WomenWriteBloom

I had a phenomenal time as the featured guest on Elm City Lit Fest x Words, Women and Activism Podcast! Thanks to @elmcitylit and fierce hosts @ifemichellerose & Sha McAllister! It was a wonderful discussion about community, activism, family, poetry, Pride and I also shared my poetry. If you get a chance listen to the podcast here (link to view in profile): https://www.facebook.com/elmcitylitfest/videos/624346761761744/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CCBNSkAhdOYdR9WuNCJJFoQV4d6YJxrN6rX8_s0/?igshid=kid63fcrwkhp

Tonight Sun, 6.28, 7pm EST join me on @elmcitylit FB page for this FB live event! #Repost @elmcitylit with @repostapp ・・・ Join us at Facebook.com/elmcitylitfest TODAY@7pm! We will be in conversation with New York-based poet and author JP Howard (@jphoward_poet JP will discuss her creative journey as a Gay Poet/Activist during COVID and these racially intensified times, and read two pieces from her work. JP Howard is an educator, literary activist, curator and community builder. Her debut poetry collection, SAY/MIRROR (The Operating System), was a Lambda Literary finalist. She is also the author of bury your love poems here (Belladonna*) and co-editor of Sinister Wisdom Journal Black Lesbians--We Are the Revolution! JP is a 2020 featured author in Lambda Literary’s LGBTQ Writers in Schools program and was a Split this Rock Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism finalist. JP is featured in the Lesbian Poet Trading Card Series from Headmistress Press and has received fellowships and grants from Cave Canem, VONA, Lambda, Astraea and Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). She curates Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon, a NY-based forum offering all writers a monthly venue to collaborate. Her poetry and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in The Slowdown podcast, Academy of American Poets, Anomaly, Apogee Journal, The Feminist Wire, Split this Rock, Muzzle Magazine, and The Best American Poetry Blog. Her poetry is widely anthologized. JP holds a BA from Barnard College, an MFA in Creative Writing from The City College of New York and is Editor-At-Large of Mom Egg Review VOX online. http://www.jp-howard.com https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_kTjkBG-grmOvFqybdZWgJuV90RJ4DXid4HA0/?igshid=v2nirljexh71

These are some of today’s @womenwritebloom OPEN MIC poets who shared powerful work at our PRIDE Salon! They were fiyah!! 🔥 https://www.instagram.com/p/CB9t_5iBjm4tYcO9X9L7GeeKfV-EfhiYEa1_RQ0/?igshid=31ua9hkokxzo

Today’s 4 feature poets for @womenwritebloom’s Online 2020 Pride Salon + Open Mic were each uniquely powerful & shared poems that literally blew us all away. I am so grateful for how each of these poets walks through the world consistently speaking their powerful truths. While there were 80 of us tuned in to their every word on zoom, it felt to me like a sacred and intimate space. It felt magical and necessary. Thank you Nikky Finney, @vangi22, @_gentility & @bdpoet for sharing your voices today with our Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon community! 🙌🏾 💜 🙌🏾 https://www.instagram.com/p/CB9q0IvBEbF_jdLqoMwQnHYb5QqOzhIkeURJoY0/?igshid=42nh8i7ap4bo

Check out @womenwritebloom on @bkartscouncil’s (BAC) updated website! The new BAC site looks great and our Salon family looks cute & brilliant! 🥰 So very proud to be a 2020 BAC Grantee. Please visit the link (in profile), which includes links to Bloom's social media handles, a sign up link to receive my monthly Bloom newsletters and even includes a link to our YouTube promotional video featuring the one & only @patriciajones753! Very proud to have Bloom included with a diverse list of 2020 Brooklyn-based artists & arts orgs! ‪https://bit.ly/384B5UF‬ https://www.instagram.com/p/CB68lI9h3AA6CJul9-mLcZmmGlWjWIL2aVObFk0/?igshid=1l6vf2en3ifx3

