Words and Shit

Brandon Leake is the winner of Season 15 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. He is also the Founder and CEO of Called To Move – CTM, is an artistic visionary whose roots lie in the ghettos of the south side of Stockton, California. Being born and raised to a single parent household with his mother, Carla Leake-Gibson, Brandon was accustomed to the complexities of playing this game of life with the decks stacked against you. However, with a strong home life and some divine intervention Brandon made it out of his neighborhood ghetto into a college classroom. This journey came with its many trials from the loss of integral members of his family and abusive home life, but these trails mixed with this spiritual collegiate journey would soon blossom into a beautiful poetic journey.

In 2012 Brandon started Called To Move – CTM at Simpson University with a small group of artists just trying to share their gifts and encourage others to do so, which has lead its way into inspiring others through poetry all across the country. Brandon Leake has traveled across the country and abroad performing his pieces, leading spoken word poetry workshops, and keynote speaking.

ShaCondria "iCon" Sibley is an Alexandria, Louisiana native, and longtime New Orleans-based, award-winning poet, author, performing artist, visual artist, teaching artist, host, event curator, and creator of the viral “to all the little Black girls with big names” movement. A multiple-time national poetry slam champion and performer, she travels the country and has made many television and stage appearances, including on TV One's Verses and Flow and on the mainstage at the Essence Music Festival. Her work has been featured on many outlets such as Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, InStyle, BET, and BBC World Radio. She has also featured on musical projects with multiple national recording artists and has co-written two short films. iCon uses her work/words largely to speak on her existence as a southern Blk woman as they relate to identity, family/community, faith, and healing. Her first published work, My Name Is Pronounced Holy, will be available Winter 2020.

Dr. Adam Falkner is a poet, educator and arts & culture strategist. He is the author of The Willies (Button Poetry, 2020) and Adoption (Winner of the 2017 Diode Editions Chapbook Award), and his work has appeared in a range of print and media spaces including on programming for HBO, NBC, NPR, in the New York Times, and elsewhere. A former high school English teacher in New York City’s public schools, Adam is the Founder and Executive Director of the pioneering diversity consulting initiative, the Dialogue Arts Project, in which capacity he develops and facilitates trainings for schools, companies and cultural institutions across the country. Adam has toured the United States as a guest artist, lecturer and trainer for thousands of students, educators and corporate employees, and was the featured performer at President Obama’s Grassroots Ball at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. He holds a Ph.D. in English and Education from Columbia University.

Boris “Bluz” Rogers has risen through the ranks of spoken word entertainment. He is an Emmy Award winner, has been recognized with an Excellence in Leadership award from the NAACP, is the current Director of Creative Engagement for Blumenthal Performing Arts, and is the slam master and coach of SlamCharlotte - the competitive team of poets whom he led to back to back National Poetry Slam victories in 2007 and 2008 and a historic 3rd win in 2018. Bluz is also a 2010 Southern Fried Poetry Slam Champion.

He has featured and hosted at the LA Poetry festival as well as the National Poetry Slam (2012) and the Individual World Poetry Slam (2013). Bluz also served as a delegate and writer for the All-America City awards where he helped Charlotte win the distinction of All-America City.

Black Chakra is a spoken word and hip-hop artist whose talents have been showcased on stages across America. In his time competing in poetry slam competitions he has been a national poetry slam champion, Texas Grand Slam champion, Southern Fried slam champion, and a plethora of other titles too long to list. Black Chakra embodies the city of Baltimore through aggressive performance and incredible writing. Next to being the talented writer that he is what he takes most pride in is being a youth poetry teacher for Dewmore Baltimore. He helps Baltimore youths cultivate their talent and showcase it on national stages.

Yesika Salgado is a Los Angeles based Salvadoran poet who writes about her family, her culture, her city, and her fat brown body. She has shared her work in venues and campuses throughout the country. Salgado is a two time National Poetry Slam finalist and the recipient of the 2020 International Latino Book Award in Poetry. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Univision, CNN, NPR, TEDx, and many digital platforms. She is an internationally recognized body-positive activist and the writer of the column Suelta for Remezcla. Yesika is the author of the best-sellers Corazón, Tesoro, and Hermosa, published with Not a Cult.

Noel Quiñones is a Puerto Rican writer, performer, and community organizer from the Bronx. As a writer, he’s received fellowships from Poets House, the Poetry Foundation, CantoMundo, Candor Arts, and SAFTA (Sundress Academy for the Arts). His work has been published in POETRY, the Latin American Review, Rattle, Kweli Journal, and elsewhere. As a performer, he’s featured at Lincoln Center, Harvard University, BAM, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and the Honolulu Museum of Art to name a few. He is the founder and former director of Project X, a Bronx-based arts organization, and a current M.F.A. candidate in poetry at the University of Mississippi. Follow him at noelpquinones.com or online @noelpquinones.

Natasha Carrizosa is a poet, writer, emcee, and speaker. Her work is deeply rooted in her childhood and life experiences. Raised as the daughter of a fierce African-American mother and Mexican father, her writing reflects the dichotomy of these two rich cultures.

She is author of mexiafricana, heavy light, and crown.

Joaquín Zihuatanejo was awarded the 2017 Anhinga Press-Robert Dana Prize for Poetry. His latest collection, Arsonist, was published by Anhinga Press in September of 2018. His work has been featured in Prairie Schooner, Sonora Review, Huizache, and Southwestern American Literature among other journals and anthologies. Joaquín received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he now teaches Performance Poetry 101 to undergrad students. His work has been featured on NBC, HBO, and NPR in Historias and The National Teachers Initiative.

Joaquín has two passions in his life, his partner, Aída and poetry, always in that order.

Jasminne Mendez is a Dominican-American poet, educator, playwright and award-winning author. Mendez has had poetry and essays published by or forthcoming in The New England Review, Crab Creek Review, Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, and others. She is the author of two poetry/prose collections: Island of Dreams (Floricanto Press, 2013) which won an International Latino Book Award, and Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry (Arte Publico Press, 2018). She is an MFA graduate of the creative writing program at the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University and a University of Houston alumnus. Her second YA memoir A Bucket of Dirty Water: Memories of my Girlhood and her debut picture book, Josefina’s Habichuelas (Arte Público Press) will be released in 2021. Her first full poetry collection Machete will be released in 2022 (Noemi Press).