The Making of Busboys and Poets

A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets

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

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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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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

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Before the Next Bomb Drops

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Before the Next Bomb Drops

In his second poetry collection, Remi Kanazi takes the reader on a journey of violence and collective ignorance from Palestine to Ferguson to Iraq to Brooklyn. His unapologetically angry, graphic depictions of violence and fierce indictment of the ignorant among us who claim “the world is a messed-up place” but do nothing to stop it … Continued

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Everest Base Camp #12

“Hey Dude” I finish my communing with the majesty of this wild, magnificent slice of earth and head to the other side of this narrow metal wonder of a bridge. My legs are still noodles but a bit more steady. My face is flush. My body is intact. My mind is calm. And I am … Continued

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Art All Night – The Drive-Thru Art Gallery in Anacostia

Created by local artists in partnership with the Anacostia BID and Busboys and Poets, the Art All Night Drive-Thru Art Gallery brings the Anacostia business corridors to life with an eclectic collection of artistic installations and original work. Follow the CURATED MAP of artwork and businesses throughout the streets of Anacostia. The artistic installations will … Continued

iViva Cuba

3. Cuba – The arrival

Our visit to Cuba is to see this first hand. This is a cultural trip. Not a political one. It is meant to open opportunities for dialogue and understanding between people in the United States and the Cuban people. I hope you will join me as we explore this island nation together.