As editors and writers who work to center marginalized voices, we at Apogee continually re-examine the role of institutions in facilitating dialogue and ensuring representation. The yearly AWP conference is one such institution, which fosters a dynamic and rich literary community, while at times drawing criticism for alienating marginalized writers.
We seek to promote the panels, events, and organizations at #AWP17 who explore important conversations about how intersections of race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, citizenship status, and other facets of identity shape writers’ and editors’ interactions with literary institutions. We’ve compiled a list of suggested events and panels, below, highlighting those featuring Apogee editors and contributors. We want to encourage writers and literary professionals to use AWP as a whole as a platform for furthering this project.
If you’d like to join this conversation virtually, please connect with us on Twitter. For more details on each event, follow the hyperlinks below.
SUGGESTED PANELS + READINGS
Thursday, February 9, 2017
9:00 am to 10:15 am
R109. Surprise Us: Reading Between the Submission Guidelines . (Megan Cummins, Nick Fuller Googins, Thais Miller, Safia Jama, Robert James Russell) **FEATURING APOGEE EDITOR SAFIA JAMA** [Marquis Salon 5, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two]
R111. Revolutionary Mothering: Radical Caretaking as Essential to Creating Revolutionary Communities. (Alexis Pauline Gumbs, China Martens, Lisa Factora-Borchers, TK Karakashian Tunchez, Autumn Brown) **FEATURING APOGEE EDITOR LISA FACTORA-BORCHERS** [Marquis Salon 7 & 8, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two]
R118. The Killing Fields: Representing State-Driven Slavery, Genocide, The Holocaust, and Other Systemic Murders. (Anna March, Kiese Laymon, Benjamin Reed, Jocelyn Bartkevicius, Keith Wilson) [Liberty Salon M, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
10:30 am to 11:45 am
R139. Which Comes First, Activism or Artist?. (George Higgins, Martin Espada, Eleanor Wilner, Joshua Bennett, Ladan Osman) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR LADAN OSMAN** [Marquis Salon 5, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two]
R149. Four Indigenous Writers, Not Just Simple Indian Stereotypes: A Reading . (Susan Deer Cloud, Monty Campbell, Jr., Mary Carroll-Hackett, Meta Commerse) [Liberty Salon N, O, & P, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
12:00 pm to 1:15 pm
R180. Facing Trauma: POC Leveraging Their Experience in the Academy to Initiate Community Healing. (Kenyatta Rogers, Maya Marshall, Keith Wilson, Cristina Correa, Jean Ho) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR JEAN HO** [Liberty Salon M, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
R186. Stakes Is High: The Urgency of Intersectional Poetics . (Aziza Barnes, Nate Marshall, Lauren Whitehead , Adam Falkner) [Room 102B, Washington Convention Center, Level One]
1:30 pm to 2:45 pm
R206. We Are Here Because You Were There—United States’ Military Intrusion and the Shifting Landscape of American Poetry. (Mai Der Vang, Monica Sok, Javier Zamora, Anthony Cody, Andre Yang) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR MAI DER VANG** [Marquis Salon 9 & 10, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two]
R214. Some of My Best Friends Are Octavia Butler and Ursula K. LeGuin: Genre Bias in the Creative Writing Workshop. (Asali Solomon, Naomi Jackson, Mary Stewart Atwell, Chris Gavaler) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR NAOMI JACKSON** [Capital & Congress, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
R244. What Women Want: Writing Female Desire . (Chinelo Okparanta, Jane Alison, Rebecca Schiff, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Sarah Gerard) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR CHINELO OKPARANTA** [Liberty Salon M, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
R264. Zero Chill: Writers of Color Against Respectability . (Casey Rocheteau, Rachel Mckibbens, Franny Choi, Morgan Parker) **FEATURING APOGEE + PERIGEE CONTRIBUTORS MORGAN PARKER, FRANNY CHOI, + CASEY ROCHETEAU** [Room 207B, Washington Convention Center, Level Two]
