People’s Poetry is moving to First Friday! Join us at the Woody Guthrie Center on Friday, June 2 at 6 p.m. for a special all-queer reading to celebrate Pride Month. This month, Sydney Smith, Abby Rush, Nuova Wright, and Quinn Carver Johnson will read their poetry.
Tickets
People’s Poetry is free with paid admission to the Woody Guthrie Center ($5 during First Friday Art Crawl).
About People’s Poetry
Woody Guthrie was an artist in multiple mediums. In addition to his music and paintings, Woody was a prolific writer, producing a bulk of poems, essays, short stories, and more.
Often called the “Poet of the People”, Woody’s writing was an important tool both for his personal self-expression and his life-long commitment to activism.
Woody Guthrie once wrote, “A folk song is what’s wrong and how to fix it, or it could be who’s hungry and where their mouth is or who’s out of work and how to fix it or who’s broke and where the money is or who’s carrying a gun and where the peace is.”
This bent toward repairing the damages of the world was at the forefront of his creative drive. People’s Poetry carries on the legacy of Woody Guthrie and his writing while also highlighting the voice of today’s poets who use their craft towards that same end: highlighting the injustices of the world and pushing us all towards a better world.
About Abby Rush
Abby Rush (she/her) is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, and was born and raised in Oklahoma. She is a co-founder of Tribal Unite, and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Tulsa. As a writer, she is committed to highlighting and amplifying the voices of Indigenous people everywhere. She has been doing youth advocacy work across Indian Country for years, and primarily focuses on promoting wellness through writing.
About Quinn Carver Johnson
Quinn Carver Johnson (they/them) was the editor-in-chief of the Aonian, Hendrix College’s literary magazine. Their work has appeared in Rappahannock Review, Right Hand Pointing, Cimmaron Review, Red Earth Review, and elsewhere. Their debut collection of poetry, The Perfect Bastard, is forthcoming from Curbstone Books / Northwestern University Press and will be released on September 15, 2023. Carver Johnson currently lives in Tulsa and hosts the People’s Poetry reading series.
About Nuova Wright
Nuova Wright is the author of little wife: the story of gold (The Calliope Group). Their poems have appeared in Santa Clara Review, Spill Words, Elephants Never, Please See Me, Q/A Poetry, The Girl God, Word Riot, This Land, and on countless restaurant napkins. Wright is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and was a 2004 Grolier Prize finalist. They are also the author of three poetry chapbooks: Black Pussy (2004), prayers of Calcitrant (2010), and imaginary lovers (2013).
About Sydney Smith
Bio coming soon.
