An Evening of Spoken-Word Poetry by Women + Non-Binary Artists

In celebration of contemporary spoken-word performance by women and non-binary artists, join us for an evening of short performances by established and emerging poets. The performances will be followed by a thoughtful discussion about the form's history and contemporary practice. A reception to follow.

Artists (listed in alphabetical order): Mahogany L. Browne, cap, Kayla Fontana, Anahita Monfared, and Liza Jessie Peterson

Mahogany L. Browne, a Kennedy Center's Next 50 fellow, is a writer, playwright, organizer, & educator. Browne’s books include Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky, Black Girl Magic, and banned books Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice and Woke Baby. Founder of the diverse lit initiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne holds an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree awarded by Marymount Manhattan College and is the inaugural poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center.

cap is a Latina writer, poet, and educator from The Bronx, NY. Her work explores themes of identity, spirituality, and intricate relationships, using poetry to explore nuanced emotions, overcome trauma, and inspire others to embark on their own healing journeys. Passionate about nurturing creativity and self-expression, cap serves as the Program Manager and Education Lead at the Nuyorican Poets Café. She leads poetry writing workshops across NYC, collaborating with notable organizations such as The New School, The MET, Boys & Girls Club, NYPL, and over 30 schools and community-based organizations. She has graced stages at venues including NJPAC, The Poets Passage, Montclair Art Museum, the Nuyorican Poets Café, and ICP, engaging audiences with her heartfelt performances.

Kayla Fontana (she/they) is an individual that navigates the mysteries of queer identity, childhood trauma and domestic and sexual violence through their multi-hyphenated artistic practice. Guided by the bell hooks ethic seeing love as an active verb, this also guides Fontana’s approach to their work. Her piece, “Mother’s Tune”, was a collaboration between original music, spoken word and choreography. This premiered at the Experimental Theatre Wing. She is currently in development of her play, “mom play” with Lovechild Theatre Co. Most recently she directed “Girl Friend”, a short film that you can find on YouTube @fontanakayla and is in the midst of another untitled film project. The Citizen Arts project, “Cabaret Echo”, is where they originally performed “15 Blank Spaces” and they are honored to share with you today. She would like to dedicate her piece to all the silent survivors; “I see you and believe you, even if you tell me only in your heart.” If you wish to contact Kayla for any artistic or personal inquiries, you can contact them at @BuggyDoesntLikeBugs on IG or kaylawfontana@gmail.com. Thank you. 

Anahita Monfared (they/$he/he) is a gender fluid Persian-Canadian spoken word poet, writer, actor and dancer. Anahita is passionate about centering radical self-love, MAD pride, pleasure activism, intersectional feminism and (sexual) liberation in their work. Anahita has performed and competed poetry on stages in Vancouver, Toronto and New York in competitions such as Hullabaloo, Verses Festival of Words, Voices of Today and more. Past theater: The Classical Studio Richard III (Anne/Duchess), PHTS Student Productions Variations in Relapse & A Giving Tree, ETW Indie The Indiscreet Toys (Clytemnestra). Recent film: Firefly Lane, National Parks, For Her, Suddenly Slaughter. A recent NYU Tisch grad, they were most recently on New York University's Slam Poetry Team, and currently, they are stoked to have been selected as a Brooklyn Poets Fall Fellow, and are in the process of finishing their first poetic manuscript, Not This Body. Catch them on the gram @anabringsthehita to stay connected.

Liza Jessie Peterson is an artivist; an actress, playwright, poet, author, and youth advocate who has worked steadfast with incarcerated populations for more than two decades. Her critically acclaimed one woman show, The Peculiar Patriot, had successful runs at the National Black Theater (NY), Arts Emerson (Boston), Woolly Mammoth (Washington, DC), and Detroit Public Theater. The play was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, Elliot Norton, and a recipient of a Lilly Award. It is available on Audible. Liza performed The Peculiar Patriot in 35 prisons across the country and a documentary, Angola Do You Hear Us; Voices from a Plantation Prison, features her historic performance of The Peculiar Patriot at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) which is streaming on Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime, and was shortlist for an Academy Award. The Peculiar Patriot is currently in development for a feature film. Her memoir, ALL DAY; A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island (Hachette publishing) was commissioned by The Old Globe Theater to adapt the book into a stage play, and she has developed a TV pilot based on the book. Liza was featured in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy award winning documentary, The 13th , and was a consultant on Bill Moyers documentary Rikers (PBS). Also known for her exceptional poetic skills, Liza began her poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and appeared on two episodes of HBO’s Def Poetry. Liza appeared in Showtime’s mini-series, Everything’s Gonna Be All White, by Sacha Jenkins. She can be seen in A Luv Tale (BETplus), Love the Hard Way (co-starring with Pam Grier and Adrien Brody) Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, and K. Shalini’s A Drop of Life. Liza wrote and starred in two short films, MERLINA and Black Love Manifesto, both won several festival awards. For more info on her projects, visit her website at www.lizajessiep.com.