Ra Avis

Ra Avis is a social justice educator, and an award-winning author and blogger. She shares candidly about prison, grief, disability, neurodivergence, and community care. Her work supports small business efforts for system-impacted or disabled individuals, through technology resourcing, changed legislation, and accessibility efforts. She specializes in projects that connect communities across digital and analog spaces. Ra loves people who do things, people who love things, and people who hate things. She probably loves you.

Rarasaur

Rarasaur blog (est 2012) is an ongoing exploration of what it is to be achingly human in a world of frightfully wondrous happenings. It showcases digital zines by Ra Avis, and introspective meanderings with full audio readings. After 12 years on WordPress where it gathered 50,000 frightfully wondrous readers, Rarasaur blog has started over on Substack as of October 2024.

Blog Recognitions include: BlogHer Voices of the Year 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, & 2017; Because We’re Poets Championship 2013; Featured by WordPress.com via Freshly Pressed or Discovered over 25 times.

Watch/listen

Work History

2024: Biggest Little Zine Fair Workshop Facilitator - LBC, CA - Nov, Prison Writing Project – Living Expert (ongoing), Biggest Little Zine Fair founding co-organizer –* LBC, CA – Oct*, Poets Beyond Cages performing poet – LBC, CA – Sept, States of Solitary performing poet – WA DC – July, Poetry Spotlight at DiPiazzas performing poet– LBC, CA – July, Mi Clandestina Reading – LA, CA – Jun2023: Re-Imagining Justice Conference with the Minnesota Justice Research Center: Roundtable Discussion member – Nov, Museum of Latin American Art – Exhibit on Grief artist- Oct, Pay the Tab performing poet – July2022: Host of Abolition is for Everybody podcast, Something New: Poetry reading – LBC, CA – September, Artists United to End Homelessness – MarFinalist for the Women’s National Book Association writing contest in Creative Non Fiction 20212021: Injustice on the Small Screen: Poetry Reading – Oct, We Don’t Think We Did This Right: Poetry Reading – Oct, 64MillionArtists: Featured Artist – June, Awakin.org: Artist Discussion – June, Art for a New Future with Justice Art Coalition: Facilitator: June, Getting Unstuck When You’re Stuck Inside – Creativity Workshops with WeRiseLA and LiberatedArtsCollective – May, The Other Art Fair – Mar, Community Reading with The Nasiona – Feb2020: Taste of Long Beach: Meet the Makers with Ra Avis – Nov, The Nasiona podcast: Episode 34: Incarceration and Prison Abolition – Oct, 2020, Love Your Enthusiasm podcast: Episode 16: The Beautiful Practice of Forgiveness with Ra Avis – Sept, G.R.R.R.L Collective Anti-Racist Learning Group : Panel Discussion – Aug, AMR Therapy : Conversations with Ra Avis – May, LLS Project for the Innocent – Long Beach Community Forum for Los Angeles District Attorney Election – Feb, 2020, Expressions LA, a feature with Sarah Thursday – Feb, The Ugly Mug – Two Idiots Peddling Poetry – Feb, Riveted- A StoryTelling Event – JanShort list for the Montreal Poetry Prize 2020
Finalist for the Rita Dove Prize in Poetry 2020 & 20192019: Practicing Abolition 1, October 2019, Resistance Reading Fundraiser for RAICES, Sep 2019, Ladies Lean Into Poetry, July 2019, KPFK.org Think Outside the Cage with the Roots and Wings Project, July 2019, Ochi Projects, Artists Voices on Incarceration and Transition, Jun 2019, Feedback Sunday, Ma 2019, Poetry Bleeding, Feb 2019, Unlocked: Incarceration Open Mic, Feb 2019, Critical Resistance, A Prison Abolition Event, Feb 20192018: Whittier Gallery, Find Your Inner Goddess Event, Nov 2018, Long Beach Poetry Book Fair, Oct 2018, Small Presses on 4th, Community Event, Aug 2018, Chevalier’s – Gathering of Tribes event, Aug 2018, Redondo Poets, Mar 2018, The Last Sunday – 2018.

Publications

Featuring a collection of concepts pulled through in story form, memoirist Ra Avis gently calls for happiness in a time of healing.

Some things stay still, and others move forward, and all things do both. Listen to the little flower and the big star learn how to gently say goodbye. Illustrated by Joshua P. Stroder and written by Ra Avis, this short book is all about inevitable transitions.

Anthologies & Web ChroniclesLong Beach Spits Fire (2024); How to Survive Quarantine : Getting Unstuck when you’re Stuck Inside published by Liberal Arts Collective (2020); A Teenager’s Guide to Feminism by Pear Shaped Press (2020); Red Shift 5 by Arroyo Seco Press (2020); Harvard’s Palabritas Spring Edition (2020); What They Leave Behind (2021); The Forthe : No Contiguity: Writer Ra Avis Explores Being Borderless (2019); Stigma Fighters (2019)

Projects

ONGOING
Founder/Organizer – Community event for zines tabling and access.

PAUSED
Founder/writer – This currently unfunded project will eventually be a collaborative zine series and interactive archive documenting carceral culture and the complexities of reentry, available for free download to grassroots organizations and the public, fostering a deeper understanding of the justice system.

PAUSED
Designer – Illustrations, hand-letterings, and analog offerings for purchase.

ONGOING
Founder – A write-every-day-in-November project that connects over 200 bloggers and has resulted in tens of thousands of blog posts across the globe.

RETIRED
Artist & Creator – A street-art project that engaged with thousands of locals.

STROKEBRAIN SERIES

GRIEF ALTAR

Contact

All nice mail welcome:
Ra Avis
2201 N. Lakewood Blvd #D1887
Long Beach, CA 90815Project donations:
Venmo @AchinglyHuman