September 27th, 2019: 7pm
Influx Collectiv Queer Poetry Night at Roybal Foundation
Albus Wang (they/them) is a writer, an artist, and a recent graduate from Loyola Marymount University with a Theatre Arts bachelor degree. Seeking social justice and overall equality, Wang is also an activist passionate about causes such as rights for immigrants and LGBTQ+ community. As a trans and non-binary writer, Wang works to empower trans community around the world by giving them a voice through literacy.
Andrea-Celeste Jimenez was born and raised in North East Los Angeles, California. She has always been a photographer and now is making her statement as a poet. Her fun and quirky style is one of a kind so take note. While she finishes her studies as an Art Therapist for the youth, her collections are being created and shared at events all across LA. She hopes to raise awareness among those who feel their experiences and emotions are invalid, to create a community where we are all included.
Audrey Kuo is a genderqueer femme poet, writer, bread baker and organizer. Their art is part of their commitment to nurturing relationships and community among queer and trans people of color. Audrey believes in the liberatory possibilities of gathering to share food & stories. Audrey currently lives on unceded Tongva territory (in Los Angeles) and is interested in reconnecting with Taiwanese and Chinese food histories and land.
Hadrian Shawn Miguel (also simply known as, Hadrian) is a multicultural Latinx writer, artist, and poet, born & raised in the Mission barrio of San Francisco who has called New York, Miami, Seattle, and now Los Angeles his home. Their love of storytelling and body of work has given life to over 50 poems, short stories, plays, and songs. The collection of poems here are inspired by modern themes & ideas about sexuality, identity, resilience, family, diversity, and inclusion. Hadrian is influenced by song and rhythms, esp. the music, art, and erotica of Prince’s Dirty Mind, Controversy, and 1999 era and Madonna’s Sex Book, and Erotica & Bedtime Stories albums.
Jesús Daniel Cruz is a Mexican artist, writer, and poet living in Los Ángeles. The immigrant and gay experience can be discerned in his works. He has worked with the Q-Youth foundation as an Eastside Queer Stories Festival writer as well as a Pride Poet for the city of West Hollywood and Houses On The Moon theater company as a live storyteller. More of his work and short stories are also available on Amazon Kindle.
librecht baker is the author of vetiver (Finishing Line Press), an English Professor, and a Sundress Publications' Assistant Editor. She was part of The Vagrancy’s 2018-2019 Playwrights’ Group and Eastside Queer Stories Festival 2019. baker has attended Ragdale, VONA/Voices,
and Lambda Literary Writer’s Retreat. she has a MFA from Goddard College. Her poetry appears in Solace: Writing Refuge, & LGBTQ Women of Color, Bone Bouquet (Issue 8.1), Sinister Wisdom 107 - Black Lesbians: We are the Revolution!, Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices, and other publications. Baker's play, "Lineage Undone," was awarded Top Performance in the "Top Papers and Performances in Performance Studies" category at Western States Communication Association’s 89th Convention.
Lorilyn Luong is an Asian-American Angeleno that pulsates a rainbow heart, goes by she/they pronouns, is a survivor of abuse and has a focus on anti-violence work. Lorilyn believes in the human potential of having a breakthrough after the breakdown, liberating the voice that must speak,
and how after the chaos there can be resiliency.
Mary Carrasco is a queer Zapotec and Honduran person from Koreatown, Los Angeles. They started writing poetry in high school to find a healthy coping mechanism to get through the difficult times they were facing as a poor queer person of color. They also wanted to have an outlet to express themselves and their beliefs. Through writing poetry they have learned about who they am and what matters to them. Mary wants to focus on writing and art in their life to continue both themselves and others.
August 22nd, 2019: 8pm
Influx Collectiv Queer Poetry Night & Open Mic at the Rabbit Hole Bar
July 27th, 2019: 8pm
Influx Collectiv Poetry Reading at Beyond Baroque!
Marinna Benzon, an actor, poet and filmmaker, proudly hails from the Bay Area where she received a BA in Broadcast Electronic Communication Arts, with emphasis in screenwriting and video production, and a minor in Theatre performance from San Francisco State University. With appearances in film, theater, new media and commercials; Marinna accredits her training from Leela Improv Company, Made Up Theatre, Overcast Theater, Academy of Arts San Francisco, Shelton Studios Theatre, Thundercat Theatre, Berg Studios and as a graduate of Second City Hollywood. You can catch Marinna performing in the greater Los Angeles area or filming with Polite Cussing, a creative content collective showcasing under-represented and profoundly unique creators.
