California State Parks & Quiet Lightning present:
~ Poetry in Parks 2025 ~
Saturday, Sept 13 @ China Camp Village
12-5pm, free + all ages
with
Readings by YPL Anaya Ertz & Ambassadors Tess Belger, Walt Novosardian and Juno Phipps!
The Marin County Youth Poet Laureate program seeks to support arts leadership in younger generations of poets by providing them with platforms that allow them to use their art as an active way of building social change in their community. This program is made possible by California Poets in the Schools in conjunction with Marin Free Library, Marin Charitable Foundation, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Marin Poetry Center, Mill Valley Library and Urban Word NYC.
The Marin County Youth Poet Laureate program is sponsored by:
Better Ancestors is a quarterly showcase of writers of color now in its 4th year. Developed in partnership with Michael Warr, the series features 5 authors reading or performing whatever they choose, and each author selects one performer for the following show, so the series – and community – is self-generating. All authors are paid and published in an end of the year anthology. You can watch all previous performances and follow the invitational lineages here. Better Ancestors was made possible in part through funding by California Humanities.
Marisa Lin (she/they) is a daughter of Chinese immigrants and Minnesota native. She is a recipient of fellowships from Roots Wounds Words, Kearny Street Workshop, and UC Berkeley’s Arts Research Center, with work published in Poetry South, Porter House Review, Cimarron Review, and the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A-Day series. Their debut chapbook, DREAM ELEVATOR, was published by Kernpunkt Press (2024). Marisa holds a Master’s Degree of Public Policy from UC Berkeley.
Monique “MoeMinistry” McCoy is an Author and Spoken Word Poet, born and raised in California’s Bay Area. Growing up in the heart of San Francisco’s Hunters Point projects, Monique knows first-hand the tenacity it takes to rise above unfavorable circumstances. Her poetry is both introspective and motivational, exploring themes of identity, self-love and self-discovery. Her delivery and cadence is a reflection of her first love: Hiphop.
Instagram: @iammoniquemccoy
Website: www.iammoniquemccoy.com
I am a second-generation Mexican-American, born, raised and currently residing in the vibrant and diverse community of East Oakland. Writing has allowed me to strengthen my voice and take back preconceived ideas of myself and others who may share parts of my identity. I strive to educate and inspire both my elders and peers through writing and debunking the dominant narrative of black and brown young men living in Oakland whose narrative has often been set forth by societal perceptions. My writing is inspired by my lived experiences in Oakland. Both my people and my city are often viewed through the lens of deficit and lawlessness. Within my writing I allow myself to speak on breaking out of preconceived stereotypes and bringing awareness to those who want to maintain a system of oppression. It is my goal to move the societal conversation to what the experiences of young males of color who have been damaged by marginalization, racial profiling, and over surveillance look like as well as inspiring them to break free from this system.
shannon garth-rhodes (they/them) is a Black and queer educator, organizer and writer living in Detroit. They hold a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of Houston and a Master of Education from Harvard University. Their essay “Summer Protest” is forthcoming in the anthology Black Summers.
With special guest host
Kato Bisase is a Ugandan-American poet, essayist and short story writer who has recently completed an MA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. His work dances with a wide spectrum of topics and tensions, among them: human depth in a cursory world, the African experience in the American context, the Black experience in non-Black spaces . . . and the beautiful anxieties conceived inside all of them. His writing can be found in Peach Magazine, PopMatters, The Ana, and Protean Magazine.
and A Literary Mixtape
Our flagship series that started back in December 2009, the literary mixtape is a submission-based show featuring writing of all kinds. Selected through an anonymous curatorial process, writers are paid and published in a book handed out to the first 100 people. Authors read one after the other, without introductions or banter, so the text of the show – printed in the books verbatim – is presented as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Curated by Liz Cahill and Rhea Joseph, the books for this show – sparkle + blink 119 – will feature cover art by Helia Pouyanfar and will also be available for free online. With readings by:
A note about our submissions
We received 53 entries and of those selected 13 (25%). Of those, 7 (62%) are appearing at Quiet Lightning for the first time. Five authors are returning: Clyde Always (this will be their 3rd show), Keith Gaboury (7th), Caroline Goodwin (3rd), Kelechi Ubozoh (3rd) and Sharon D. Coleman (4th). This will be QL’s 162nd event.
We included an optional demographic survey in the submission form, the results of which you can see below:
Please note: China Camp Village is not fully accessible but we can accommodate most if not all advance requests. If you have an accessibility-related question or concern, please reach out to evan@quietlightning.org and we’ll do our absolute best to accommodate you.
Full Schedule below – times subject to slight fluctuation
12pm: Snack Table, Water Station, Greeter Table, Book Table Open
12:20p: Live music by Sweet Lew, introduced by Kelsey Schimmelman
1:00p: Welcome & Readings by Marin County Youth Poet Laureate & Ambassadors, introduced by Maxine Flasher-Düzgüneş
1:30p: Better Ancestors, introduced by Kato Bisase
2:30p: Live music by Sweet Lew, set 2
3:00p: Literary mixtape set 1, introduced by Liz Cahill & Rhea Joseph
3:30p: Set break
3:45p: Literary mixtape set 2
4:30p: Thank you/mingling/pack out
7:20p: Sunset/park closes
Poetry in Parks is a program of Arts in California Parks, a California State Parks program created in partnership with California Arts Council and Parks California.
