SUNDAY, MAY 16, 12pm – 3pm – POETRY
SAMANTHA BARROW & MONICA MCINTYRE Present:
an abundant poetry brunch jam
featuring themselves and:
hassen & Heather Saker, Ryan Eckes, Ocean Vuong, Shayna SheNess Israel
There will be food and coffee. Feel free to bring a brunch dish to share.
Ocean Vuong emigrated to the U.S. in 1990 at the age of one and is currently an undergraduate student at Brooklyn College, CUNY. His poems have received an Academy of American Poets Award as well as two Pushcart Prizes nominations and appear or are forthcoming in the Connecticut River Review, Word Riot, PANK, the Lantern Review and Asian American Poetry among others. He is also a volunteer editor for the Vietnam Literature Project in the aspiration to support and promote the works of Vietnamese writers.
hassen writes experimental fiction/poetry and makes multimedia art. Often spanning years, her creative projects engage transformative processes while investigating tasty psychological mysteries of self/societies. She is also a sustainable entrepreneur and director of www.volklibre.org. Her blog is hassens.blogspot.com
Heather Saker is an oil painter and multimedia artist who received her education from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art – and a number of other universities. Her work is situated in the tradition of Abstract Expressionism, exploring shamanic themes of transformation. Heather is also a counseling astrologer and meditation teacher. Go to www.sublimearts.org for her blog.
Ryan Eckes lives in South Philadelphia. His poetry can be read in Scythe, Fanzine, the ixnay reader 4, Elective Affinities, and on his blog, Old News (ryaneckes.blogspot.com). He’s got a chapbook called when i come here (Plan B Press, 2007). He works at Temple University and other places.
Shayna SheNess Israel, a Brooklyn native born to a Belizean mother and a Southern Black father, is an accomplished poet, arts educator, rapper and founder. As an artist whose work is, at times, powerfully reminiscent of Black Arts Movement literature and golden era hip hop, Shayna continues to write womyn into the center of her work, believing that it is crucial to restore importance to womyn narratives. Currently, Shayna SheNess Israel lives in Swarthmore, working as a Resident Tutor and Mentor in the A Better Chance Strath Haven Boarding School Program.
Monica McIntyre is an engaging and passionate performer who brings every aspect of her spirit to shows. Wowing audiences with her deep, frame-defying voice and unorthodox cello technique, which often involves the use of: slapping, plucking and strumming. She effortlessly blends the genres of jazz, blues, soul, reggae and middle-eastern music, creating her own musical landscape. Meticulous storytelling, metaphor and word play, dominate her lyrics causing her songs to be read and heard as succinct novellas. The smoky texture and emotional quality of her voice, as it delivers these lyrics, have left audiences crying, dancing, laughing and testifying. Whether performing solo or with a full-band, Monica McIntyre is sure to introduce you to a unique, musical experience. Monica McIntyre is a cellist, vocalist, and lyricist who started playing the cello at the age of 7. Monica, originally from Hyattsville, MD, studied classical cello for 11 years. After graduating from the College of Design Arts at Drexel University, she returned to her first love music and released her debut album Blusolaz in October 2003. Monica has performed at numerous events throughout the country, most notably: The Black Women’s Art Festival, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Soul Sista’s Jukejoint and The 215 Festival. In 2004, she was featured in Philadelphia’s BInformed Magazine and City Paper. Bars of Gold, is Monica’s newest single released in August 2005 from her forth coming album, Abuse Gets Heavy.
Samantha Barrow is a poet, performer, activist and writer. She’s earning her Master’s of Science in Narrative Medicine at Columbia to fortify her work writing with and advocating for survivors of sexual assault. www.samanthabarrow.com.