Friday, February 10, 2017
9:00 am to 10:15 am
F116. Writing as Refugees: Collective Trauma & Impossible Return. (Fatimah Asghar, Monica Sok, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Safia Elhillo, Kenzie Allen) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTORS FATIMAH ASGHAR, SAFIA ELHILLO, & KENZIE ALLEN** [Liberty Salon I, J, & K, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
10:30 am to 11:45 am
F165. In Praise of Junot Díaz and Claudia Rankine: Furthering the MFA vs. POC and AWP 2016 Keynote Conversations. (Allen Gee, David Mura, Faith Adiele, Christine Hyung-Lee, Kiese Laymon) **FEATURING APOGEE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER DAVID MURA** [Room 207A, Washington Convention Center, Level Two]
4:30 pm to 5:45 pm
F275. Expanding the Literary Community: Writing Workshops for Underserved Populations. (Bonnie Rose Marcus, Naomi Ayala, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Regie Cabico, Emily Rubin) [Marquis Salon 7 & 8, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two]
Saturday, February 11, 2017
9:00 am to 10:15 am
S116. Murder She Wrote: Women Writers on Writing Violence. (Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Robin Wasserman, R. O. Kwon, Nancy Rommelmann , Chinelo Okparanta) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR CHINELO OKPARANTA** [Liberty Salon I, J, & K, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
10:30 am to 11:45 am
S142. What Writers of Color Want White Editors to Know. (Jennifer Niesslein, Deesha Philyaw, Patrice Gopo, Dennis Norris II, Lisa Factora-Borchers)**FEATURING APOGEE EDITORS DENNIS NORRIS II + LISA FACTORA-BORCHERS** [Marquis Salon 9 & 10, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two]
12:00 pm to 1:15 pm
S181. Immigrants/Children of Immigrants: A Nontraditional Path to a Writing Career .(Ken Chen , Monica Youn, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Juan Martinez, Irina Reyn ) **FEATURING APOGEE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER MARIE MYUNG-OK LEE** [Liberty Salon N, O, & P, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
S245. Going for Broke: Poor and Working Class Writers Talk About Choosing Careers in the Arts. (Kaitlyn Greenidge, Tiphanie Yanique, Tennessee Jones, Courttia Newland, Kerry Carnahan) **FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTORS KAITLYN GREENIDGE + TIPHANIE YANIQUE** [Liberty Salon N, O, & P, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four]
SUGGESTED OFF-SITE EVENTS
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
#Lit-in-Color Write-a-Thon
Cost: Free
Event URL: website
Contact: Neelanjana Banerjee
Organization: Kaya Press
Organization URL: website
[Mulebone: 2121 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009]
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Newfound, Waxwing, As/Us Offsite Reading
**FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR SAFIA ELHILLO**
Cost: Free
Event URL: website
Featured readers include Jennifer Moore, Maggie Smith-Beehler, Jaime Poissant, Mira Rosenthal, Sejel Shah, M.J. Gette, Safia Ehllio, LaTasha Diggs, and more.
Contact: Levis Keltner
Organization: Newfound, Waxwing, As/Us
Organization URL: website
[Busboys and Poets, City Vista, 1025 5th St NW, Washington DC, 20001]
Cave Canem Fellows Off-Site Benefit Reading
Cost: Suggested Donation $10
Event URL: website
Join Cave Canem at AWP-D.C. for our annual Off-Site Reading, hosted by Howard University’s WHUT Radio Station, headlined by Howard alumni Amaud Jamal Johnson, Toni Asante Lightfoot, and John Murillo. Another 20 poets will share innovative work in four-minute, rapid-fire intervals. D.C.-based fellow Katy Richey will emcee. A donation of $10—or more!—upon entry benefits Cave Canem Foundation. Space is limited: Buy your ticket now and reserve your place (select “Other Program” and note “AWP Fellows Reading” and how many tickets you’re purchasing). Reception at 6:30, open to all ticket-holders. Reading at 7:00. This reading is dedicated to the memory of Monica A. Hand.
