2024 COME HEAR! BIOS

1. Regie Cabico is the author of A Rabbit In Search of A Rolex (Day Eight, 2023) and Interim Executive Director of A Gathering of The Tribes.

2. Guillermo Castro Filice is an immigrant from Argentina, the author of the chapbooks Mixtape for a War and Agua, Fuego. His work appears in The Best American Poetry 2023 and journals such as Allium, Barrow Street, The Brooklyn Rail, Impossible Archetype, Mudroom, and many more. He lives in New Jersey with his husband.

3. Lonely Christopher is the author of five books, most recently the poetry collections In a January Would and the 10th-anniversary reissue of Death & Disaster Series. He is the founding creative director of Inter Poets Theater, managing director of the Segue Foundation, and an editor for Roof Books.

4. Maria Lorena Llagas-Marbella (she/they) is a transfemme, genderqueer Filipina/x storyteller, and community organizer based in New York City. A poet, a writer, and a mistress of Jollibee-based innuendo, she has featured at venues such as Luya Poetry in Chicago, the Bowery Poetry Club, and the 2019 Asian American Literature Festival in Washington, DC. Their poem “Death Becomes the Artist as a Young Man” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

5. Kim Roberts is the author of six books of poems, most recently Corona/Crown, a cross-disciplinary collaboration with photographer Robert Revere (WordTech Editions, 2023). Roberts edited By Broad Potomac’s Shore: Great Poems from the Early Days of our Nation’s Capital (University of Virginia Press, 2020)Roberts co-curates DC Pride Poem-a-Day each June with filmmaker Jon Gann. http://www.kimroberts.org

6. Lauren Taglienti is a poet, playwright, and novelist who also writes essays and anything else she feels called to. Most of her writing involves her obsession with the juxtaposition of beauty and violence, as well as her fascination with all paradoxes and opposites that coexist in varying degrees of balance. She’s in love with exploring how everything is dystopian yet has occasional glimmers of joy.

7. Ron Drummond is the author of "Why I Kick At Night.” His poems have appeared in Barrow Street, Bellevue Literary Review, Borderlands, Columbia Review, Court Green, Global City Review, Guernica, The Journal, La Presa, Nine Mile, Northwest Review, Ocean State Review, Terra Incognita and U.S. Latino Review, as well as in various anthologies. He has been awarded fellowships from Ragdale, VCCA, Blue Mountain Center, and the Macondo Foundation.

8. Bruce Whitacre is the author of Good Housekeeping (Poets Wear Prada, 2024). He is a BookLife Reviews Editors Pick. The Elk in the Glade: The World of Pioneer and Painter Jennie Hicks, placed 2nd in Contemporary Poetry at The BookFest Spring 2023. His crown sonnet about the culture of violence won the Nebraska Poetry Society’s 2023 Open Poetry Contest. A retired theatre executive, he lives in Forest Hills with his husband. www.brucewhitacre.com.

9. Sean Patrick Mulroy is an award-winning author, educator, activist, and multi-disciplinary artist from the American South. His collection, Hated for the Gods, represents years of research into the history of gay rights and politics at home and abroad, from prehistory to the present day. http://www.thevanishingman.com

10. Drew Pisarra is the author of three poetry collections: Infinity Standing Up (Capturing Fire Press, 2019), Periodic Boyfriends (Capturing Fire Press, 2021), and Fassbinder: His Movies, My Poems (Anxiety Press, 2024).

11. Pamela Booker is a 2024 NJ State Council on the Arts Prose Fellow in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, for the novel-in-stories manuscript, Dill’s Mirrors and the Lizzies, currently under review, and also a 2023 Newark ArtStart awards grantee. Publications are featured in various outlets, notably, the critically acclaimed anthology Blacktino Queer Performance, Duke Univ. Press, and more recent contributions to About Place Journal Issue: Works of Resistance, Resilience, Dark Matter Women Witnessing, Issue #14, Akashic Books, and Anthropology of Consciousness Journal. A passionate eco-activist, Pamela launched WheresYourTree.com, an advocate for restorative urban green initiatives, and teaches Writing Studies/Theater Arts at Montclair State University. @pamelabooker19.

