Joel Dias Porter aka DJ Renegade (1962) was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and was a professional DJ in the DC area. From 1994- 1999 I competed in the National Poetry Slam, and was the 1998 and 99 Haiku Slam Champion. Places my poems have been published include Time Magazine, The Washington Post, Callaloo, Antioch Review, Red Brick Review, Beltway Quarterly and the anthologies Gathering Ground, Love Poetry Out Loud, Meow: Spoken Word from the Black Cat, Short Fuse, Role Call, Def Poetry Jam, 360 Degrees of Black Poetry, Slam (The Book), Revival: Spoken Word from Lollapallooza, Poetry Nation, Beyond the Frontier, Spoken Word Revolution, Catch a Fire, and The Black Rooster Social Inn, an anthology of poems and photos of visual art. In 1995, I received the Furious Flower "Emerging Poet Award" from James Madison University. Performances include the Today Show, the documentary SlamNation, on BET, and in the feature film Slam. A Cave Canem fellow and the father of a young son, I have a CD of jazz and poetry on Black Magi Music, entitled "LibationSong".
Evie Shockley (1965) was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, poet Evie Shockley earned a BA at Northwestern University, a JD at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in English literature at Duke University. The author of several collections of poetry, including a half-red sea (2006) and the new black (2011), Shockley is also the author of the critical volume Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African American Poetry (2011). Her poetry and essays have been featured in several anthologies, including Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (2009), Poets on Teaching: A Sourcebook (2010), A Broken Thing: Contemporary Poets on the Line (2011), and Contemporary African American Literature: The Living Canon (2013). Shockley’s honors include the Holmes National Poetry Prize and fellowships from Cave Canem, the Millay Colony for the Arts, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library. Coeditor of the journal jubilat from 2004 to 2007, Shockley is a professor at Rutgers University. She lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Patrick Rosal (1969) is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Boneshepherds (Persea, 2011), recognized as a 2012 notable book both by the National Book Critics Circle and the Academy of American Poets; My American Kundiman (Persea, 2006), winner of the Global Filipino Literary Award and the 2006 Book Award in Poetry from the Association of Asian American Studies; and Uprock Headspin Scramble and Dive (Persea, 2003), winner of the Members’ Choice Award from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. His poetry and prose have been published widely in journals and anthologies, including ESPN’s Grantland, Tin House, American Poetry Review and Harvard Review. A former Fulbright Fellow, he is currently on the faculty of Rutgers University – Camden’s MFA program and lives in Bed-Stuy.
Latasha N. Nevada Diggs (1970) Writer, vocalist, and sound aritst, Latasha N. Nevada Diggs is the author of three chapbooks which include Ichi-Ban and Ni-Ban (MOH Press), and Manuel is destroying my bathroom (Belladonna Press), as well as the album, Television. Her work has published in Rattapallax, Black Renaissance Noir, Nocturnes, Polvo, Spoken Word Revolution Redux, Drumvoices Review, Long Shot, The Black Scholar, P.M.S, Bum Rush the Page, Jubilat, Everything But the Burden, Black Belt, and Tea Party Magazine to name a few. LaTasha has received scholarships, residencies, and fellowships from Cave Canem, Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, Naropa Institute, Caldera Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts (2003/2009), the Eben Demarest Trust, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Grant for Women. LaTasha was the poetry curator for the online arts journal, www.exittheapple.com. She is a Harlem Elohi Native.
Jason Carney (1970) has been a mainstay on the national performance poetry scene for the past ten years. Hailing from Dallas, Texas this fiery performer brings unique insights on issues of race class and gender. Using the lessons of his past he weaves together images that transform the audience. Breaking down barriers and biases so that all can have an honest conversation involving some of our nation's critical issues. Mr. Carney has performed all across our country mesmerizing audiences with his wit and conviction. Whether telling an illuminating antidote about his children or stirring the ghost of our societies past present and future his effect is riveting. Mr. Carney has appeared on several seasons of the HBO television show RUSSELL SIMMONS DEF POETS. He is a four time national poetry slam finalist. honored as a legend of slam poetry in 2006 and 2007. Jason has done six NACA conferences including two national conventions. Been seen on national geographic channel as well as local television channels across the united states. He has spoken and done workshops at high schools juvenile detention centers corporate diversity engagements as well has colleges and universities extensively in the fifty states.In a rehabilitation center in his youth Jason's life was changed forever by a gay man who was dying from AIDS. Using poetry to redefine his world, he transformed the hate and racist ignorance of his southern upbringing. His life mission is to educate and participate in an honest conversation of race class and gender.
Krista Franklin (1970) is a poet and visual artist from Dayton, OH who lives and works in Chicago. Her poetry and mixed medium collages have been published in lifestyle and literary journals such as Coon Bidness, Copper Nickel, RATTLE, Indiana Review, Ecotone, Clam and Callaloo, and in the anthologies Encyclopedia Vol. II, F-K and Gathering Ground. Her visual art has been featured on the covers of award-winning books, and exhibited nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Franklin is a Cave Canem Fellow, a co-founder of 2nd Sun Salon, a community meeting space for writers, visual and performance artists, musicians and scholars, and a teaching artist for Young Chicago Authors, Neighborhood Writing Alliance, and numerous organizations in the city of Chicago. Krista is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in the Interdisciplinary Book + Paper Arts program at Columbia College Chicago. For more information, please visit her website, www.kristafranklin.com
Jessica Care Moore (1971) is an internationally renowned poet/ publisher/ activist/ rock star/ playwright and actor. She is a five-time Showtime at the Apollo winner; has featured on hip-hop mega-star, Nas' "Nastradamus" album and was a returning star of Russell Simmon's HBO Series, Def Poetry Jam. After her legendary win on the Apollo stage, jessica Care moore was approached by several book publishing companies, but in 1997, she paved her own path and launched a publishing company of her own – Moore Black Press. Which has released her first book; "The Words Don't Fit In My Mouth," and several thousand copies. A few years later, she followed up with her second collection of poetry and essays, "The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto." Moore Black Press proudly published famed poets, Saul Williams and Shariff Simmons; Def Poetry Jam's co-founder, Danny Simmons, NBA basket-ball player, Etan Thomas, activist and poet, Ras Baraka and former Essence Magazine editor and author, Asha Bandele.
Adrian Matejka (1971) was born in Nuremberg, Germany, and grew up in California and Indiana. He earned his BA from Indiana University and his MFA from Southern Illinois
