A poetry reading & conversation with nicole v. basta, Catherine Chen, Saida Agostini-Bostic.

Saida Agostini-Bostic is a queer Afro-Guyanese poet whose work explores the ways that Black folks harness mythology to enter the fantastic. Saida's poetry can be found in Barrelhouse Magazine, the Black Ladies Brunch Collective anthology, Not Without Our Laughter, and other publications. let the dead in was a finalist for the Center of African American Poetry & Poetics' 2020 Book Prize and the New Issues Poetry Prize. Her other publications include STUNT, a poetry chapbook reimagining the history of Nellie Jackson, a Black woman entrepreneur who operated a brothel for sixty years in Natchez, Mississippi. She is a Cave Canem Graduate Fellow.

nicole v basta is the current Poet Laureate of Tompkins County. Her recent poems have found homes in Ploughshares, Plume, Third Coast, RHINO, North American Review, The Cortland Review, Best New Poets 2023 etc. Her second chapbook 'the next field over,' (2022) was published by Tolsun Books. nicole is also a community educator, visual artist, and arts events producer with proud roots in the Pennsylvania coal mines & garment factories. Her work has been supported by grants and residencies from places like Art Farm Nebraska, Monson Arts, The Saltonstall Foundation, NYSCA, etc.

Catherine Chen is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary poet and performer. Encompassing poetry, video, collaboration, and modes of installation, their work explores the relationship between textuality, mythology, and material histories. Chen is the author of the full-length poetry collection Beautiful Machine Woman Language (Noemi Press, 2023).