reader bios

allia abdullah-matta

is a poet and Professor of English at CUNY LaGuardia & The Graduate Center/Africana Studies Program. She writes about the culture and history of Black women and explores the presence of Black bodies and voices in fine art and poetry. She was the co-recipient of The Jerome Lowell DeJur Prize in Poetry (2018) from The City College of New York (CCNY). Her poetry has been published in Newtown Literary, Promethean, Marsh Hawk Review, Mom Egg Review Vox, Global City Review, the Jam Journal Issue of Push/Pull, and Queensbound. Her chapbook(s) washed clean & blues politico (2021) were published by harlequin creature (hcx). abdullah-matta has published critical and pedagogical articles and serves on the Radical Teacher and WSQ (Women’s Studies Quarterly) editorial/advisory boards. Her chapbook blackprint was published by THRASH Press (2024).

Katie Sarah Zale

believes in the power of the arts to transform and heal ourselves and the world. The Weight of a Leaf (Kelsey Press, 2024), a finalist for the Arizona Poetry Award and nominee for the social critic Eric Hoffer’s book award, offers poems about “the violence of our times…[that pave] the way to resilience.” Explain the Moon to Me (Moonstone Arts, 2022) highlights “what we do to the world—and each other.” Sometimes You Do Things (Aquarius Press’ Living Detroit Series, 2013) highlights the history and rebuilding of Detroit. The Art of Folding was inspired by her travels to Israel and Palestine (2010).  In a Buddhist sense, Zale believes in tradition and that the mind and heart are one. Poetry should make the reader feel and think deeper than they may wish. Poetry should challenge our vision about our place in the world.

Paul E Nelson

is a poet/interviewer/bioregionalist based in Seattle (Cascadia) & studied Organic Poetry in the tradition of Robert Duncan and Denise Levertov. He has interviewed over 100 poets: Michael McClure, Allen Ginsberg, Diane di Prima, Nate Mackey & Brenda Hillman among them. He founded the Cascadia Poetics Lab and his latest book of poetry is DaySong Miracle (Past 62) written on September 8, 2023.

Roxi Power

is poet, performer, and publisher whose book, The Songs That Objects Would Sing, was published in 2023. She founded the trans-genre anthology series, Viz. Inter-Arts at UC Santa Cruz where she teaches. Power received an AWP Intro Award and has been published in journals including American Poetry Review, Black Warrior Review, Puerto del Sol, Seneca Review. Roxi podcasts for The Hive Poetry Collective whose mission is to talk about all kinds of poetry by all kinds of people. In the spirit of Open Field Poetics and Buddhist notions of emptiness, she works toward an open ethos in her work as an anthologist, welcoming work from different poetic “tribes.” As a Bay area poet, her work is inspired by its experimental feminist poetics—including Lyn Hejinian and Brenda Hillman—and its tradition of working across genres: she co-founded Neo-Benshi (Live Film Narration).

Past Events & readings

Sunday, April 27
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
269 4th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215

The poets reading include: John Maney, Aida Zilelian, Keisha Gaye Anderson,  Cynthia Manick, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Sarah Katie Zale, Paul  E. Nelson, allia abdullah-matta and Kim Brandon.  Link to Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.

April 1, 7pm
Bookshop Santa Cruz
https://bookshopsantacruz.com/winter-in-america

Paul E. Nelson, Matt Trease, Dane Cervine, Julia Chiapella, Dion O’Reilly, Roxi Power. Audio: 4.1.2025 Bookshop Santa Cruz Winter in America (Again reading audio

Thursday, March 27, 2025
Off-site AWP at Cal State
5151 State University Dr
Los Angeles, CA
L.A.Music Hall, Theater Building. (Uber Drop off at Circle Drive).

Readers included: Rodrigo Toscano, Elizabeth Robinson, Cynthia Manick, J.P. Howard, M.A. Nicholson, Susanne Dyckman, Mark Scroggins, Angelica Recierdo, Mark Scroggins, Katie Sarah Zale, Roxi Power, Paul E Nelson, Dion O’Reilly, Holly Hughes, Matt Trease and Brenda Hillman Winter in America (Again: Poets Respond to 2024 Election (Carbonation Press, 2025).

Audio from this reading is available!
Part 1:

Part 2:

February 15, 2025 Tucson Readers

Saturday, March 1, 7pm
Et. Al. Books
2831A Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Maxine Chernoff, Susanne Dyckman, Paul Hoover, Roxi Power, Elizabeth Robinson & Kit Robinson (FLYER)

Photos, Chernoff, Hoover, Dyckman, E. Robinson, K. Robinson:

Past Readings Audio and Video

• Audio from KPFK-FM Bibliocracy Radio March 20
• Audio from KPFK-FM Bibliocracy Radio March 13
• Audio from KPFK-FM Bibliocracy Radio March 6
• Audio from KPFK-FM Bibliocracy Radio Feb 27
• Audio from KPFK-FM Bibliocracy Radio Feb 20
• Audio from KPSK-FM Bibliocracy Radio program Feb 13
• Audio from KPFK-FM Bibliocracy Radio program Feb 6
• Video from February 4, 2025 Seattle U reading
• Zoom Video from January 20, 2025
• Zoom Video from January 19, 2025