Poets

By encouraging and broadcasting the best and brightest performance poets of today, Button Poetry hopes to broaden poetry’s audience, to expand its reach and develop a greater level of cultural appreciation for the art form.

Steven Willis

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, storyteller Steven Antoine Willis uses his poetic and theatrical background to embark on the daunting task of creatively articulating African American culture. With art heavily influenced by urban life and religion, Steven… MORE

A Peculiar People

Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre

Kyle Tran Myhre (aka Guante) is a poet and activist whose work explores the relationships between narrative, power, and resistance. He’s performed at the United Nations, contributed to a Grammy-winning album, been a member of two National Poetry… MORE

NOT A LOT OF REASONS TO SING, BUT ENOUGH

A Love Song, A Death Rattle, A Battle Cry

Ebony Stewart

Ebony Stewart, most fondly known as Eb or Gully, is an author and international touring interdisciplinary artivist. As a Black womxn writer and performance artist, Ebony Stewart harnesses the power of creativity to explore and challenge societal norms,… MORE

BloodFresh

Home.Girl.Hood.

Rachel Wiley

Rachel Wiley is a queer, biracial poet and performer from Columbus, Ohio. She is a fellow and faculty member of the Pink Door Writing Retreat held annually for women and nonbinary writers of color in upstate New York…. MORE

Revenge Body

Nothing Is Okay

Andrea Gibson

BiographyANDREA GIBSON (they/them/theirs) is a queer author of five full-length collections of poetry, including Lord of the Butterflies (Button Poetry 2018) which sold over 20,000 copies worldwide. Winner of The Independent Publishers Award in 2019, Andrea is also… MORE

You Better Be Lightning

Lord of the Butterflies

Patrick Roche

Patrick Roche is an award-winning poet, mental health advocate, and Carly Rae Jepsen enthusiast from New Jersey. Videos of Patrick’s work have amassed 9 million views on YouTube, making him one of the most popular spoken word poets…. MORE

A Socially Acceptable Breakdown

Button University: Patrick Roche Workshop

L.E. Bowman

Lauren E. Bowman is the author of three poetry collections, The Evolution of a Girl (Black Castle Media Group), What I Learned from the Trees (Button Poetry), and her latest, Shapeshifter (Button Poetry). Lauren’s work often delves into… MORE

What I Learned from the Trees

Reagan Myers

Reagan is the youngest Grand Slam champion to ever come out of Nebraska, and was the first woman to hold the title in seven years. She’s been to two National Poetry Slams as a member of the Omaha… MORE

Afterwards

Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie

Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie is a Zambian-Ghanaian poet who grew up in Botswana. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan. She is the author of Born in a Second Language, winner of Button Poetry’s 2019… MORE

Born in a Second Language

Azura Tyabji

Azura Tyabji served as the 2018-19 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate and National Youth Poet Ambassador for the West. Her debut poetry collection, Stepwell, was released by Poetry Northwest. She writes in pursuit of healing, community, and justice.

Dear Azula, I Have a Crush on Danny Phantom