Aerik Francis is a Queer Black Latinx poet and teaching artist born and based in Denver, Colorado. Aliya White is a current college student majoring in biology. Kemi Alabi is the author of Against Heaven (Graywolf Press, April 2022) and was selected by Claudia Rankine as the winner of the Academy of American Poets First Book Award.
(Transcript)
Welcome to Micro, a podcast for short but powerful writing. I’m your host, Drew Hawkins.
Thank you for tuning in to our Juneteenth meets Pride special! Each of the pieces in this episode were hand-chosen by guest curator, Nayyir Ransome. And here’s Nayyir to introduce the show and talk a little bit about pieces they chose. Enjoy!
[Nayyir Ransome Introduction]
Thank you so much, Nayyir. It was an honor and a pleasure working with you on this one. In this first piece, written in the form of a glossary, the turn is both surprising and impactful, resonating long after the reading ends. It’s called “_Glossary: Junetee[n]th_”. It was written by Aerik Francis and published by Linden Avenue Literary Journal on June 9, 2020. Enjoy.
“_Glossary: Junetee[n]th_” by Aerik Francis in Linden Avenue Literary Journal
Aerik Francis is a Queer Black Latinx poet and teaching artist born and based in Denver, Colorado. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram at @phaentompoet. And you can find additional links to their work at linktr.ee/Aerik.
Next up is a piece intersecting the space between longing and love, memory and emptiness. It’s called “Opened Shut”. It was written by Aliya White and published by Aerie Journal. Enjoy.
“Opened Shut” by Aliya White in Aerie Journal (Print Only)
Aliya White is a current college student majoring in biology with the hopes of making a wave (or even just a ripple) in this world with both her scientific brain and her creative mind. You can find her on Twitter at @bermynthegayang
Our final poem is brief, with each word pulling weight, each line an incredible new interpretation of connection and divide. It’s called “Love Poem -1: Chicago (CST) to Bangalore (GMT +5:30)”. It was written by Kemi Alabi and originally published in American Poets Magazine, vol. 60. Enjoy!
“Love Poem -1: Chicago (CST) to Bangalore (GMT +5:30)” Kemi Alabi in American Poets Magazine
Kemi Alabi is the author of Against Heaven, forthcoming from Graywolf Press in April 2022, and was selected by Claudia Rankine as the winner of the Academy of American Poets First Book Award. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram at @kemiaalabi, or on their website at kemialabi.com.
This episode of Micro was guest curated by Nayyir Ransome and produced and hosted by myself, Drew Hawkins. Our theme song is by Matt Ordes. You can find all of the information about this episode’s poets and writers, their featured work, and the publications where they were published, as well as a transcription of this episode in the show notes.
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Thanks for listening.