Molly Thornton is a Los Angeles based multi-genre writer recognized by Lambda Literary as an Emerging Writers Fellow, and a graduate of the Artist Trust LitEdge program. Her work appears in various publications including poetry in The Lavender Review and baldhip magazine, journalistic essays in The Leveller and The Seattle Globalist, and a novel excerpt in Lambda’s Emerge anthology.
Anthony AW (he/they) is an LA-based writer. Their work has been or will be published in Boston Accent Lit, Drunk Monkeys, Mojave He[art] Review, Rogue Agent & Yes Poetry. His micro-chapbook, Pantoum'd!, will be published by Ghost City Press for their 2019 Summer Series. @an__o__
Meital Yaniv (b. 1984, Tel-Aviv, israel) is a Los Angeles based interdisciplinary artist whose practice embodies language, performance, and video. Yaniv’s labor weaves and merges the personal and the political to find the common thread in disparate struggles, connecting ideas, bodies, and forms of resistance. Since 2015, Yaniv has been organizing intimate reading events with the aim of conceiving alternative communities where vulnerability holds us all accountable. Her book, Spectrum for an Untouchable, was published in October 2016. She has performed and exhibited at Hummer Museum, MCASD (Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego), Human Resources, LACA (Los Angeles Contemporary Archive), The Situation Room, Visitor Welcome Center, LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), PØST, Mana Contemporary, and Wendy’s Subway, among others. She has been published by Los Angeles Review of Books’ Voluble Channel, Nonsensical, Ladyscumbag, Entropy Magazine, Graphite Journal, and notes on looking, with reviews by Huffington Post, LA Weekly, Bitch Media, KCET Artbound, and Fabrik Magazine. Yaniv holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.
June 22nd, 2019: 8pm
Influx Collectiv Poetry Reading at Poetic Research Bureau!
May 25th, 2019: 8pm
Influx Collectiv Poetry Reading at Pieter Space Studios!
Jos Charles is author of feeld, a winner of the 2017 National Poetry Series, and Safe Space. She is a recipient of the 2016 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship. Charles has an MFA from the University of Arizona and is pursuing a PhD in English from UC Irvine.
Muriel Leung is the author of Bone Confetti, winner of the 2015 Noemi Press Book Award. A Pushcart Prize nominated writer, her writing can be found or is forthcoming in Gulf Coast, Drunken Boat, The Collagist, Fairy Tale Review, and others. She is a recipient of fellowships to Kundiman, VONA/Voices Workshop and the Community of Writers. She is the Poetry Co-Editor of Apogee Journal and co-host of The Blood-Jet Writing Hour with Rachelle Cruz. Currently, she is a Dornsife Fellow in the PhD in Creative Writing and Literature at University of Southern California. She is from Queens, NY.
Ryka Aoki is the author of Seasonal Velocities, He Mele a Hilo (A Hilo Song) and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul. She has been honored by the California State Senate for her “extraordinary commitment to free speech and artistic expression, as well as the visibility and well-being of Transgender people. Ryka was the inaugural performer for the first ever Transgender Stage at San Francisco Pride, and has performed in venues including the San Francisco Pride Main Stage, the Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, the National Queer Arts Festival, and Ladyfest South. Ryka also appears in the recent documentaries “Diagnosing Difference” and “Riot Acts.” She has MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell University and is the recipient of a University Award from the Academy of American Poets. She is a professor of English at Santa Monica College.
Yosimar Reyes is a nationally-acclaimed Poet and Public Speaker. Born in Guerrero, Mexico, and raised in Eastside San Jose, Reyes explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. The Advocate named Reyes one of "13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World" and Remezcla included Reyes on their list of "10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know." His first collection of poetry, For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly… was self-published after a collaboration with the legendary Carlos Santana. His work has also been published in various online journals and books including Mariposas: An Anthology of Queer Modern Latino Poetry (Floricanto Press), Queer in Aztlán: Chicano Male Recollections of Consciousness and Coming Out (Cognella Press), and the forthcoming Joto: An Anthology of Queer Xicano & Chicano Poetry (Kórima Press). Reyes was featured in the Documentary, "2nd Verse: The Rebirth of Poetry." He is a LAMBDA Literary Fellow as well as the recipient of the Undocupoets Fellowship. Reyes previously served as Artist-in-Residence at the media and culture organization, Define American. Reyes has toured and presented at university campuses across the United States. He is currently working on his one-man show, "Prieto," to premiere in the near future. Reyes holds a B.A in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.
