Artists

www.staceyannchin.com
Staceyann Chin is a fulltime artist. A resident of New York City and a Jamaican National, she has been an "out poet and political activist" since 1998. She has worn many hats, from being a performance poet accepting the rousing cheers of the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe to starring in one-woman shows off Broadway; to facilitating poetry workshops in Denmark and London to serving as both co-writer and performer in the Tony nominated, Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.

www.alixolson.com
Alix Olson is a nationally touring folk poet and progressive queer artist-activist. Being one part peace vigil, one part protest rally, and one part joyful raucous concert, Alix ignites audiences everywhere she performs.

www.ayadeleon.com
Nationally known poet, activist and public speaker. Recently seen on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents: Def Poetry.

www.basseyworld.com
This Nigerian born spoken word artist has appeared on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents: Def Poetry three times. In the past two years, she has opened up for Grammy nominated artists India Arie, Les Nubians and Luther Vandross. Bassey has also been a featured cast member of the National Touring Company of the Tony Award winning Broadway show, Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry Jam.

www.brucegeorgemedia.com
Bruce George is the co-founder of Def Poetry Jam.

www.carolyngage.com
Carolyn Gage is a lesbian-feminist playwright, performer, director and activist. The author of more than forty plays, musicals, and one-woman shows, she specializes in non-traditional roles for women.

www.cassendrexavier.com
Cassendre Xavier is a Haitian- American artist, a veritable "Renaissance Negresse" whose achievements are nothing short of earthshattering.

www.claudiaalick.com
Claudia Alick is a playwright, performance artist, actress, poet, and producer. She is the Artistic Director of Smokin Word Productions and Products: a theatre, recording, and small press company dedicated to spoken word and hip-hop.

www.daphnemuse.com
Daphne Muse-Writer, Social Commentator, Editor, Curriculum and Archival Consultant, and Poet.

www.dashakelly.com
Freelance writer, performance poet, advocate and army brat.

www.dayoonline.com
Writing brings joy to my heart...the kind of joy that runs from the pit of my soul!

www.deloresthornton.com
Author, reviewer and radio talk show host.

www.dreamweaverpress.net
Andrea Blackstone is a DC area author. Her book, "Schemin': Confessions of Gold Digger" is now available for purchase.

www.ebabypoems.com
A poet that paints pictures with words and teaches through the entertainment of poetry.

www.ebele.co.uk
Nigerian East Londoner poet.

www.elliottorres.com
Elliot Torres's debut collection of poetry, "Five Years of Solitary" was released to an enthusiastic response. It chronicled his experiences in New York City as a gay Puerto Rican man.

www.emanuelxavier.com
Emanuel Xavier is author of the Lambda Literary Award nominated novel, "Christlike", and the poetry collections: "Pier Queen" and "Americano". He is also editor of "Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry" and has been featured as a guest host of PBS's "In The Life" and on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO. He will also appear in the feature film, "The Ski Trip", an MTV production directed by Maurice Jamal. He is recipient of the Marsha A. Gomez Cultural Heritage Award and a New York City Council Citation.

www.gayledanley.com
Most known for garnering the title of 1994 National Poetry Slam Individual Champion in Ashville, NC just months after being exposed to Poetry Slam. In Heidelberg, Germany, she became the 1996 International Slam Poet Champion.

www.iambenjaminhughes.com
Benjamin Hughes is a freelance writer, poet and consummate performer. His contribution in poetic works, opinions and commentaries can be seen in such publications (on and offline) as: thewriterscrib.com, DefPoetryJam.com, freechoicemedia.com, poeticnites.com, Spoken Vizions Magazine, to name a few. He has published a chapbook and performs his work throughout the United States.

www.iamtyla.com
Tyla is an accomplished actor, writer, director, and spoken-word artist. She is the author of the book "Red Wine and the Bles'sed Monkey".

www.ingridrivera.com
Ingrid Rivera is a Black Boricua, economic, and social justice activist/poet.

www.ishle.com
Ishle Yi Park is a Korean-American woman who is the Poet Laureate of Queens, New York. She has been published in "The Best American Poetry of 2003", and was featured on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents: Def Poetry and is currently on tour with the show.

www.illpoets.com
A collective of some of DC's hottest poets!
Check out their new CD - All Seasons.

www.illegalpoet.com
Audley A. Astwood is a poetic rule breaker. He possesses a unique and innovative style of writing that thrives on originality.

www.jahipster.com
After three books of poetry, spoken soul artist JaHipster unleashes her poetic politic for the masses with her debut CD project, "The Legend of AFRODITE" (April 2003). This conscious diva soul poet hippie afro’d taurean tiger child is the re-evolution of the literary in spoken word.

www.jened.com
is both a WO/mon and concept: writer, renegade poet, filmmaker, active-ist. The focus of her work is challenging - people, institutions, perceptions.

www.jkwitherow.com
Judith is a storyteller, poet and essayist known for her work on race, class, gender and sexual orientation. Her book of poetry, "All Things Wild", was recently reviewed in Lambda Book Report. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural journal by and for Lesbians.