12. Jayson P. Smith is an interdisciplinary artist, poet, & curator from The Bronx. Their writing & performance work has been featured at The Guggenheim, Miriam Gallery, & The Poetry Project, among others. J is the founding curator & host of NOMAD Readings, based in Brooklyn, NY—find them on a dance floor or at jaysonpsmith.com.

13. Ayodeji Otuyelu is an award-winning LGBT filmmaker and poet from Nigeria. His self-published, first poetry collection Words in my Head (2020) explores such themes as love, sex, sadness, and the complexities of life. This book was adapted into the experimental film UNSAID which has won several accolades across the United States and been screened around the globe. He is currently working on his second book The Sane Side of a Lost Child, a collection of poetry and prose.

14. Joan Larkin’s sixth book of poems, Old Stranger, will be out from Alice James Books in August. She co-founded Out & Out Books during the 1970s feminist literary explosion and co-edited Amazon Poetry and Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time. Her work includes Sor Juana’s Love Poems, a bilingual collection translated with Jaime Manrique; and Glad Day: Meditations for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People.

15. Mare Davis has been madly in love with Monica Shinn for over half her life, and has written dozens of essays, a book of poems, and hundreds of letters telling their story, a story which is romantic, sexy, scary, full of suspense, altogether thrilling and every word true. Now she has almost finished writing her memoir, Dangerous Kisses, a book that has been called, “Unlike anything else you have ever read.” She will soon be shopping for a queer agent and publisher.

16. Ben Fears (they/he) is a songwriter, performer, musician, and interdisciplinary artist. Born and raised playing bluegrass in southern Indiana, Fears was captivated by the power of music and performance to connect people. Ben's band, Qu!et For The Neighbors, performs extensively across the city, seamlessly blending Queer Performance with Rock and Roll.

17. Michael McKeown Bondhus (formerly Charlie) is the author of Divining Bones (Sundress, 2018), How the Boy Might See It (Jane’s Boy Press, 2015), and All the Heat We Could Carry (Main Street Rag, 2013), winner of the Thom Gunn Award. His work’s appeared in Poetry, Poetry Ireland Review, Hotel Amerika, Court Green, Hayden’s Ferry Review, diode, and Copper Nickel. More at: http://michaelbondhus.com. Instagram: BondhusPoetry.

18. Malcolm Tariq is a poet and playwright from Savannah, Georgia. He is the author of Heed the Hollow (Graywolf, 2020) and lives in Brooklyn, where he is the senior editorial manager for PEN America's Prison and Justice Writing Program.

19. Casey Catherine Moore (she/her) is a bipolar, bisexual poet, educator, and writing coach. She holds a Ph.D. in CompLit from U of SC, focusing on Latin poetry, invective, and gender studies. Casey’s work centers gender, sexuality, and dis/ability and can be found in The Comparatist, Sinister Wisdom, Oyster River Pages, A Thin Slice of Anxiety, and Samfiftyfour. She co-produces/co-hosts Homo Stanzas, a queer poetry/comedy series, is the founder and producer of Electric Euphoria, a queer and neurodivergent showcase and series, and hosts open mics at Busboys & Poets Brookland. Her performance credits include The Kennedy Center, Poetry Out Loud, The Nail Salon, Capturing Fire, and the 2022 Medicare for All Rally in DC. www.caseycatherinemoorephd.com IG: caseycatherinemoore

20. Chris Thomas is a Queer Black Non-Binary award-winning poet and devoted teaching artist wielding words to champion Child Abuse Prevention, LGBTQIA rights, and Mental Health Awareness. Their workshop, Writing to Wellness™, empowers healing through poetry amid trauma. Through poetry and advocacy, they shape an inclusive world. Behold the non-binary visionary: Mx. Chris Thomas

21. Marlee Alcina Miller (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist with a special focus on writing and performance. Her work explores the dreamscape, love in all its many forms, and radical vulnerability. She attributes a large part of her artistic influence to dancing with her queer chosen family, Audre Lorde, writing her signature love letters, and her ancestral lineage. Marlee Alcina also has an MFA in Narrative Nonfiction from the University of Georgia. She is the author of “Mommy Issues; Poems for the Fragile, Queer Heart.” Their writing has also appeared in previous issues of Sinister Wisdom: A Multicultural Lesbian Literary & Art journal.

