Raven Chronicles and It’s About Time Writers Reading Series present: “Poets Against Hate Reading,” June 25th, 2016, 3:30 pm, at “Poets in the Park 2016,” Anderson Park, 7802 168th Ave NE, Redmond, Washington.

Readers, in order of appearance:

Jacqueline Ware (5 minutes)

Angelica Guillen (Spanish/English) (5 minutes)

Zalia Cook & Bridget Yule (5 minutes together)

Mitra Lofi Shemirani (Farsi/English) (5 minutes)

Larry Crist (5 minutes)

Bios:

Zalia Cook is seventeen years old and a junior at Roosevelt High School. Her past works include an essay called “My Favorite Things” in Adventures In Reading, a book compiling works from students of the non-profit organization 826 Seattle. Currently she volunteers with non-profits including Mary’s Place and Friendship Adventures, plays softball, and enjoys jazz dance in her free time.

Larry Crist lives in Seattle and is originally from California, specifically Humboldt County. He has also lived in Chicago, Houston, London, and Philadelphia, where he attended Temple University, receiving an MFA in Theatre. He’s been widely published. Undertow Overtures is Larry’s first poetry collection, published by ATOM Press, in 2014.

Angelica Guillen (Spanish/English), Xicana, born in Mexico; retired Maestra of Composition and Literature, Skagit Valley College; mother of two intelligent, independent women, Candelaria and Rocio, and the grandmother of Baron.

Mitra Lotfi Shemirani (Farsi/English) is an Iranian-American poet, writer and journalist. She was born in 1969 in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. She received her bachelor degree in German language and literature from Tehran University and later her Master degree in Art history from TMU in Tehran. She started her career as a journalist in Iran in 1999, and worked for various independent newspapers and magazines. She also translated various literary works and poems from German to Farsi and English, including works of Ingeburg Bachmann and Ilse Aishinger, Imre Kertesz and Guenter Grass . She has also been working on translation of works of different Farsi modern poets into English. In 2009, she and her family emigrated to US and became permanent residents in Seattle. She is currently an art educator in the Bellevue School District and a professional editor.

Jacqueline Ware is a member of the African American Writers’ Alliance. A former stage performance artist, she recently begin writing poetry and participating in Spoken Word at the urging of a dear friend. Her material reflects experiences in her life and the changing world around her. She strives to breathe into her works the breath of life. The listener is drawn into the material, in a way that is moving and meaningful. Short List of Venues she reads at: El Centro De La Raza, Garfield H.S. MLK program, Elliott Bay Bookstore, African American Museum, Columbia City Library, Columbia City Art Gallery, and Lake Union Art Walk.

Bridget Yule is seventeen years old and a junior at Roosevelt High School in Seattle. She enjoys traveling the world, and exploring Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and Cuba, have been some of her favorite trips. She volunteers with various non-profits, for example: Mary’s Place, Friendship Adventures, and The Ronald McDonald House. She plays softball, loves to try new foods, and spends a lot of time with family, friends, and her golden retriever Daisy.