A luminous poetry reading demanding the abolition of police & prisons—with Christopher Soto, Airea D Mathews, and Denice Frohman.
This debut poetry collection demands the abolition of policing and human caging. In Diaries of a Terrorist, Christopher Soto uses the "we" pronoun to emphasize that police violence happens not only to individuals, but to whole communities. His poetics open the imagination towards possibilities of existence beyond the status quo. Soto asks, "Who do we call terrorist—and why"? These political surrealist poems shift between gut-wrenching vulnerability, laugh-aloud humor, and unapologetic queer punk raunchiness. Diaries of a Terrorist is groundbreaking in its ability to speak—from a local to a global scale—about one of the most important issues of our time.
Christopher Soto will be joined for a reading by Airea D Matthews, and Denice Frohman for the launch of their debut poetry collection, which demands the abolition of policing and human caging. The event is moderated by Alysia Nicole Harris, arts and soul editor at Scalawag Magazine.
Advance registration is requested.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Christopher Soto (he/they) is a poet from Los Angeles, California, who also goes by the name Loma. They work at UCLA with the Ethnic Studies Centers and sit on the Board of Directors for Lambda Literary. A 2019 CantoMundo fellow, they are the author of the chapbook Sad Girl Poems and the editor of Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color.
Airea D. Matthews is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and codirector of Bryn Mawr's Creative Writing Program. Matthews' first collection of poems, Simulacra, won the 2016 Yale Series of Younger Poets Award and was published by Yale University Press. She is the poet laureate of Philadelphia.
Denice Frohman is a poet, performer, and educator from New York City. She’s received fellowships and support from CantoMundo, the National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures, Leeway Foundation, Blue Mountain Center, and Millay Colony. A former Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion, she’s featured on national and international stages from The Apollo to The White House, and at over 400 colleges and universities. She co-organized #PoetsforPuertoRico and lives in Philadelphia.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Scalawag is a nonprofit media organization that through journalism and storytelling, works in solidarity with oppressed communities in the South to disrupt and shift the narratives that keep power and wealth in the hands of the few. Collectively, they pursue a more liberated South. Scalawag's Abolition Week and Press in Prisons initiatives center systems-impacted people and further abolitionist aims to end carcerality in America. Alysia Nicole Harris serves as arts and soul editor.
Cohosted by our friends at Scalawag Magazine.
* * *
IN-PERSON EVENT
Please note, out of concern for everyone’s well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, we require proof of vaccination for entry to all in-person events. Attendees are asked to wear masks at all times. Advance registration via eventbrite is required for all events, so we can plan for attendance and gather safely.
Event registrations will be honored until 15 mins after start time of the event; afterwards, availability will be on a first-come basis.
Note: there are ample opportunities to receive a free COVID-19 test, vaccine, or booster in most neighborhoods, at walk-in clinics or by appointment. All of the COVID-19 vaccines are free. They are available to anyone in the United States. You do not need to provide identification to receive a vaccine. Visit phila.gov for latest info and please support the work of the Black Doctors’ COVID Consortium.