View this post on Instagram

“HOW TO SURVIVE A QUARANTINE: Getting Unstuck When You're Stuck Inside" has now been published! This is a labor of love from @liberatedarts and the ever-astonishing @verohneek, and so many other talented artists. Check out that cover art by @chiho_harazaki ! 😍. This full-color soft cover book is $25, and the profits are split between Youth Justice Coalition and the currently incarcerated folk who added their voices to it. I’m also in here, with a fill-in-the-blank poem, and some thoughts on getting comfortable with understanding the infinite things that define us. Support if you can, purchase link is in my bio. If you’d like to read it but can’t afford it, download link is in the bio of @liberatedarts. May unstuckedness find you when you are charged for/with action. May stuckedness be a soothing hug when you are in need of it. May stillness and creativity and made up words be with you either way. 🙏🏽

A post shared by Ra Avis (@rawra.avis) on

View this post on Instagram

Last night, I got real Texan on the mic with a memorized poem (🤠!) Then I made my way through two more short poems, which were translated to pictures so I could "read" them — gratitude to the hackathon crew for making that possible. 👾💜 The boyfriend drove down from a million miles away and took a poeting picture of me that I like, even though I will never get used to seeing myself in a hat. 💙 @sarahthursdaypoet , @billfriday and I grabbed some sushi and ramen before the show. 💚 Everyone on the open mic was 🔥, @roonbug and @hanalena.fennel.poetry read fantastic cicada poems for me 💛, and there were lots of readers I either hadn't heard or hadn't heard in awhile. It was super cool to be audience to all that. 🙏🏾💕 And, the best part– I got to feature alongside two extraordinary poets (@theexquisitepoet and @sarahthursdaypoet) in front of the warm audience of Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at The Ugly Mug. Listening to them is always an honor, listening to them with a roomful of people who get what an honor it is– even better. ♥️. [I got a bit dizzy on stage. Even reading images for just 10 minutes was a lot. I won't be featuring anywhere again, or tackling any busy nights like this one, until I make some significant progress with all this brain stuff, which hopefully happens soon 🤞🏾. And now… I plan to nap till next week. 🙈💚]

A post shared by Ra Avis (@rawra.avis) on

View this post on Instagram

There's nothing quite like seeing a book you made– a book you wrote– on a shelf next to books you've read and loved and recommended. You know. Real books. Every time someone tells me they've read one of mine, I'm delighted. Who would have guessed we'd be here? Who could guess where we'll be in another 3 years? Sack Nasty: Prison Poetry is a book of poetry that is really just … a table of contents for the conversations I want to have with you about my experiences incarcerated. Dinosaur-Hearted is a call to healing– a get-to-know-me-despite-my-experiences, a reminder that things do not have to be perfect to be beautiful. Thank you for being a sacred piece of such a beautiful world. 🙏🏾 . . (Both are available on Amazon, on shelves at @madeinlongbeach , and scattered around here and there with less regularity but still lots of love. I'll have them with me on the 24th for the celebrations on @4thstreetlb in front of @retroda_pastandpresent. They'll also be available at @chevaliersbooks during the poetry reading on the 27th.) . . . #AboutMyBooksIGuess #RaAvis #SackNasty #DinosaurHearted #AuthorPowered #IfYouWantToBorrowACopyLetMeKnow #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #books #prison #widowhood #incarceration #poetry #grief #healing #longbeach #thisislb

A post shared by Ra Avis (@rawra.avis) on

Blog at WordPress.com.