Come join us in celebrating local poets with the kickoff of season 31 of Monday Poets!  

We are proud to host two great poets: 

Andrea Walls is Founder and Creative Director of Philadelphia's Museum of Black Joy. She is a poet, photographer and grassroots archivist. She is pleased to be recognized as a Philadelphia Cultural Treasure and continues to serve her communities through an art practice centered in joy.

Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela is a multi-disciplinary artist and poet who is a 2020 Pew Center for the Arts Fellow. Her poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Gulf Coast, and many other journals and anthologies. She teaches at Community College of Philadelphia where she is also a leader in the faculty and staff union. She is the founder of Thread Makes Blanket press. 

The event will be moderated by Kai Davis:

Kai Davis (she/her) is a Black Queer multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer and educator from Philadelphia. She grew up in the Germantown neighborhood, and was influenced by its hip-hop, jazz, and spoken word scene. Kai received her BA in both Africana Studies and English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Temple University. Her work explores Blackness, Queerness, womanhood, grief, and the many ways these themes converge. Kai's writing is an attempt to demystify our most overwhelming experiences.

We hope to see you there!

Parkway Central Library, Literature Department 2nd Floor 6-7pm