

We’re proud to announce A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets, the new memoir from our CEO and Founder, which reveals the vision, challenges, and triumphs behind opening Busboys and Poets. Packed with misadventures, unexpected triumphs, and insights on race, business and politics, Andy Shallal’s memoir takes us on a “How I Built … Continued
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
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
For Sean Bell and Family. Wisdom Teeth, PM Press / Busboys and Poets Press 2011
Friday March 5, 2021 early AM… It’s 1 am and I can hardly sleep. A combination of very strong coffee, jet lag and excitement keeps me tossing and turning all night. Try as I may, sleep is nowhere to be found. I am using every trick in the book. Changing sides. Hugging pillows. Relaxing my … Continued
intermittent apnea of unknown causation I. the first time it happened i thought i was being strangled four fingers compressing each side of my throat no air II. have you ever eaten crabs? first you flip the breast tab up then you fold the crab back like the binding of a new book then … Continued
Quaint is the word. I am starving. The lack of sleep and exhaustion makes me famished. To my surprise, the menu at this tea house (as in every tea house along the route I come to learn) looks like any roadside diner along I-95 South. It’s even laminated. The only thing missing was, the “hi … Continued