Words and Shit

We've arrived at the end of Season 3 of Words and Shit! And to close it all out we're bringing on our hosts to interview each other, reminisce about their favorite moments of the season, share some of their work, and GIVE AWAY SOME PRIZES! We have books from our featured authors, t-shirts, and more. Get to know your hosts, catch some of the most memorable moments of season 3, and win some great goodies!

We're welcoming award winning author Kemi Alabi into the Words and Shit studio to talk about their upcoming book, past successes, the importance of the work they're doing in the black and brown queer and trans spaces, and so much more! Tune in live to get to know the person behind the poetry!

Kemi Alabi is the author of AGAINST HEAVEN (Graywolf Press, 2022), selected by Claudia Rankine as winner of the 2021 Academy of American Poets First Book Award. Their poems and essays have been published in the Atlantic, Poetry, Boston Review, Catapult, Guernica, them., the BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2, Best New Poets 2019, and elsewhere. Selected by Chen Chen as winner of the 2020 Beacon Street Poetry Prize, Kemi has received Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and Brittle Paper Award nominations along with support from MacDowell, Civitella Ranieri, Tin House and Pink Door. They’ve performed their work across the United States for schools, universities, museums, libraries, theaters, conferences, festivals, protests and more. A Mass LEAP-trained teaching artist, they’ve worked with students of all ages.

Kemi believes in the world-shifting power of words and the radical imaginations of Black queer and trans people. As cultural strategy director of Forward Together, they built political power with cultural workers of color through programs like Echoing Ida, a home for Black women and nonbinary writers, and annual art campaigns like Trans Day of Resilience. The Echoing Ida Collection, coedited with Cynthia R. Greenlee and Janna Zinzi, is available now from Feminist Press.

Words and Shit will be recorded in front of a LIVE AUDIENCE at the Stonewall International Poetry Slam (SIPS) Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, and we brought back a friend of the show for this very special occasion: Sha'Condria "iCon" Sices-Sibley joined us to talk about her new book, the journey to publication, and the life after.

SHA'CONDRIA “iCon” SIBLEY is an Alexandria, Louisiana native and longtime New Orleans-based poet, writer, performing artist, visual artist, and teaching artist. A multiple-time national poetry slam champion, Sha'Condria travels the country performing, including at colleges and universities, and has made many television and stage appearances, including TV One’s Verses and Flow and at the mainstage at Essence Music Festival. Her work has been featured on many outlets such as Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, BET, BBC World Radio, as well as in several exhibits, documentaries, and anthologies. She has starred in several stageplays, featured on musical projects with multiple national and Grammy-nominated recording artists, and co-wrote two short films, also starring in one. Sha'Condria is the author of a newly published collection of poetry, My Name Is Pronounced Holy: A Collection of Poems, Prayers, Rememberings, and Reclamations.

Baltimore poet Kenneth Something drops into the Words and Shit studio and we discuss organizing, artivism, the upcoming Stonewall International Poetry Slam Festival, and so much more! Tune in live to get to know the person behind the poetry!

Kenneth Something is a poet, playwright. educator and organizer. However, he is best described as an artivist. Kenneth has been working/creating at the intersection of art and social justice for over ten years. He is the founder and former executive director of DewMore Baltimore, former executive director of Pride Center of Maryland, member of Sons of Baldwin (a LGBTQ spoken word collective) and a professor at Maryland Institute College of Art. Kenneth is the director of programming for the Black Arts District. Kenneth is a 2x National Poetry Slam champion, 3 x DC Pride Slam champion, 2x Baltimore Poetry Grand Slam Champion and was ranked 3rd slam poet in the world in 2017. He is the author of two books "Bricks and Dandelions' and "Baldwin Sent Me".

Join Rooster and Chibbi as they welcome Chicana poet Karla Cordero into the Words and Shit studio. Tune in live to be part of the conversation and get to know the person behind the poetry!

