIMONE SMITH is the author of three poetry chapbooks, Routes Home (Finishing Line Press, 2013) Running Music (Longleaf Press, 2014), and Down To Earth (Longleaf Press, 2020). She co-authored, One Window’s Light, A Collection of Haiku, edited by Lenard D. Moore (2017), which won the Haiku Society of America’s
Chris Tonelli is a co-founder of the independent poetry press Birds, LLC. He is the author of five chapbooks and two full-length poetry collections, most recently Whatever Stasis from Barrelhouse Books. He works in the Libraries at NC State University and is the co-director of the NC Book Festival and
Naima is a native of Brooklyn, New York, has been calling Raleigh, NC her home for almost a decade. Naima’s traveled throughout NYC and beyond performing poetry since 2004, she’s a five time published author, her latest undertaking, Pure, a poetic memoir that resonates deeply with readers, is a reflection
Curtis L. Hill Jr., better known as s.P. The Writer (s.P. = silent poet) in poetry circles, is a resident of Raleigh, NC by way of Maysville, North Carolina. As a silent poet, s.P. created the umbrella poetry entertainment company, S DOT P DOT PRODUCTIONS, that houses 3 productions including
Nic Johnson (gay/black/he/him/his) is a creative writer and marketing consultant with over ten years of experience. He has a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Mass Communications with a concentration in Photojournalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nic has managed marketing campaigns for nonprofits, fundraisers, community events,
Hayla Hurt is a graduate from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and is currently pursuing a career in copywriting. She is currently based in Raleigh-Durham and is a writer, dancer, and overall enthusiast of the power of words and art.
Yolanda Bradley Crocker is a reverse migrant to the South from the Midwest, Yolanda is a writer and self-styled archivist deeply rooted in exploring the paths of Black ancestral healing traditions, expansive kinships, spirituality, rituals, and our relationships to food, land and nature. She is devoted to honoring the steadfast
Maria Tavarez is a self-taught expressionist abstract artist pulling influences from Georgia O’KEEFE, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and Paul Cézzane. Maria’s medium of choice is Acrylic, Spray Paint, Coarse texture paints and charcoal. She has attended some workshops with Eric McRay at Raleigh’s C-MAC to improve her technique and skills.
Mayah S. Collins is a visionary leader, passionate storyteller, and the driving force behind Fruit of May — a dynamic lifestyle media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, dedicated to celebrating the narratives of Black women. As the founder and editor-in-chief, Mayah combines her expertise as a skilled journalist with