Step into a space in SE Portland, Oregon where brunch meets brilliance at **Black Ink Brunch: A Black Literary Brunch & Writing Workshop** on October 19, 2024, at 11AM PST/2PM EST! This gathering is more than just a meal—it's a celebration of Black creativity, resistance, and storytelling. Join us in breaking bread while we break through boundaries, led by two incredible voices in the literary world, Joy KMT and Michael David Battle.
Joy KMT, a renowned poet, activist, and cultural force, will guide participants in exploring themes of liberation, Black space-time, and the power of narrative. Michael David Battle, radical resistance artist and founder of Garden of Peace, Inc., brings his unique blend of political insight, creative writing, and deep spiritual practice to inspire your storytelling journey.
Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting to put pen to paper, this workshop is a chance to tap into your own power and imagination, while connecting with a community of Black artists and thinkers. Plus, enjoy a delicious brunch featuring dishes like roasted salmon, mini biscuit quiche, and a yogurt parfait bar.
**Please note:** This event will be held in SE Portland, Oregon. There is a maximum of 10 in-person attendees for the brunch and 20 virtual participants, so register early to secure your spot. Together, let's reclaim our stories, heal, and create the future we dream of—one word at a time.
Joy KMT, a renowned poet, activist, and cultural force, will guide participants in exploring themes of liberation, Black space-time, and the power of narrative. Michael David Battle, radical resistance artist and founder of Garden of Peace, Inc., brings his unique blend of political insight, creative writing, and deep spiritual practice to inspire your storytelling journey.
Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting to put pen to paper, this workshop is a chance to tap into your own power and imagination, while connecting with a community of Black artists and thinkers. Plus, enjoy a delicious brunch featuring dishes like roasted salmon, mini biscuit quiche, and a yogurt parfait bar.
**Please note:** This event will be held in SE Portland, Oregon. There is a maximum of 10 in-person attendees for the brunch and 20 virtual participants, so register early to secure your spot. Together, let's reclaim our stories, heal, and create the future we dream of—one word at a time.
Joy KMTJoy KMT is a mother, lover & Hoodoo Opulence. As a writer, she has received residencies and fellowships from Heinz, MacDowell, Callaloo, & VONA. She is published in many places, including Callalloo, Jazz & Culture Journal, Black Girl Dangerous, The Feminist Wire, Black Quantum Futurism Vol 1 & 2. Adrienne, Pluck! The Journal of Affrilachian Arts & Culture, Blackberry, a magazine, Backbone Press, Fledgling Rag, Sugared Water, The Amistad, Howard's Literary Journal, Near Kin: Words and Art inspired by Octavia Butler, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, The Blueshift Journal, Psalms for Mother Emanuel, Nepantla: A Journal Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color, and more. They is the winner of the Discovery Prize from Black Poetry Review. They have been a featured performer at: Miko Kuro’s Midnight Tea, Rhinestone Steel, Heels on Wheels Glitter Roadshow, TQ Live!, Community Futures Lab, BACHBOOMBOX, The Long Song, Because She Said So with Groove Aesthetics, The People are The Light, August Wilson Center LAB, SIX x ATE, The Afrofuturist Affair, The Future is Female, Hemming The Water book release, Mxd-Kd-mixtape chapbook release, Reading with Jonah Mixon-Webster for CAAP & Black Unicorn Library, Wata Memory Revival & Healing Ceremony, The Artists Party, Let’s Get Free, Art All Night, Red Summer @ the Red Bull Music Festival w/ Moor Mother. They have produced Testify: A Black Womanhood Series Part 1 & 2, and Her Voice: The Myths, Tales, and Stories of Women of Color. Her work is informed by maroon futurisms, liberation, spiritual fugitivity, & very very Black space-time.
|
Michael David BattleA radical resistance artist, thinker, Baba, and healer, embodies the spirit of an Aquarian born at 0° Aquarius. With an upbringing in Pennsylvania and Virginia, he graduated with honors from Chatham University in ’09, majoring in Political Science and Cultural Studies with a minor in creative writing. Barry University witnessed his mastery, awarding him a master’s in public administration in ’12.
His family ignited Michael David’s early artistic spark. A survivor and advocate for black trans lives, he founded Garden of Peace, Inc. in 2012, a pioneering black trans-led arts nonprofit. Beyond his art, Michael David, now married with five children (three adults), resides in Portland, Oregon, and has explored 45 continental US states. Fueled by a love for nature and a commitment to serving our planet’s natural resources, his identity as a maroon of the Great Dismal Swamp, a child raised in the Appalachian Mountains, and having grandparents from Tennessee and Alabama adds layers to his artistic narrative. These landscapes, where he hiked and camped extensively, imprint on his work, echoing the resilience and strength of his ancestors. As a practicing Buddhist, his art, influenced by Blackness, indigenous and hoodoo practices, Southern Baptist Christianity, family, and musical icons, transcends traditional boundaries. Prayer, meditation, and ritual deeply inform his creations, as does his commitment to environmental stewardship. Michael David’s art is a testament to his healing journey and a celebration of collective resistance. In prose writings and visually striking pieces using raw materials, vintage art, metal, and wood, he captures the essence of Black resistance against systems of oppression. Rooted in a lineage of strong Black women who have raised champions, Michael David’s journey intertwines personal resilience, connection to nature, and an unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility. His artistic expression becomes a tapestry woven with the threads of identity, exploration, and the profound influence of the powerful women who shaped his legacy. |