Giving Tongue is a reading that will feature a multi-cultural and multi-generational line-up of lesbian- and queer-identified poets. The event will celebrate decades of the vibrant presence of lesbian poetry in Los Angeles, reflecting a range of styles—poetry for the page and for the stage—and content.
PARTICIPATING POETS:
Eloise Klein Healy is the founding editor of Arktoi Books and the founding chair of the MFA In Creative Writing program at Antioch University Los Angeles. She is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently a collection of selected and new work titled A Wild Surmise. She was the first Poet Laureate of the City of Los Angeles.
Terry Wolverton is the author of eleven books of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. Her newest collection of poetry, out in 2017, is Ruin Porn. She has also edited fifteen collections of literary work, including (with Robert Drake) the three-volume series His: Brilliant New Fiction by Gay Men and Hers: Brilliant New Fiction by Lesbians.
Olga García Echeverría was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California. She has a BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. Currently, she teaches ESL to adult immigrants in Koreatown and English to high students via the Upward Bound Program. Her first book, Falling Angels: Cuentos y Poemas, was published by Calaca Press and Chibcha Press.
Rocío Carlos was born and raised in the South/East areas of Los Angeles. Rocío has been reading her work all over L.A. since 1993. In 2003 she was chosen as a recipient of PEN USA’s Emerging Voices/Rosenthal fellowship. She is a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA program at Otis of College of Art and Design and continues to live and teach in Los Angeles. She is currently collaborating with Rachel Mcleod Kaminer on a year-long documentary poetry project, Attendance.
Traci Akemi Kato-kiriyama is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer/author, actor, arts educator & community organizer. She is one half of the award-winning PULLproject Ensemble with actor/aerial artist, Kennedy Kabasares. She is the Co-Founder and Director for Tuesday Night Project, presenter of the Tuesday Night Cafe Series now in its 18th year and the longest-running Asian American mic series in the country. She is author of a book of poetry, signaling (The Undeniables Press) and columnist for the Rafu Shimpo's Through The Fire.
Jo Paradigm Roberts: A native of the Universe, Joann Cathleen Roberts, known as simply “Jo” or by her recent stage alias “Paradigm”, grew up in the Chicago area. A poet/MC, musician, and producer, she is currently based in Los Angeles and has performed throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. Her work has been featured on many LGBTQ websites, blog talk radio stations, and promoted by many organizations such as Butch Voices, The Quare Square Collective, and The Spitfire Poetry Group. She continues to release a number of albums and poetry books since first taking her art on the road in 2012.