Five different styles, five different cities represented, five different poets laureate. You don't want to miss this amazing lineup and experience this Saturday. As part of the Beast Crawl festival, you will hear from the poets, able to purchase merchandise, and interact with the arts community.
RSVP to save your spot at /e/beast-crawl-2026-poet-laureates-showcase
📅 Saturday, April 11th, 2026
🕖 4:00 – 5:30 PM
📍BAM House Theater, 1540 Broadway, Oakland, CA
#BeastCrawl #PoetLaureate
Featured Poets Laureate:
Stephen Sharpe (Richmond) @afterwordpress
She Spits Fire (Modesto) @shespitsfire_
Dr. Ayodele Nzinga (Oakland) @wordslanger
Aya De León (Berkeley) @ayadeleonwrites
Cordon Concepts (Antioch) @cordonconcepts
Organized by
@beastcrawlfestival@imjrice
“To see the page as something that was ours. To see our voices as ours and that no one could take away from us.” ✨
Board Member Tova Ricardo (@tovathepoet ) opened last weekend’s event Celebrating Literary Foremothers with this powerful sentiment.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, to our incredible panelists—Judy Juanita (@judyjuanita6226 ), Aya De León (@ayadeleonwrites ), and Jeneé Darden (@jenee.darden )— and to our board member Dorothy Lazard (@dorothylazard_author ) for hosting and organizing such a meaningful and impactful event!
In a time when marginalized voices are facing existential threats, it is crucial that Oakland youth harness the power of their own stories to advocate for themselves, Oakland, and the world.
Thank you for supporting Chapter 510 and helping us continue to make this work possible. 💛🌈
For all of the teachers, students, and recent college grads out there, we have a free upcoming event for ya! In support of Climate Action Youth Summit (CAYS), Litquake has collaborated on the Authors Corner , a lunchtime lecture series (1:15-2:15pm) with climate-oriented journalists and writers, Marissa Ortega-Welch, Aya de Leon, and Rachel Sarah.
✨ Register at the link in our IG bio or on our website under ‘upcoming events’
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Climate Action Youth Summit: Authors Corner
Fri. April 24 · 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm
Dorothy Lazard—respected historian, librarian, and Chapter 510 board member—will host a powerful panel of local women writers on March 22 in benefit of Chapter 510 and our youth programs. ✨
Featuring Judy Juanita (@judyjuanita6226 ), Angela Dalton (@angeladalton_author ), Aya De Léon (@ayadeleonwrites ), and Jeneé Darden (@jenee.darden ), this conversation will highlight the incredible work and voices shaping our literary community and inspiring the next generation. 📚
Celebrate Women’s History Month with an evening of inspiration, storytelling, and empowerment. You won’t want to miss this dynamic event! 💫
Celebrating Literary Foremothers:
Date: Sunday, March 22nd
Time: 2pm
Location: Chapter 510 (546 9th Street, Old Oakland)
Event is free, but registration is required!
🔗 Visit the link in our bio to register and learn more.
Next month I’ll perform in a Body Love Open Mic! Saturday, March 14th in Berkeley. Can you come? I’d love to see you there! In addition to my poems/dance there will be other awesome body loving art and a mini dance party at the end.
Tickets are cheaper in advance and the last time they did this it sold out, so if you’re thinking of coming, I recommend getting tickets now! /body-love-open-mic
@ayadeleonwrites teaches creative writing in the African American Studies Department at UC Berkeley.
She was the first selected poet laureate of the City of Berkeley and the author of 11 novels.
Aya’s work has also appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Ebony, The Root, and on Def Poetry, and was featured in “By the Book” in the New York Times.
In 2022, she organized an online conference entitled Black Literature vs. the Climate Emergency (available on YouTube). She organizes nationally with the Movement for Black Lives, statewide with the Working Families Party and locally with the Black organizing project in Oakland.
Come see and hear the power of her work in person
LIVE! February 28th for our first “Winter in America”
Of 2026!
TICKET LINK - /4zmrnvd5
7:00 - 9:00 PM
1540 Broadway
Downtown Oakland Ca.
@bambdcdc