www.jsamlarose.com
Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet and a writer. He has appeared at numerous UK venues including The Royal Festival Hall, Bath Literature Festival, Jazz Café and Portobello Festival. He is a touring writer with the British Council including appearances at Museum of Modern Art (Finland) and Mylos Theatre, Greece.

www.kahndavison.com
Kahn Davison is one of the most respected poets/authors/actors/journalist/photographers/activist in Michigan.

www.kayadavis.com
Kaya Davis is a poetic momi and writer.

www.KelletteGale.com
I am an artist. Poet, if you will. The brush is my intellect. The paint, the energy within my being. I shape its flow with my consciousness.

www.kwamealexander.com
Kwame Alexander is a poet, publishing consultant, playwright, burgeoning television producer, and the author of Dancing Naked on the Floor (poems and essays), an April 2005 release from The Writer's Lair Books.

www.latorialfaison.com
A North Chicago Poet and Author. She is available for signings and public readings in schools and book groups.

www.lemnsissay.com
A Manchester, London performance poet.

www.marclacy.com
A Hunstville, Alabama poet/author. Latest release - "The Looking Heart"

www.MartyMcConnell.com
Marty McConnell transplanted herself from Chicago to New York City in 1999, after completing three national tours with the Morrigan, an all-female performance poetry troupe she co-founded. She received her MFA in creative writing/poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and competed in the 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 National Poetry Slams with the NYC/Union Square team. She is a member of The louderARTS Project, which runs two reading series, ongoing workshops and collaborative performances in NYC. She is also co-founder of The Piper Jane Project, a collective of phenomenal female poets: Marty McConnell, Lynn Procope, Rachel McKibbens and Emily Kagan.

www.michaelcoulombe.com
Poet, playwright, and storyteller, Michael Coulombe is a writer that focuses on the human condition, its emotions, its truths, and seeks to present it through the confines of a variety of written media.

www.mintonsparks.com
Minton Sparks paints word pictures of the rural South that put you square in the middle of the people and the place she knows like the back of her hand.

www.mochasistah.com
Pam Osbey is an accomplished vocalist, poet, and freelance writer. She is a powerful spoken word artist with a mission to uplift and empower women and people of color.

www.nedrajohnson.com
While her sound may best be described as blues-based R&B, Nedra fits easily into folk, rock, jazz and popular R&B sets having shared stages with Bo Diddley, Taj Mahal, Michelle Shocked, Ferron, Cris Williamson and Howard Johnson & Gravity, to name a few.

www.ngomazworld.com
Ngoma is a performance poet, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and paradigm shifter, who for over 30 years has used culture as a tool to raise sociopolitical and spiritual consciousness through work that encourages critical thought. A former member of the SPIRIT HOUSE MOVERS AND PLAYERS with Amiri Baraka and the Contemporary Freedom Song Duo, SERIOUS BIZNESS, Ngoma weaves poetry and song that raises contradictions and searches for a solution for a just and peaceful world.

www.niiparkes.com
London performance poet and writer.

www.phenzology.com
Author, award winning performance poet & internationally recognised spoken word recording artist, Phenzwaan.

www.queensheba.org
Internationally known spoken word artist, Queen Sheba.

www.reddirt.biz
Tim'm T. West, an educator, scholar, journalist, poet, and rapper.

www.roseprose.com
Literary Artist

www.sandrabeasley.com
Freelance writer, photographer and poet

www.saulwilliams.com
To thousands of youth across America, Saul Williams has defined and redefined poetry as an accessible, living art form. His poetry has served as the archetype for a new generation of poets and spoken word artist.

www.searchingforsonray.com
With the rhythm of a fluid wave breaking against a rugged shore, Regena "Sonray" Anderson delivers her hypnotic hybrid of soulful prose tempered by a spirited edge that speaks of politics, social commentary, and spiritual awareness.

www.shoutedword.com
Jackie Sheeler is a native New Yorker, an award winning writer, and a renegade.

www.silknknots.com
Cheryl B. Sellers. Author of "Painted Words".

www.soledler.com
Sol Edler - Some of the the best vocals you'll here in your lifetime.

www.SonyaReneeIs.com
Sonya Renee is a captivating, crazy and plain cool spoken word artist. She is also the 2004 National Poetry Slam Individual Champion! She recently represented Houston at the 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam where she ranked in the top 12 of the world.

www.taylormali.com
If you haven't heard him, you AIN'T ready! This former English teacher has done everything from being on four winning National Poetry Slam teams to being the voice in a Burger King Commercial ad. His goal is to create 1,000 teachers in his career. He teaches workshops and hold speaking engagements throughout the world.

www.theoriginalwoman.com
This people’s soldier, a native of North Carolina, has been educating, training, and mobilizing since 1996. Recruiting soldiers one by one, she prepares to mobilize an army around unity, African self-determination, and feminism.

www.Tzynya.com
author, poet, writer

www.welfarepoets.com
The Welfare Poets are a collective of activists, educators, and artists together since 1990. Through teaching residencies and workshops, through activism around community struggles and through sharp-edged performances of music that incorporates Hip Hop, Bomba y Plena, Latin Jazz and other rhythms, the Welfare Poets bring information and inspiration to those facing oppression and those fighting for liberation

www.weusandcompany.com
Emily Means-Willis, novelist, literary reviewer and columnist.