Book release for Aerik Francis’s Miseducation, with DJ Alisha B, ArtsyQ, Franklin Cruz, and Nathan Alexander Moore, Saturday, June 17, 2023, 7pm
Join us on Saturday, June 17, 2023, 7pm at Counterpath (7935 East 14th Ave. in Denver) for a book release and party for Aerik Francis’s Miseducation, with readings and performances by ArtsyQ, Franklin Cruz, Nathan Alexander Moore, and DJ Alisha B. Free and open to the public!
Aerik Francis (they/he) is a Queer Black & Latinx poet & teaching artist based in Denver, Colorado, USA. Francis is the author of two poetry chapbooks: MISEDUCATION (NDR 2023), winner of the 2022 New Delta Review Chapbook Prize, as well as BODYELECTRONIC (Trouble Department 2022). Aerik has received poetry fellowship support from CantoMundo, The Watering Hole, The Chrysalis Institute, and Sundress Academy for the Arts. They are also a poetry reader for Underblong poetry journal and a coordinator with Slam Nuba. Their work may be found on their website phaentompoet.com
Alisha Francis aka DJ Alisha B is a DJ, artist, fashion designer, educator, and all-around polymath born & based in Denver, CO. Creator of Royal Jelly Fashion and host of the radio show Fashion Coup, she has also recently released a beat buffet called TASTY available now on all music streaming platforms. Find her on social media @djalishab303 .
Briannah Hill, a.k.a ArtsyQ, identifies as a Blaqueer [Black & Queer] Nonbinary individual. They are a poet, storyteller, and workshop facilitator from Denver, CO. Their passion and work are driven by breathing life into Black imagination, joy, and futures. Briannah is a community organizer, educator, and social activist for Black Trans and Blaqueer people. Briannah is also the Co-Executive Director of the local organization Sacred Voices, which fosters unity and healing among Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC+) communities through creative expression while empowering youth to find their voice and power and become leaders. You can contact them through artsyq2@gmail.com or on social media @ArtsyQ2 on all platforms.
Franklin Cruz is a queer latin dancer, poet born in Idaho, raised Texan and polished in Denver. Born from an immigrant family his work has placed him in science museums, environmental spaces, as an emcee and poet for dance & poetry competitions and conferences. They aim for specificity over simplicity, encompassing self love , conservation, immigration and culture. (Instagram @fcruz_unido)
Nathan Alexander Moore (she/they) is Black transfemme writer, cultural theorist, and educator. Currently, she serves as the Assistant Professor of Black Trans and Queer Studies in the department of Women & Gender Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her poetry has previously been published in Pulse/Pulso: In Remembrance of Orlando from Damaged Goods Press, P-QUEUE, ode to Queer and Peauxdunque Review. Their fiction was a Semifinalist for the 2021 Screencraft Cinematic Book Competition, as well as shortlisted for the 2022 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Award. She is also a 2023 Lambda Literary Fellow. Their poetry chapbook, small colossus (2021), is available from above/ground press.