FLORIDA WATER w/ aja monet | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
May 30, 2025 6:00 pm
Location
450K
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
May 30, 2025 6:00 pm
450K
Join aja monet to celebrate this collection of poems that, like the cleansing waters of spiritual baths, rinse, reflect, and reveal the raw truths that lie within
In this vulnerable meditation, aja monet reflects on her migration to South Florida in search of love, connection, and belonging, unearthing the delicate balance between the poet, lover, and community organizer. These poems lay bare the tender dance of relationships, entwining the personal with the political, as they confront the state’s fractured history of racial prejudice, marooned peoples, and the unruly forces of nature.
In Florida Water, each poem is an artifact—an offering from her time spent wading through the rising tides of climate change, heartbreak, and systemic violence. With each line, monet immerses us deeper into the water, where the currents of memory, struggle, and survival pull us toward both despair and hope.
aja monet is joining us on the Busboys stage to celebrate the release of her latest collection, and “take us backwards into a soul movement where everything felt possible and forward into the loving future we deserve at the same time” (Alexis Pauline Gumbs). Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and monet will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of FLORIDA WATER and MY MOTHER WAS A FREEDOM FIGHTER will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
aja monet is a surrealist blues poet, musician, and cultural worker whose poems sing to us of love, gender, justice, and spirituality. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, her writing sways between realms where the poetic is both a prayer and a call to action.
Her debut poetry collection, My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, a tribute to women and girls in the pursuit of freedom, earned a 2018 NAACP Image Award nomination for poetry. In 2023, she released When the Poems Do What They Do, a debut album of jazz and blues poetry. In 2024, she earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album, a testament to her voice, both on the page and in the world.
As artistic creative director for the Voices: A Scared Sisterscape audioplay and campaign with V-Day, monet is part of the global movement to end violence against women and girls. monet is a recipient of the EBONY Power 100 Artist in Residence Award, Tribeca Film Festival’s Harry Belafonte Social Justice Award, and the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award.
