Red Emma’s

Let's come together in a poetry/spoken word open mic of justice, conscious thought, spirituality, fam, real life—whatever advances the village! In the tradition of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth magazine, come drop some rad “fiyah” on us, or contribute just with your presence and energy! By the way: it’s a non-erotic poetry, non-“Love Jones” type of evening, so we ask that you not go there. (And, almost needless to say, leave the misogyny, homophobia and other unnecessary ish outside!)

Educator, painter, chef, and member of Rich Ink slam team Will Cook will fix us up a serving of poetic prowess! Will Cook is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in the DMV. He entered the spoken word scene in September 2022 and has since featured at numerous locations in and around DC. An avid painter, Will is in the process of creating his first poetry cookbook, a collection of original works, recipes, and paintings showcasing decades of explorations in the kitchen. Will’s poetry often explores masculinity, vulnerability, and the injustices the working class faces within an oppressive system. He will be heading to Knoxville this June alongside veteran poets to compete at Southern Fried Poetry Slam and face off against slam teams from around the country. As a small business owner, Will runs Will Cook Tutors, a math tutoring company for K-12 and college students. Whether it’s in the kitchen, ink on a page, or performing on a stage, one thing is for certain: Will Cook will cook. @willcookcreates

We have an additional awesomeness this time: National Beat Poet Laureate Mark Lipman & crew will be in town with the Vagabond Poetry Caravan National Tour bus! We’ll be able to see the bus before the event, and the Vagabonds will join us on the mic list. The justice poetry keeps rollin’! @vagabondpoetrytour @marklipman8

Holdin’ it down for the evening is Analysis—poet/spoken word artist, author, rad minister and bookseller, educator, justice & human rights person… Y’all know what’s up! https://www.liberationandpoetry.com CashApp: $AnalysisThePoet

The mic list will be ready for you at Emma’s so you can get on the mic and share something with us! Additionally, we’ll pass the bucket—physically and electronically—to give something to our featured poet and to help build for the future. Please support independent artists!

The evening is, indeed, brought to you by Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, a worker-owned and collectively operated restaurant, bookstore, and community events space in the Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland that is dedicated to putting principles of solidarity and sustainability into practice in a democratic workplace! http://redemmas.org https://www.facebook.com/redemmas @redemmas

Remember: PEACE, JUSTICE, POETRY! Will we see you there?