Tommy “Teebs” Pico is author of the books IRL, Nature Poem, Junk, Feed, and myriad keen tweets including “sittin on the cock of gay.” Originally from the Viejas Indian reservation of the Kumeyaay nation, he now splits his time between Los Angeles and Brooklyn. He co-curates the reading series Poets with Attitude, co-hosts the podcast Food 4 Thot, and is a contributing editor at Literary Hub.
March 23rd 2019: 7:30pm
Influx Collectiv Poetry Reading at Avenue 50!
Hanna Harris is a professional spoken word artist and educator. She has performed at Warped Tour, ENVSN Festival, Dodger Stadium, GirlsBuild LA, the Women's March, and at over 100 schools in the LA area. She is a Teaching Artist at Get Lit, and her work has been featured in Screendoor Review, NYMBM, Melancholy Hyperbole, and Bluepepper Magazine. She co-organized #TransMarch Los Angeles and was featured in Out Magazine.
Erin Sternstein (She/her/hers) is a writer, poet, solo theater performer, yoga teacher and activist. She debuted her one-woman show #metoo at the Whitefire Theatre’s SOLOFEST in 2018, and then went on to showcase it at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June of 2018. #metoo is a 30 character comedic true story about sexual assault, abortion, and domestic violence. Erin was on the Oakland Slam Poetry Team in 2016, and is the author of “Your Pussy is Magic,” a collection of poetry. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and UCB Improv. ig: erin_is_on_ig
Edwin Bodney is an LA native and co-host of one of the largest poetry venues in the nation, Da Poetry Lounge. A nationally recognized poet, he has performed his work for an array of organizations like: USC, UCLA, Lexus, TV1, All Def Digital, and Button Poetry. In 2016, he officially published his first book titled, A Study of Hands, with Not A Cult Press. Through his work, both on stage and in classrooms facilitating workshops, he hopes to transform his community in such a way that no one forgets their joy in the midst of all their healing
Claire Glass is spiritual being living a human experience. She is limitless and unique. She is profound words. She also has a black cat named Toby. She is queer. She digs science fiction. She loves women, one woman in particular. She owes everything to her recovery. And she is grateful to be here and connect with you through her writing.
February 16th, 2019: 7pm
Influx Collectiv Poetry Reading at Avenue 50!
In her past life, Kelsey Jones was an award-winning journalist. Currently, she works as an emergency services coordinator and case manager at Peace Over Violence, an organization dedicated to ending sexual and domestic violence. Storytelling is at the root of all that Kelsey has done over the years, and since moving to LA a year ago she has pursued more creative outlets. Kelsey is the creator of a zine series titled That Angry Bitch, a producer of That Angry Bitch the short film and a current OutFest film fellow. As a queer woman, stories about the intersections of gender, race, class and sexuality are truly a matter of creating the representation she has always wanted to see. Kelsey hopes to one day put the stories of the most marginalized in society into state and national policies that protect and support those individuals by becoming a policy director for a non-profit.
Bekah Fly is a poet, musician and multimedia artist. Originally from New York she has performed at the Nuyorican Poets cafe, Joes Pub and the Bowery poetry club as well as having been published in Spoon River Review and Saul Williams: A literary mixtape. Much of her work is enmeshed in the spiritual/ healing journey of auto immune illness and having lived outside in the Mojave desert for 2 years.
Sari Rachel is a queer Jewish poet currently pursuing her MFA at CalArts. She has worked to combat sexual violence in higher education by becoming a Title IX complainant against USC, contributing poetry and prose to the 2016 book, We Believe You: Campus Survivors of Sexual Assault Speak Out, and speaking widely to the media about her own experiences of trauma and institutional betrayal. If you recognize her, it’s probably from the time she appeared at the 2016 Academy Awards alongside fellow survivor Lady Gaga, with whom she now has a matching tattoo, nbd. Once, Brie Larsen got her a beer and complimented her top, to which she replied gleefully,“Thanks! It’s a bra!” Sari lives in Los Angeles with her very talkative cat, Yentl, and exists as proof that although healing is messy and nonlinear — it is also possible. If she could only give one piece of advice to humanity, she would say “get thyself the fuck to therapy, ASAP; if you don’t have insurance I know a place with a sliding scale.”