Thanks @elmcitylit and co-founders @ifemichellerose & Sha McAllister. This Sunday, June 28th, 7pm EST I’ll be in conversation with @elmcitylit about my work as poet, activist, curator of @womenwritebloom, proud & often worried mama to my two brilliant black suns in amerika & I’ll share some new poems. Tune in to the Elm City LIT Fest FB page on Sunday to join us LIVE or join their FB event page here: https://bit.ly/2BdD4d9 #Repost @elmcitylit with @repostapp ・・・ Join @ifemichellerose and @shazulah on Facebook Live this Sunday, June 28th, 7pm EST! (Facebook.com/elmcitylitfest) We will be in conversation with New York-based poet and author JP Howard. @jphoward_poet will discuss her creative journey as a Gay Poet/Activist during COVID and our racially intensified times, and read two pieces from her work. JP Howard is an educator, literary activist, curator and community builder. Her debut poetry collection, SAY/MIRROR (The Operating System), was a Lambda Literary finalist. She is also the author of bury your love poems here (Belladonna*) and co-editor of Sinister Wisdom Journal Black Lesbians--We Are the Revolution! JP is a 2020 featured author in Lambda Literary’s LGBTQ Writers in Schools program and was a Split this Rock Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism finalist. JP is featured in the Lesbian Poet Trading Card Series from Headmistress Press and has received fellowships and grants from Cave Canem, VONA, Lambda, Astraea and Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). She curates Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon, a NY-based forum offering all writers a monthly venue to collaborate. Her poetry and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in The Slowdown podcast, Academy of American Poets, Anomaly, Apogee Journal, The Feminist Wire, Split this Rock, Muzzle Magazine, and The Best American Poetry Blog. Her poetry is widely anthologized. JP holds a BA from Barnard College, an MFA in Creative Writing from The City College of New York and is Editor-At-Large of Mom Egg Review VOX online. http://www.jp-howard.com https://www.instagram.com/p/CB5W71yhzptixnbrOTsUWAevJYMIqDcBMHmAEc0/?igshid=y8jvwc63ynjr

@WomenWriteBloom’s PRIDE Salon+Open Mic lineup is fiyah! Join Nikky FINNEY Cheryl Clarke Vangile GANTSHO & Gentle RAMIREZ on 6/27, 3-6pm EST! Hosted by JP Howard & Cynthia Manick! Must pre-register on zoom (link in profile) bit.ly/3ek5cJX @brooklyncynthia @bdpoet @womenwritebloom @_gentility @vangi22 @jphoward_poet 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🔥🔥🔥 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 #WeBloom https://www.instagram.com/p/CB15hsthaLZzhHV3oZQpskH-yzRd4zwdSrBpk80/?igshid=rcpoixcf3gn5

It wouldn’t be a true @womenwritebloom Poetry Salon event without some really cute group photos of all our brilliant and beautiful participants & photos of me and my wonderful co-host @brooklyncynthia! Thank you community for coming out to Bloom w/Rachel Eliza Griffiths + guest poet Cheryl Boyce-Taylor! 💜💜💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/CBzbuGUhJEGAENXerKVKCwXQfctvSy7R1tYaGI0/?igshid=n8dmwkdrjj7d

I’m so excited about this event featuring my brilliant & beautiful sista poets! 💜 Join @womenwritebloom’s Celebration of @rachelelizagriffiths & her new book, SEEING THE BODY (@w.w.norton w.w.norton), with special guest poet @cherylboycetaylor this Tues, 6.23.20, 7:30 to 8:30pm EST! Reading followed by brief Q & A with our poets! MUST pre-register on zoom (link in profile): https://bit.ly/2Y1ElNl https://www.instagram.com/p/CBstqoTBXcDNwBy8TC3HGVG8--MCdN_7aaNO3A0/?igshid=40bhdgjk2pg4

Hey y'all! Make sure to Join @womenwritebloom’s Online 2020 Pride Salon + Open Mic next Sat, June 27th, 3-6pm EST! Our line-up is fiyah! 🔥 It features & celebrates fierce LGBTQ poets Cheryl Clarke @bdpoet, Nikky Finney, South African-based poet, Vangile Gantsho @vangi22, & Gentlle Ramirez @_gentility! Cynthia Manick @brooklyncynthia & I will co-host again! Make sure to pre-register on ZOOM (link in profile): https://bit.ly/3ek5cJX Please help us spread the word & help us celebrate Pride! 🔥🌈🔥 https://www.instagram.com/p/CBrwqG7hxr9SQ0QIqo2sWMtFJ5DAmVO5j_g0go0/?igshid=jfy0sp3ry1ui

Very grateful to have been interviewed for a @barnardcollege article where @barnardalumnae were asked about observing LGBTQ+ Pride this year. In re-reading my answer to this interview, which was done at the end of last month and before I had any features lined-up for my upcoming Sat,June 27th Pride Salon, is my ability to "speak into existence what I envisioned for the Salon for this month." Little did I know when I answered that each fierce poet I invited to feature for my Pride Salon would say yes, including Nikky Finney, Cheryl Clarke @bdpoet, Gentlle Ramirez @_gentility, and from South Africa, Vangile Gantsho @vangi22! Invites coming this weekend, so follow Bloom's FB page or subscribe for email invites (link in profile): ( http://eepurl.com/lNK0b ). When asked what I would be doing for Pride I answered: “I’m currently curating a Pride celebration for my own literary salon, Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon (WWBPS). Bloom is a monthly literary and open mic series in New York, which I’ve been nurturing for nine years to celebrate our diverse community of mostly women writers. Since New York began sheltering in place back in March, I knew immediately that I wanted our community of writers to still meet and feel connected. I decided to move the monthly salon events online. My upcoming June Pride Salon will feature a fabulous, intergenerational selection of queer poets and writers, ideally from around the world. Curating the salon has given me an opportunity to celebrate and feature many queer women writers of color, like myself, while simultaneously supporting small independent presses, who often publish our books." Link to article on Barnard website (in profile): https://bit.ly/2YVcfm3 #WeBloom #HappyPride https://www.instagram.com/p/CBpPF3ohLbukqfci2G8SrdVt7uM8TRpJA0wCSk0/?igshid=aikqjwfauznm

