Happy National Poetry Month! Today’s 30 for 30 (Twitter hashtag #30for30) poem comes from Joseph Ross, the featured poet of today’s Sunday Kind of Love, and author of Meeting Bone Man. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Ross’ poems appear in many anthologies including Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion, & Spirituality, Full Moon on K Street, and Poetic Voices Without Borders 1 and 2. He currently directs the Writing Center at Carroll High School in Washington, D.C.

Sunday Kind of Love is a monthly open mic poetry series that features emerging and established poets from the Washington, D.C. area and around the nation. Presented by Busboys and Poets in partnership with Split This Rock, each program includes featured poet(s) and an open mic segment centered around a predetermined social or poetic theme. Hosted by Sarah Browning and Katy Richey. Sunday Kind of Love is held on the third Sunday of every month at Busboys and Poets 14th & V.

JOSEPH_ROSS

Darfur 1: The Boy
by Joseph Ross

My hands move as slowly
as they have ever moved.

I carefully wrap
the stiff, brown body

of this child,
in a bright orange and blue cloth.

A boy, seven years old,
very old, for here.

Elbows, like crickets’ legs
teeth, luminous white.

The canvas walls of the tent
gasp for air

as the colored cloth
covers his face.

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Palestine Week 2024

January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued

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For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday

Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals.  He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.”  … Continued

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8. Fusterlandia

Reflections from the Busboys and Poets Travel Tribe’s Cultural Exchange trip to Cuba (July 6-13, 2022) By Andy Shallal (@andyshallal CEO/Founder, Busboys and Poets) Jose Fuster aka the Picasso/Gaudi of Havana is a bundle of energy. At 70 something he is charming. Engaging. Full of life. And a brilliant artist and entrepreneur. He is the founder … Continued

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Everest Base Camp #19

The journey continues I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for coming along on this journey. Your comments were priceless. I really looked forward to reading them. I will be sharing photos when I get better Wifi, and have been sketching here and there. There will be more to … Continued

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Watch Angela Davis in conversation with Amy Goodman

Last night a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock opened for a conversation with activist and scholar Angela Davis with Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman at Busboys – 450K.  The private events room at 450K is named after Angela Davis and she signed a photo of herself on the mural created by our founder/CEO Andy … Continued