As summer begins to wane, Danez Smith has curated a bright 34th birthday celebration for the latest installment of Green Roof Poetry. As a gift to themselves, Smith invited some of their favorite poets in the Twin Cities to read aloud to the public under the August sky. These are poets whose poems leave Smith feeling charged, writing about love, life, death, justice, and anything they lay their masterful gaze on with vigor, wit, and passion. These poets will ignite and warm you with their work on the Walker hillside.
Join us for an evening of poets, music, and late summer magic. Bring your blanket, pick up curated picnic snacks and libations at Cardamom, and relax for an evening of fresh-air readings curated by local and national poets.
Galleries are open late and free on Thursday nights from 5–9 pm.
Bios
Danez Smith (US, b. 1989) is a Poet, writer and performer from St. Paul. They are queer, non-binary, and HIV-positive. Smith is the author of three collections, including Homie and Don’t Call Us Dead, and has skyrocketed into national acclaim. For their work, Smith was won many awards, such as the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, and has been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award. Smith’s poetry and prose has been featured in Vanity Fair, the New York Times, the New Yorker, GQ, and Best American Poetry and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Arleta Little is a writer and culture worker. Her recent literary work has appeared in multiple journals and publications, including We Are Meant to Rise, Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota, The Saint Paul Almanac, Black Literacy Matters, This Was 2020, and more. Her essay “Life and Death in the North Star State,” published in Water-Stone Review, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is a co-author, along with Josie Johnson and Carolyn Holbrook, of Hope in the Struggle: A Memoir about the life of Josie R. Johnson. Little has worked for more than two decades in nonprofit organizations and in philanthropy serving in executive leadership, program officer, and consulting roles. She currently serves as the executive and artistic director for the Loft Literary Center.
Tish Jones (US, b. 1989) is a poet, emcee, and Hip-Hop Theater artist from St. Paul. Her resounding love for Black People and Black Culture is central in all her work, exploring themes of Black love, liberation, Afro-futurism, and more. With work exhibited throughout the United States and abroad, her writing can be found in half a dozen local publications such as We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World (University of Minnesota Press) and Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society Press), to name a few.
Farah Habad is a poet and organizer based in Minneapolis by way of Oakland, California, with more than a decade of experience in public speaking and performance exploring the intersection between storytelling and policy. His commitment to bearing witness for his community translates directly to his approach and execution onstage, and he seeks to use performance as a community-building tool. From having seven poems featured on Button Poetry, the largest online distributor of poetry and spoken word, to working on a successful Minneapolis City Council campaign following the uprising after the murder of George Floyd, Habad brings a wide-ranging set of experience to his work, which translates to a unique perspective in his craft.
Isha Camara is a writing/performance poet and visual poet from South Minneapolis and a proud Aries. She’s been writing and performing poetry since the age of 13 and moves with the intention to always sharpen her blade. Most subjects she writes about circle thoughts and experiences of her identity as a Black Muslim woman, the ways in which she navigates in America, and in turn understanding how America responds back to her. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in Southeast Review, Muzzle Magazine, Rhino Poetry, and Wisconsin Life. She has performed for the Madison Public Library, Walker Art Center, and MMoCA. Camara’s purpose is to give a narrative that creates conversations supple with empathy, driven by tenderness.
Accessibility
ASL is planned for all Green Roof Poetry programs.
Follow the paved path on the hillside for an accessible route to the event. There will be two accessible seating spaces on level grassy areas on the hillside—one at the bottom of the hill and one halfway up the hill. These spaces are next to a paved path and will have chairs for people who need them. Staff members stationed around the hillside will be able to assist with accessible seating.
To request accommodations for these programs or for more information about accessibility, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
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