SEASON 35 | JUNE 2023

BLACK QUEER EMANCIPATION OPEN MIC POETRY NIGHT
JUNE 2, 2023

Hosted by Ebony Stewart

In honor, acknowledgment, and to celebrate the spirit and memory of Black Queer folk during PRIDE with Juneteenth in mind, please join host Ebony Stewart and the community onstage at The VORTEX for an open-mic night on Friday, June 2nd. Bring your poetry to share or simply come and witness the free-flowing words of those highlighted within this marginalized community. We will also hear from featured poets Jeaux and KB Brookins. Open Mic registration begins at 6:30, with performances starting at 7pm.

About the ARTISTS

Ebony Stewart is an international touring interdisciplinary poet, writer, and performance artist. Her work speaks to the Black experience, with emphasis on gender, sexuality, womanhood, queer-positivity, and race, with the hopes to be relatable, remove shame, heal minds, encourage dialogue, and inspire folks in marginalized communities. As one of the most decorated poets in Texas, Ebony is a respected coach and mentor, one of the top touring poets in the country, and a Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion. The mental health advocate and former sexual health educator also has a Master's in Social Work and is soon to be the hood’s favorite therapist. As a playwright, Ebony’s one woman shows, Hunger and OCEAN have received B. Iden Payne Awards and the David Mark Cohen New Play Award. She is the author of BloodFresh, Home.Girl.Hood., and Love Letters to Balled Fists. Her work has been featured in AfroPunk, Button Poetry, Teen Vogue, The Texas Observer, and Houston Public Media. Let us not forget, the only poet to perform at the Seattle 2018 Pride Festival before 200,000 people, was Ebony Stewart. She is the #storyoftheblackgirlwinning.

KB Brookins is a Black, queer, and trans writer, cultural worker, and artist from Texas. They authored How to Identify Yourself with a Wound, winner of the Saguaro Poetry Prize and American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book in Literature. KB’s writing is published in Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, HuffPost, Poetry Magazine, and elsewhere. Their honors include a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship, PEN America’s Emerging Voices fellowship, and a Lambda Literary fellowship among others. KB has two books – Freedom House (Deep Vellum, June 2023) and Pretty (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024) – forthcoming. Follow them online at @earthtokb. 

Although not a native Austinite, Jeaux has fallen in love with the city he has called home for the past eight years and has invested countless hours in working to improve his new home. As the Director of Community Engagement at Texas Health Action, his primary work is focused on reducing HIV disparities, cultivating relationships with community members, and developing strategies to reduce stigma surrounding HIV and sexual health. His ultimate goal is to promote a shared sense of community pride and ensure that the City’s vision of making Austin the most livable city in the country is not just a slogan, but a reality. Jeaux is excited to continue his personal mission of empowering residents to have an active voice and role in advocating the needs of their community. Aside from trying to save the world, he likes theatre, playing volleyball, enjoying every brunch Austin has to offer, and asking the age-old question “What Would Beyonce do?”