22. Korie La Té is a 25 years old Spoken Word Artist #ScorpioSZN. She was born in the lovely PG County Maryland and has lived there all her life, even pursuing her Psychology degree at the University of Maryland. She has been featured at HomoStanzas, Spit Dat DC, and Busboys and Poets and loves being on a stage. She believes authenticity and expression have been transformative components in improving her personal mental health and encourages everybody to get on a stage to express their own art. Check out her YouTube Channel: My name is Korie https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbto87mGiQJT4nxaamN8PrA

23. Aurora Hatchel is a thirty-four-year-old trans woman living in Washington, D.C. with her partner, four children, and three cats. She has been writing poetry for twenty years, plays for eleven, and novels for nine across multiple genres, specifically young adult, LGBTQIA+, and fantasy. Her poetry focuses on the intersection of mental health, trauma, spirituality, and gender.

24. Adrian Gaston Garcia (aka AGG) is a queer Latine storyteller whose mission is to share narratives that build community. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. Adrian fuels his creativity via the performing arts, specifically theater, improv, and spoken word poetry. His work is largely based on his experiences and the intersectionality of his identities. It is a shout-out to all the queer brown boys who choose joy as their form of resistance. Adrian is the co-host and producer of Los Bookis Podcast, a podcast for queer Latine bookworms who love queer Latine stories. https://linktr.ee/adriangaston.garcia https://los-bookis-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes

25. January Santoso (she/her) is a poet, DJ & designer from California. She is currently an MFA student at the University of Maryland. Her poems have been published by Pink Disco Magazine and Palaver, and are forthcoming in The Meadow and SHIFT. Instagram TikTok

26. Micah the Poet (poet / performer / playwright) is a writer, poet, author, orator, DJ, and community activist and has been featured in the Washington Post, Capturing Fire Productions, Busboys & Poets & the Bowery Poetry Club. His first full-length collection of poetry Things No One Else Wants to Say was published by Capturing Fire Press. Most notable recent performances include The Mayor’s District of Pride Showcase at Lincoln Theater, The Whitney Museum’s 2022 Biennial, and Queer Family Pride Weekend. Micah the Poet captivates audiences with his colorful combination of words, music, and folklore. (Facebook, Insta, Twitter: MicahthePoet)

27. Bakar Wilson (he/him) is a queer poet and English professor. His debut collection of poetry titled, Daddy Show, is being published by Get Fresh Books based here in New York City and is due out in Spring 2025.

28. Tonya Hegamin (she/her) MFA, is a queer, disabled, BIWOC, award-winning, cross-genre author, artist, and tenured professor. You can find her on Instagram @itsmetonyacherie.

29. r. erica doyle was born in Brooklyn to Trinidadian immigrant parents. Her debut collection, proxy (Belladonna* Books, 2013), won the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America and was a Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Poetry. She has received grants and awards from the Hurston/Wright Foundation, Astraea Lesbian Writers Fund, and was a New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellow and a Cave Canem: A Workshop and Retreat for Black Writers Fellow

30. Rae De Vine (she/they) is a Queer, Black, and Indígena storyteller and facilitator who deeply believes in the transformative power of the arts in education. She has appeared off-Broadway, on television, in concert, and in the streets; and her poetry often explores themes of loss and reclamation as an adoptee who holds multiple identities at once. Most recently, she participated in the Cave Canem workshop Let Us Play, performed in the Lavender Room Series at Taylor & Co. bookstore, and is in the newest cohort of the 2024 Penguin Random House Audio Narrator Mentorship. She also works in the Education department at the Metropolitan Opera and is working on her one-woman interdisciplinary show and accompanying book of poetry: ECHOES. Rae lives in Brooklyn with their fiancée and two fur babes. @raekdevine

