Performed at Rustbelt 2019

“A lot of folk love to be surrounded by Black culture, but not necessarily Black people.”

Don’t miss this poem from Junious ‘Jay’ Ward, performing at Rustbelt 2019

Get Jay’s book, Composition.

Performed in Longmont, CO

“…and I’d finally grown wise enough to never trust my preferences.”

Don’t miss this poem from Andrea Gibson, performing in Longmont, CO

Get Andrea’s book, You Better Be Lightning.

Performed at the Button Studio

“My cousin Henry sends me a photo of my father, and I time-travel. I glitch on his smile, how I held his body.”

Don’t miss this poem from Ollie Schminkey, performing at the Button Studio

Get Ollie’s book, Dead Dad Jokes.

Performed

“She carries a knife, just in case she finds something she wants to carve her name into.”

Don’t miss this poem from Andrea Gibson, performing

Get Andrea’s book, You Better Be Lightning.

Performed at WoWPS 2020 in Dallas, TX

“I need to mention that I love my father and I would never change him, but he will always be the first black man that I have never felt black enough for.”

Don’t miss this poem from R. M., performing at WoWPS 2020 in Dallas, TX

Shop Button Poetry.

Performed by Rudy Francisco

“We learn that the heart is the same size as the fist, but we keep forgetting they don’t have the same functions.”

Don’t miss this poem from Rudy Francisco, performing by Rudy Francisco

Get Rudy’s book, Helium.

Performed their poem “The Joke and The Noise”

“When the bleak chaotic void peers into my soul, I have no idea I have the ability to look back.”

Don’t miss this poem from Catherine Weiss, performing their poem “The Joke and The Noise”

Shop Button Poetry.

Performed their poem “Mango Season”

“Someone somewhere said happy mango season, and for a few seconds every child of the diaspora glowed green and orange and gold.”

Don’t miss this poem from Arianna Monet, performing their poem “Mango Season”

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Performed at the Button Studio

“What’s Black life to a murder machine? What good is mattering to a wolf’s front teeth?”

Don’t miss this poem from Darius Simpson, performing at the Button Studio

Get Darius’s book, Never Catch Me.

Performed at the Strike Theater in Minneapolis, MN

“Even after my father died I couldn’t go for a walk, or take a bath, or laugh at a stupid TV show without the guilt burning in my knuckles. The alchemy of dying joy transformed to shame at the first cough.”

Don’t miss this poem from Ollie Schminkey, performing at the Strike Theater in Minneapolis, MN

Get Ollie’s book, Dead Dad Jokes.