Contact: Kyla Marshell
Thursday, February 9, 2017
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Poetry Reading Presented by Indiana Review, Muzzle Magazine, and Yemassee Journal
**FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTORS KAVEH AKBAR & FATIMAH ASGHAR**
Cost: Suggested Donation $5
Event URL: website
Kaveh Akbar, Fatimah Asghar, Jennifer Givhan, Sam Sax, Caitlin Scarano, and Raena Shirali.
Contact: Yemassee Journal
Organization: Indiana Review, Muzzle Magazine, Yemassee Journal
[Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St NW, Washington DC, 20009]
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
RHINO Poetry Reading
**FEATURING APOGEE EDITOR SAFIA JAMA**
Cost: Free
Event URL: website
Steven Alvarez, Silvia Bonilla, Chris Campanioni, Leila Chatti, Kristina Marie Darling, Sara Henning, Rochelle Hurt, Safia Jama, Arden Levine, Cynthia Manick, Rachel Mennies, José A. Rodríguez, Leigh Camacho Rourks, Lee Sharkey, Sarah Vire, and David Welch Open mic! Short walk! Complimentary appetizers!
Contact: Gail Goepfert
Organization: RHINO Poetry
Organization URL: website
[Sixth Engine, 438 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC, 20001]
7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Write Together, Fight Together
**FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR MORGAN PARKER**
Cost: Free
Event URL: website
Featuring readings from Jericho Brown, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Melissa Febos, Morgan Parker, and Sarah Sweeney, and emceed by Jonny Diamond, Lit Hub Editor-in-Chief.
Contact: Marisa Siegel
Organization: Barrelhouse, Catapult, Lit Hub, and The Rumpus
[U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St NW, Washington DC, 20009]
9:00 pm
Steamroller: Women of Color in the Literary World
**FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTORS CYNTHIA OKA & MAHOGANY L. BROWNE**
**APOGEE MEDIA CO-SPONSORED**
Cost: Free
Steamroller: Women of Color making and taking space. Art exhibit by local WOC artists and a reading by poets Mahogany L. Browne, Cynthia Oka, Yesenia Montilla, and Seema Reza. Located on the second floor.
Contact: Emily Eakland
Organization: Recreative Spaces
Organization URL: website
[Driftwood Kitchen, 400 H Street NE, Washington DC, 20002]
Friday, February 10, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Fierce Love: The Field Office Collective Reading
**FEATURING APOGEE CONTRIBUTOR KAZIM ALI**
Cost: Free
Event URL: website
Nikky Finney, Ross Gay, Dorianne Laux, Ada Limón, Adrian Matejka, Gregory Pardlo, Kazim Ali, Curtis Bauer, Rebecca Gayle Howell, & Steve Scafidi.
Contact: Vaughan Fielder
Organization: The Field Office
Organization URL: website
Saturday, February 11, 2017
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
**FEATURING APOGEE EDITOR MURIEL LEUNG**
In Bloom: Kundiman Fellows and Friends Read from New Works
Cost: Suggested Donation $10
Event URL: website
Featuring: Neil Aitken, Gina Apostol, Marci Calabretta, Chen Chen, Ching-In Chen, Jennifer S. Cheng, Kazumi Chin, Rachelle Cruz, Muriel Leung, Jane Lin, Michelle Lin, Marco Maisto, MG Roberts, Chris Santiago, Melissa Sipin, and Jane Wong
Contact: Rachelle Cruz
Organization: Kundiman
Organization URL: website
[BloomBars, 3222 11th Street NW, Washington DC, 20001]
Did we miss something you think should be on this list? Do you have a correction? Please e-mail us at editors@apogeejournal.org.