AlexGrey Valdez is a South American genderfluid performance poet. Their work reflects their experiences as a queer first-generation & neuro-divergent femme. They have hit stages as a stand-up comedian, a spoken word and slam poet, a singer, a folkloric dancer, and emcee. Performance and people are two of their passions and at every opportunity they hope to connect both on some level or another. Instagram: @chakana.kid
January 19th, 2019
Influx Collectiv Poetry Reading at Holy Grounds Arts & Literacy Foundation
Féi Hernandez is an Inglewood poet and artist that exposes the intersections of queerness, race, immigration and citizenship, spirituality and revolution through performance poetry and visual art. They grew up undocumented in Inglewood, California and currently reside and teach creative writing and art in inglewood. Féi Hernandez also provides ancestral and energetic healing services which include: tarot card readings, limpias, and reiki.
Karina Vahitova is a post-Soviet queer poet and movement artist from Kiev, Ukraine. She is certified rape crisis and domestic violence counselor and runs The Void Academy, helping artists learn how to make a living by building community. In 2017 she was a Lambda Literary 2017 Fellow in poetry. The sensorium is hard on her mind and she’s figuring out how to live within it by writing lyrical theory about the Soviet Union, queerness, totalitarianism, abstraction, and occasionally the violence of the alphabets. She lives in Los Angeles and sends her lyric essays out to her mailing list at karinavahitova.com
Christine Imperial is a queer Filipino-American writer currently taking her MFA in Creative Writing at CalArts. She was awarded the Loyola School Award for the Arts in 2016 for her poetry and was a fellow at the 21st Ateneo Heights Writers Workshop. Her work has been published in NoTokens, Rambutan Literary, and Heights, among others.
Catherine Chen is a poet and performer. Their work has appeared in Entropy, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Mask Magazine, Taggverk, Nat. Brut, among others. Their chapbook Manifesto, or: Hysteria is forthcoming from Big Lucks, and they’re working on a full-length collection of poems about disembodiment, machine language, and the Amazon Echo. Say hi.
November 17: Influx Collectiv hosted our first reading at BookShowLA
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Cori Bratby-Rudd is a queer LA-based writer. She graduated Cum Laude from UCLA’s Gender Studies department, and is a current MFA Candidate in Creative Writing at California Institute of the Arts. Cori enjoys incorporating themes of emotional healing and social justice into her works. She has been published in Ms. Magazine, The Gordian Review, Califragile, among others. She recently won the Editorial Choice Award for her research paper in Audeamus Academic Journal and was nominated as one of Lambda Literary's 2018 Emerging Writers.
Evan Kleekamp lives in Los Angeles where they serve as editor-in-chief of Les Figues Press, direct NOR Research Studio, and manage X-TRA Online. Their writing has appeared or is forthcoming in SFMoMA’s Open Space platform, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Fence, Tripwire: A Journal of Poetics, and Nightboat Books’ Responses, New writings, Flesh Anthology, edited by Ronaldo V. Wilson, Bhanu Kapil, and Mg Roberts. They are the author of two chapbooks, 13 THESES ON STATE-SPONSORED BLACK DEATH IN AMERICA(Kastle Editions, 2016) and Once Upon a Time I Was Michael Thomas Taren (Ghost City Press, 2017). Evan’s current research surveys the function of prostheses, dissociation, human collateral, and notation systems in contemporary visual art.
Hannah Rubin is a queer poet and artist. Their work spans many mediums as it investigates the touch of language and the language of touch. In 2017, they were a lambda literary fellow in poetry and currently they are studying both creative writing and fine art at the California Institute of the Arts.
SA Smythe is a Black trans nonbinary writer currently based in LA, constantly scheming up new ways for us to get free. SA is the publishing editor for THEM – Trans Literary Journal and associate editor for Scarf Magazine. They have poetry published (and/or work forthcoming) in phren-Z, the nines, Johannesburg Salon, Strike!, Critical Contemporary Journal, okayafrica, and elsewhere. SA does translation work in six languages and organises in Black queer and trans abolitionist writing collectives in Europe and the US They are currently working on a monograph about Blackness and disposession in the Mediterranean and their second poetry collection, tentatively titled proclivity. They tweet about white supremacy, social alienation, and Murder, She Wrote @essaysmythe.