Poets of Color Podcast

Living at the intersection of blackness, womanhood, art, and activism, Nia McAllister uses writing as her sharpest tool for understanding and interrogating the complexities of her identity and the world around her. As a Bay Area born poet, avid reader, and environmental justice advocate, Nia draws creative inspiration from ideas of home, environment, and identity. She enjoys connecting her artistic outlets with opportunities for community engagement and has begun contributing to poetry collectives and regularly performing at and hosting open mics around the Bay Area.

Michael “Mic” Ting is an Asian American poet born and raised in the Bay Area. He started writing and performing poetry during his college years at Santa Clara University, and since then has competed on three national slam poetry teams (Team Palo Alto in 2014 and 2015, and The Alchemy Slam in 2016). In 2015, he helped Team Palo Alto take 2nd at Group Piece Finals during the National Poetry Slam. In addition to performing as part of a team, Mic has also competed as an individual at IWPS 2018 (Individual World Poetry Slam), InkSlam, Southwest Shootout, and NUPIC (National Underground Poetry Individual Competition). Mic is the 2018 IWPS champion and currently ranked as the #1 slam poet in the world.

Josiah Luis Alderete is a full blooded POCHO spanglish speaking poet from La Area Bahia who learned to write poetry in the kitchen of his Mama’s Mexican restaurant. He first began performing his poetry en La Mission at the infamous Thursday night readings at Cafe Babar. In the 90’s he was a founding member of San Francisco's outspoken word troupe The Molotov Mouths (whose collected writings were published by Manic D Press in 2003). Over the years Josiah Luis has been featured at numerous Mission literary events including MAPP, Voz sin Tinta, Pan Dulce Poets, Acion Latina’s Paséo de Arte, as well as San Francisco poet laureat Kim Schuck’s series honoring Mission district poets. He has been the featured reader in the East Bay at Lyrics and Dirges, Nomadic Press' First Fridays and GETLIT, as well as at BAMPFA’s Friday night reading series. In 2017 he was named an AIR New Voice Scholar and was also featured in BAMPFA’s “Wey Bay” exhibition. Josiah Luis is also a radio insurgente whose stories have appeared on KALW’s “Crosscurrents" and whose show “The Spanglish Power Hour” aired on KPFA. He curates the Latinx reading series SPEAKING AXOLOTL in Oakland which happens every third Thursday of the month at Nomadic Press Studios Uptown. Josiah Luis Alderete currently resides somewhere in North Richmond where he is still waiting for Quetzalquatl to arrive

Poets of Color Podcast episode 15 w/ Valentina de Roca Fuerte

Flavia Elisa Mora is an immigrant artivist from Mexico, raised in San Francisco.

Her writing focuses on her experience as an immigrant chingonx, spiritual old soul, and her role in intersectional feminism, and the healing of systematic oppression in unrepresented communities.

Tshaka was one of the 100 monkeys (#37) and does poetry to help speed up the process. It was said that he spat up Ethiopia while getting drunk with Thoth and Jesus. Once he read in a tabloid, that he and Crispus Attucks took the Underground Railroad to a house party in the Bronx and after 2 drinks, invented trap music.Tshaka began writing poetry long before performing it in an attempt to find his own voice and point of view within the art form. As a performer, he is recognized as an accomplished artist internationally and performance accolades include not only being a member of the Nuyorican national poetry slam team and the Da Poetry Lounge (DPL) slam team, but also earning the Grand Champion title in San Francisco and Hollywood. In 2010, he was also honored with the UK Unsigned Artist award in poetry.Tshaka has toured a number of US cities and across the globe, featuring at venues such as the legendary Apollo Theatre and the O2 in London England and has authored three books of poetry and short stories. He has collaborated on a number of musical project from jazz to house music including productions by Yoruba and FOMP recording labels. He continues to be inspired by the struggle of life, the uncertain certainty of the universe and what it chooses to hand you. His wife and daughter show him the way daily, as well as so many authors and poets such as Octavia Butler, Ben Okri, Rumi, Baldwin, and countless others who spin language like silk. He currently resides in San Jose and continues to ask the world to listen different.

"Jaz Sufi is a Kundiman fellow, a National Poetry Slam finalist, and the

slammaster of the Berkeley Slam, the longest running poetry slam on the

West Coast. She was the 2015 Berkeley Grand Slam Champ, and went on to

place third in the nation at the 2015 National Poetry Slam. She was also

San Francisco's representative to the 2013 Women of the World Poetry Slam,

a featured poet at the 2011 USF Creative Justice Art Show, and has featured

at venues across the country, from the Scottish Rites Center to performing

alongside the Townsend Opera. Her work has been published or is upcoming in

PANK, the Offing, DIALOGIST, the Dead Animal Handbook, and elsewhere.

Sometimes Jaz is sad in her poems, and that’s fine, but sometimes she’s

not, and that’s fine, too."

Poets of Color Podcast Episode 9 w/ Jasmine "Queen Jasmeen" Schlafke

Jasmine "Queen Jasmeen" Schlafke is a poet, activist and mother from Santa

Cruz, CA dedicated to expression and art. She earned her spot on a National

poetry team for the last three years and is teaching slam in alternative

high school settings, weekly. In her free time Jasmine volunteers for a

mental health network and remains committed to mental health activism and

liberation.