31. Effy Guzman is a Mexican-Salvadoran writer whose work engages with documentary poetics and all the tethering and untethering required of a bleating heart. Currently, she’s busy being terminally sincere, reading horror theory, or having good conversations. You can follow her on Instagram @effypls

32. Al Salwen is a trans poet, playwright, and fungi enthusiast whose work has been published in A Gathering Of The Tribes, Superpresent, Boston Art Review, and elsewhere. Their play, Soup Play, was produced by SHOW/UP Theater Collective in 2019. They live in Brooklyn with their cat.

33. Andrew Tye is from a town called Temple. He believes all humans are poets. Check out his forthcoming debut My Son on his Instagram page @andrewtyewrites.

34. Anthony DiPietro composed his 2021 chapbook And Walk Through (Seven Kitchens Press) on a typewriter during the pandemic lockdowns. kiss & release is his debut collection. His writing and readings are featured on his website, www.AnthonyWriter.com.

35. Dhante Bunbury aka DHANTÉ is a Brooklyn-raised, Caribbean abstract collage artist, painter, and poet. Within his artistic forms, he explores how the chaotic juxtaposition of color and texture represents the complexities of self-discovery, racial and cultural exclusion.

36. Nathaniel A. Siegel is a GAY poet in the tradition of homoSEXual writers, thinkers and doers throughOUT time immemorial. His chapbook Tony is published by Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs. He created the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual + Poetry Reading: COME HEAR ! with poet Regie Cabico to present L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ poets to L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ persons in L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ friendly places !

37. Bryan Borland is the founding publisher of Sibling Rivalry Press and author of DIG, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry, and a Stonewall Honor Book in Literature as selected by the American Library Association.

38. Chauncey Dandridge aka DJ Chauncey D has been a sound selector for just about every gay bar in the city throughout his 21-year career from The East Village to The West Village and beyond. He produces a monthly variety show at Stonewall called Freak Out featuring local queer musicians and artists. Throughout the years he has lent his talents and support to countless fundraisers and causes and is one of the producers of the annual New York Dance Parade and Festival each May. Chauncey has been writing poetry for as long as he can remember and looks forward to presenting his work each year at The Rainbow Book Fair!

39. Shelby Marne (she/her) grew up in Southern California. She studied creative writing and filmmaking at NYU’s Gallatin School and currently runs her own small production business. Her belief is that all poetry needs to be universal, and deeply honest. As a result, her readers sometimes claim voyeuristic guilt, but that rawness finds cushion in a darkly comedic view of femininity, grief, and generational cycles. Her first book is in the works.

40. James Pergola studied creative writing and graphic design at NYU. He holds a degree in Pastry Arts and has dabbled in wine learning and public speaking. He currently resides in Queens, NY, and has found professional refuge in the interesting world of coffee. Each of these things, he likes to think, somehow influences his work.

41. Reece Borden is a Texan poet and screenwriter living in Brooklyn. He is the host of the monthly poetry open mic The Sowing Circle. Reece has written for films and podcasts. His original television pilot “Texas & Alexis” is premiering this year.

42. Emanuel Xavier is the author of Pier Queen, Americano, If Jesus Were Gay, Nefarious, Radiance, Selected Poems of Emanuel Xavier, and Love(ly) Child (shortlisted for a 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry). He is the recipient of a New York City Council Citation and a Gay City Impact Award for his contributions to NYC arts culture. His books have been finalists for International Latino Book Awards and Lambda Literary Awards and his work has appeared in Poetry, A Gathering of the Tribes, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. He is on the Board of The Publishing Triangle and lives with his husband in Staten Island, NY. www.emanuelxavier.org