Charis welcomes Jewelle Gomez in conversation with Krystal A. Smith for a celebration of Still Water: Poems. African American, Cabo Verdean/Wampanoag/Ioway all converge in Jewelle Gomez’s exquisite collection of poetry that explores the legacies of family heritage, history, and identity. This event is co-hosted by BLF Press.

Gomez contemplates her sexuality, multi-ethnic and class identities, and what it means to experience love, loss, grief, friendship, and solidarity with other women during times of political upheaval. Gomez’s poems are a gift: at times sumptuous and impassioned, and always striking in their clarity.

Jewelle Gomez (Cabo Verdean/Wampanoag/Ioway) is a playwright, novelist, poet and cultural worker who was born and raised in Boston, MA. She was on the original staff of one of the first weekly Black television shows, Say Brother, (now Basic Black) at WGBH TV in Boston. She lived in New York City for 22 years before moving to the Bay Area. She’s the author of eight books including three poetry collections and the first Black Lesbian vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. It was recently optioned by Cheryl Dunye (Watermelon Woman, Lovecraft Country) for a television mini-series. Her plays, Waiting for Giovanni, Leaving the Blues and Unpacking in Ptown, were commissioned by New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco for their west coast premiere. The TOSOS Company premiered Waiting for Giovanni and Leaving the Blues in New York City. She was the recipient of a Bram Stoker Legacy Award from Horror Writers Association (2021). Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @VampyreVamp

Krystal A. Smith is a poet and speculative fiction writer. Her poems have appeared in Entropy Magazine, Serendipity, Kissing Dynamite, and Sinister Wisdom. Her collection Two Moons: Stories was a 2019 Lambda Literary Award Finalist. Her poetry collection, This is Not About Love (BLF Press, 2021), explores the complexities of human emotion and relationships via memory, experience, and imagination. Follow Krystal on Twitter @authorkasmith.

BLF Press is an independent Black feminist publishing house dedicated to amplifying the work of Black, Indigenous, and queer women of color. Our goal for this press is to create a space for forward thinking, creative women of exceptional talent. We embrace difference, and envision BLF Press as an outlet for the expression of various types of writing that exemplifies the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and queer women of color in the United States.

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

We will be archiving this event and adding closed captioning as soon as possible after airing so that it will be accessible to deaf and HOH people. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Still Water: Jewelle Gomez in conversation with Krystal A. Smith