AWP 2011 in D.C.

Here’s the full calendar of panels and workshops that I’ll be involved with at the 2011 AWP conference in D.C.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 7 p.m.
Cave Canem Fellows Reading
Charles Sumner School, 1201 17th Street Northwest
$10 Suggested Donation
Cave Canem fellows raise the roof & raise funds for Cave Canem, North America’s home for black poetry. Featuring E.J. Antonio, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Remica Bingham-Risher, Derrick Brown, Erica Doyle, Jonterri Gadson, Yalonda JD Green, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Niki Herd, Randall Horton, Linda Susan Jackson, Marcus Jackson, Brandon Johnson, Bettina Judd, Rickey Laurentiis, Robin Lewis, January Gill O’Neil, Iain Pollock, Nicole Sealey & Wendy S. Walters. Cave Canem fellow Amanda Johnston hosts.
http://www.cavecanempoets.org

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 6 p.m.
Willow Books Reading
African American Civil War Museum, Grimke Building, 1925 Vermont Ave. NW, Cost: Free
Willow Books will host a reading from its active roster of authors including: Tara Betts, Lita Hooper, Antoinette Brim, Curtis Crisler, Derrick Harriell, Rachel Eliza Griffiths and James Cherry.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 3-4:15 p.m.
“African American Writers on Obama” (panel at AWP)
Empire BR, Omni Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington, DC, 2008
Lita Hooper, Renee Simms, Tara Betts, Antoinette Brim, Demetrice Worley
44 on 44: Forty-Four African American Writers on the 44th President of the United States is an anthology of poetry, essays, and creative non-fiction based on the election of the first African American president of the U.S. The anthology includes contributors’ reflections of the historic election of Barack Obama. Several contributors will read from the anthology and engage in a discussion with one another and the audience.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 6 p.m.
FLORICANTO IN DC: A Multicultural Response Reading to SB 1070
True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street NW, Washington, DC
$5 suggested. No one turned away.
Join us as over twenty poets lend their energy and language to a group reading in response to Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and in resistance to the atmosphere of national xenophobia under which the bill (and its emerging counterparts) were created. Confirmed readers include: Francisco X. Alarcon, Tara Betts, Sarah Browning, Regie Cabico, Carmen Catalayud, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Susan Deer Cloud, Martín Espada, Odilia Galvan Rodriguez, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Aracelis Girmay, Randall Horton, Juan Felipe Herrera, Dorianne Laux, Marilyn Nelson, Mark Nowak, Barbara Jane Reyes, Abel Salas, Sonia Sanchez, Craig Santos Perez, Hedy Trevino, Pam Ushuk, Dan Vera, Rich Villar, and Andre Yang. Co-sponsored and presented by the Acentos Foundation, Split This Rock, and the Poets Responding to SB 1070 Facebook group. Hosted by Oscar Bermeo.
http://literatiboricua.blogspot.com/2010/12/floricanto-in-dc-multicultural-reading.html

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
“Teaching At-Risk Teen Writers” (panel at AWP)
Wilson A,B,C room, Marriott, 2660 Woodley Road, Washington, DC 20008
Tara Betts, Susanna Horng, Maya Nussbaum, Maria Theresa Romano, Nancy Larson Shapiro, Mary Roma. This panel of veteran mentors & leaders at Girls Write Now, an organization of professional women writers mentoring NYC high school girls since 1998, examines the challenges & joys of nurturing at-risk teen writers. Through their unique, intergenerational community model–mutually exciting for students and teachers–panelists share GWN’s pedagogical approach, multi-genre curriculum, developmental portfolios & writing exercises applicable to a range of populations and skill levels.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 5-6:30 p.m.
TORCH Poetry http://www.torchliteraryarts.org
African American Civil War Museum, 1816 12th Street, NW Washington DC, 20009
An afternoon of poetry featuring contributors from TORCH: poetry, prose, and short stories by African American Women, an online journal published by Torch Literary Arts.