Author Next Door: Where Art and Culture Collide

Name: Author Next Door: Where Art and Culture Collide
Start: 2026-09-13T17:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-10-01T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Anacostia

Date and Time

Sep 13, 2026 5:00 pm

Location

Anacostia

2004 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Washington, District of Columbia, 20020

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Description:

On Sunday, September 13, at Busboys and Poets Anacostia, join us for Author Next Door: Where Art and Culture Collide, the next installment in our rotating celebration of community storytellers from across the DMV. This panel will spotlight authors whose works explore a variety of formats and genres, including poetry, historical research, fiction, and photography. Each featured author will read from and discuss their writing, participate in a conversation about the intersections among their books, and answer questions from the audience. We invite you to listen, engage, and support these local authors and their powerful stories!

Featured Books

februaries by Michele Evans

Evans, a fifth-generation Washingtonian and English teacher, revisits significant and complicated moments from America’s past to spark necessary and challenging conversations about the future of humanity. This poetry collection was inspired by the literary tradition established by an assembly of living legends from the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, including Dr. Joanne V. Gabbin and E. Ethelbert Miller.

Native American History of Washington, DC by Armand P. Lione

Read the missing stories of DC’s precolonial history. Native Americans lived on the land that is now Washington, DC, for several thousand years before English settlers arrived in the early 1600s. Native people had villages, quarries, and burial grounds throughout the city, ranging from what is now Rock Creek Park to the grounds of the White House. These sites tell the history of the Anacostans and the preceding tribes who once walked the land beneath historic sites and museums that now neglect them. Local author Armand P. Lione details the historical record of the District’s Native tribes and addresses the complex question of why these stories have not been presented to the public.

Love At Second Sight by Ayoka B.

Love At Second Sight explores how love changes us. Infused with lyrics and poetry, the novel includes discussion questions and a music playlist. Its beautiful cover features custom artwork by Maryland-based artist Keiona Clark.

DC Film Collective – Volume 1 by Tobias Shaw and Brett Parsons

There is so much photography in the world today. We are surrounded by images—inundated with them and often numb to them. With the unavoidable abundance of photographs today, our finite attention has become the valuable commodity. This community-curated collection of images is as much about the art of seeing photography as it is about the art of taking photographs. With so much of what we see determined by algorithms, this book offers a community-driven way to share photography with offline intentionality.

Event Details

Location: Busboys and Poets Anacostia
Date: Sunday, September 13
Doors open: 4:30 PM
Program begins: 5:00 PM
Admission: Free and open to all
Format: In-person event

Full dinner service will be available throughout the program. The conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing. Copies of each author’s book will be available for purchase during and after the event. All featured authors will sign books following the program. Guests are asked to RSVP to receive direct event updates from Busboys and Poets Books.

About the Authors

Michele Evans

Michele Evans is the author of purl (Finishing Line Press, 2025) and februaries (Yellow Arrow Publishing, 2026). She is a fifth-generation Washingtonian, poet, English and Creative Writing teacher, and adviser for Unbound, an award-winning high school literary arts magazine. Her poetry has appeared in anthologies, journals, and magazines, including Artemis, Bellevue Literary Review, and Gargoyle. Despite always wearing black, this Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee loves blueberries, blue hydrangeas, blues musicians, and Blue Mountain coffee. Visit Michele online at www.awordsmithie.com.

Dr. Armand P. Lione

Dr. Armand P. Lione has lived in Washington, DC, for more than 40 years but, like many people, had overlooked the stories of the city’s Indigenous people. Spending time in Australia during the past 18 years sensitized him to the hidden history of Indigenous people around the world. Beginning in 2016, he collected the social and archaeological records of DC’s Anacostan Natives and published a blog and website to draw attention to their history on this land. In addition to his primary work as a reproductive toxicologist, Dr. Lione has spent the past 10 years as an amateur historian, combing the rich resources of the Library of Congress and other DC sources for documentation of the city’s Native history. The History Press published Native American History of Washington, DC in fall 2023.

Ayoka B.

Ayoka B. is a multi-genre author of six books whose work centers Black love and joy. With tenderness and ache, she tells stories through her unique lens. She is also a co-host of the podcast Writing While Black. Ayoka began writing short stories in high school as a way to express her feelings. In college, she pivoted to poetry and wrote her first collection, Mule of the World. It is the first volume in a series that includes Love LETTERS, Estoy Esperándote, and Sexfunky. Her debut novel, Love At Second Sight, follows the journey of Shane, a single mother and poet. Written in descriptive prose, the novel features unforgettable characters and is infused with lyrics and poetry. A companion novel, The Composition of Evan Jeffries, featuring fan-favorite character Mike, is scheduled for completion in summer 2026. Her works in progress also include a short-story collection, two poetry collections, and a supernatural young-adult novel titled Bluff. A DC native, Ayoka lives in Costa Rica with her family. Her intention is for readers to discover joy. When she is not writing or recording, you’ll find her with her nose in a book.

Brett Parsons

Brett Parsons is a multidisciplinary artist, producer, actor, writer, and musician. In 2022, he co-founded the DC Film Collective to help unite local artists. He later launched Murray Cinema Inc. with his brother Timothy. The nonprofit’s short films have been featured at festivals and events including DCIFF, Awesome Con, and NOVA FEST.