Ollie Schminkey – The Scab to Peel Back

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.

Andrea Gibson – Honey

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.

Rudy Francisco – The Heart The Fist

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.

Darius Simpson – A Poem in Which We Shoot Back

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.

Ollie Schminkey – Caregiver’s Guilt

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.

Ollie Schminkey – I Watched Him Die

Performed at the Button studio

“The truth is, the body wants to live, and so there is always gasping.”

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

Get Ollie’s book, Dead Dad Jokes.

Porsha Olayiwola – Live @ Button Poetry

Performed LIVE @ Button Poetry

“Everything that we think is shining is actually burning.”

Don’t miss this poem from Porsha Olayiwola, performing LIVE @ Button Poetry

Get Porsha’s book, I Shimmer Sometimes, Too.

Ebony Stewart – How to Write a Poem About Sexual Assault

Performed at the Button Studio

“What she got on ain’t nothing to do with how she should be treated.”

Don’t miss this poem from Ebony Stewart, performing at the Button Studio

Get Ebony’s book, Home.Girl.Hood..

Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre – Poem for the First Day of the Poetry Unit

Performed at Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN

“Tell your story, whether it rhymes or not. Tell the truth, whether it gets a good grade or not.”

Don’t miss this poem from Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre, performing at Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN

Get Guante’s book, Not A Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough.

Junious ‘Jay’ Ward – Black Rapture

Performed by Junious ‘Jay’ Ward

“The answer to any question is not a trump that raises a wall, it’s a trumpet that brings one down.”

Don’t miss this poem from Junious ‘Jay’ Ward, performing his poem “Black Rapture”

Get Jay’s book, Composition.