SEASON 37 | june 2025

Black Queer (+ Allies!) Emancipation Open Mic
Hosted by ebony stewart
June 15, 2025 7:00PM

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 Sunday, June 15th. 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 poet Jasmine Games. Open Mic registration begins at 6:30, with performances starting at 7pm.

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.

Jasmine Games is a Black queer spoken word poet and theater practitioner from Houston, TX. She holds a BA in English and Performance Studies from Texas A&M University and an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from The University of Texas at Austin. An award-winning artist, she received the 2021 Sexton Prize for Poetry and the Winifred Ward Award for excellence in theatre education. Jasmine is the Artistic Director of The Poet House and Director of Education & Social Justice at The VORTEX. Her debut poetry collection, Somebody’s Daughter, is available online. Follow her @jasminegamespoetry or visit jasmineigames.com

6:30pm Sign up for open mic 
7pm Open-Mic Poetry hosted by Ebony Stewart 

Admission:  By donation. 
Suggested $5/ $2 for poets and performers