Karla Cordero is a Chicana poet, educator, and ARTtivist, raised along the borderlands of Calexico, CA. As a performing artist, Karla is the 2013 Grand Slam Champion, aiding the Elevated San Diego Slam Team to rank 4th in the nation at the National Poetry Slam Competition. She has performed for television networks such as NBC 7 San Diego, TBN Juice Live, and the Old Globe Theater. Her poems have appeared in Oprah Magazine, NPR, Academy of American Poets,, The Break Beat Poets Volume 4. LatiNEXT Anthology, among other publications. Karla is the author of How To Pull Apart The Earth (NOT A CULT. ) a 2019 San Diego Book Award winner and awarding-winning finalist for the 2019 International Latino Book Award and the 2019 International Book Award. She currently serves as a professor of creative writing and composition at MiraCosta College . You can follow her work @karlaflaka13

San Antonio poetry institution Anthony "The Poet" Flores drops by the Words and Shit studio to spit some poems and share some stories. Tune in live to get to know the person behind the poetry and be part of the conversation!

Anthony "The Poet" Flores is a 3-time San Antonio Grand Slam Poetry Champion who has represented our city in competition on six different occasions at the National Poetry Slam. He has performed his work all over the United States, from local schools and community centers to H.B.O.'s Def Poetry Jam to the famous Lincoln Center in New York City. He is a co-founder of Fresh Ink Under-21 Youth Poetry Slam, the first poetry slam & open-mic for teenagers in San Antonio, and he has also been a judge for S.A.'s La Voz City-Wide Spoken Word Competition. Anthony The Poet has also recently completed his 9th year of serving as a judge for the San Antonio Public Library's Young Pegasus Poetry Contest, the oldest poetry contest for kids and young adults in the nation. Six years ago, he founded The University Of The Spoken Word, a collective of spoken word artists that has performed at some of the city's most high-profile cultural events, including Una Noche En La Gloria, Luminaria, and the touring Matisse & Pablo Picasso Tapestries exhibits at the San Antonio Museum of Art, to name a few. His widely popular "Manu Ginobili" poem was published as part of the Manu Ginobili Tribute Poster by the San Antonio Express-News, and he was named "Best Local Poet" in the San Antonio Current's "Best of San Antonio 2018" issue. He released his first full-length book of poetry, CINCUENTA, in January of 2020. He is a full-time poet who lives & works on the Southside of S.A.

This week powerhouse poet Glori B drops into the Words and Shit studio to share some words and wisdom! Join Chibbi and Raqui and tune in live to get to know the person behind the poetry!

Glori B. is the stage name of Gloria C. Adams, a poet, teacher, mother, and leader in the Austin slam scene. She has competed on Final Stage at the National Poetry Slam, the Women of the World Poetry Slam, and Texas Grand Slam and is a three-time National Haiku Head-to-Head Champion. She is the author of seven chapbooks, and her work can be found on YouTube and Facebook video via Write About Now.

Mason Granger drops into the Words and Shit studio to talk about his work with the youth, his digital projects, his life as the mortar, and his future!

Mason Granger is a poet with 15+ years of professional experience on stage & in classrooms across 49 states and six countries. He created the poetry video platform SlamFind as a way to connect poets & poetry fans with live poetry venues around the country, and continues in the spirit of that work as Manager of Community Outreach with Get Lit and thru multiple forthcoming creative projects.

This week, RADI stops by the Words and Shit studio to drop some poems and knowledge!

Def Jam Poet and author of One Name, All CAPS; RADI, is an artist, teacher, workshop facilitator, & award winning writer specializing in spoken word. Her work covers topics such as Civil rights, body/sex positivity, colorism, sexism & more, all while reflecting her real life experiences as a fat black lesbian. She uses creative concepts to force those in earshot of her voice to question how they see the world. She reigns as the 3x Poetry Slam Champion of the number one team in the nation, New Jeru Slam team. She is the 2021 Baltimore Pride Slam Champion, the last Slam Champion of The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and a former member of the International Brooklyn Slam team with whom she featured at the 2019 Carnival Slam in the beautiful island of Antigua, but her most prized accomplishment was being the 3rd top Female Slam poet in the world for 2 consecutive years!