I’m proud to be a part of Black Artists for Freedom & to have signed our statement on #OurJuneteenth. Visit https://blackartistsforfreedom.com to read our full statement & find out how you can join us in solidarity. #BlackAFF .#ImagineBlackFreedom https://www.instagram.com/p/CBo5c1zh3rZELfowPdw2mhJD5aXhGpNszFTl0Q0/?igshid=omu4z1pauyj7

Honored to be a part of this Juneteenth Facebook Live event for The Grio and get to share my poetry! Hope you’ll tune in this Friday, June 19th, 6-7pm. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBj6-dZBlzSohb2evf_a6ipjRC-VRFGoyphauY0/?igshid=ldu1etxpibwq

Yesterday Facebook asked to tag me when someone posted a photo of Nikky Finney. 😎 That was cool! Then today Nikky Finney’s “people” contacted my “people” (aka as me 😝) to tell me that Nikky will join our fabulous queer lineup of poets for @womenwritebloom 2020 Pride Salon & Open Mic on Sat, June 27th (3-6pm EDT)! @brooklyncynthia & I will co-host. I’m so damn excited y’all!! I’m a huge fan of all the poets who will be featuring on June 27th, and cant wait to welcome Cheryl Clarke @bdpoet, Vangile Gantsho @vangi22, Gentlle Ramirez @_gentility & now Nikky Finney!! Happy Pride y’all! 🙌🏾🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🙌🏾 Make sure to check the Salon FB page for the event once it’s posted & subscribe to receive salon event invites by email (link in profile): http://eepurl.com/lNK0b #WeBloom #HappyPride https://www.instagram.com/p/CBgvzzfB69VZe5Ls4AAVC3sDgZTtfkFdGSrWPU0/?igshid=1dzqsscae66mw

I can’t wait to host this reading followed by a brief Q & A! @womenwritebloom Celebrates @rachelelizagriffiths & her new book SEEING THE BODY ( @w.w.norton, 2020) with fierce guest poet @cherylboycetaylor on Tue, June 23, 2020, 7:30pm EDT on zoom! MUST pre-register on zoom (link in profile): https://bit.ly/2Y1ElNl https://www.instagram.com/p/CBexaRShVFg92jnz1mi0jMUatpAOvOZIHdz4Mk0/?igshid=huchm4t9njvw

Thanks so much @the_operating_system! 💜 #Repost @the_operating_system with @repostapp ・・・ For the first week of June, in alliance with the #AmplifyMelanatedVoices initiative, and in a desire to celebrate Black brilliance, creativity, and joy, The Operating System & Liminal Lab is dedicating our content stream to highlight some of the tremendous Black creative practitioners in our community. Rather than resharing from other accounts, or passing the mic by asking BIPOC folx for more labor in these times, we’ve chosen to use this space to shine a light on their vital work. Please support and follow these outstanding humans and lift up their voices every day of the year. June 1 : JP Howard There are few people who exemplify community spirit with the blend of fierce fire and deep, abiding love as much as JP Howard. Just a short list of her many accomplishments and roles in the world include poet, author, public interest attorney, teacher, mama to two brilliant sons/suns (as she would say), curator of the long running Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon, and so much more. She exemplifies, too, pride in her powerful queer family, with whom she has appeared on the cover of Gay Parent Magazine and as Grand Marshal at the Brooklyn Pride parade. We were so thrilled to work with JP in publishing her powerful debut poetry collection, SAY/MIRROR, in 2016, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the Lesbian Poetry Category. Today, we share some excerpts from SAY/MIRROR, including a photo of JP and her mother, Ruth King, to whom the book is dedicated. Follow JP at @jphoward_poet, and the salon (now running online!) @womenwritebloom. #CelebrateBlackVoices #PassTheMic #BIPOC #BlackPoetry #QueerPoetry #Poetry #Brooklyn #Pride #BlackBrilliance #BlackJoy https://www.instagram.com/p/CA60H4jhQC2vVI0HLuVp9aKbTV_tJ9MsDUK2DU0/?igshid=718mgkvjpiv1

These are just some of this weekend’s open mic poets at our 3rd online @womenwritebloom Poetry Salon + Open Mic! Everyone who participated was fiyah! 🔥 73 participants joined our Salon and we were all mesmerized by the open mic poets. Thank you to everyone who shared your powerful voice with community! #WeBloom #GratefulCurator https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4Du5_BrieSX-jiP1Xd5jcmkPz_LU6t-ot0h40/?igshid=2syhkiqq5901