This is Day Three of our four-day festival! Click here to peruse all 2025 San José Poetry Festival tickets, workshops and passes!
Admission to this Zoom event is free to the public. You must reserve a ticket to get the Zoom link in your email.
Join us for poetry from five amazing Black Women Poets Laureate!
Hosted by Tshaka Campbell, Santa Clara County’s first Black Poet Laureate.
KaNikki Jakarta has been featured on NBC, WUSA9 and Comcast. She is the Inaugural Poet In Residence for Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association. She is an Award-Winning Performance Poet and an Amazon Best Selling Author who has toured the US and the UK. KaNikki is the First Black Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia, the author of three novels, two poetry collections, a memoir, a short story, poetry collection entitled ALABAMA GIRL, VIRGINIA WOMAN. She can be found on social media platform @kanikkiJ
Promotional Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PwPUqm3RN
Poet, teacher, and librarian, Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the Poet Laureate of the City of Columbia, South Carolina. She received an MFA and MLIS from the University of South Carolina. Her debut book of poetry is Traveling Mercy (Finishing Line Press, 2023) and features the Bluefield community, which is in Johnsonville, SC. Her second book Only Believe (The Word Works, 2024) won the 2023 Hilary Tham Capital Collection Prize. An alumna of Agnes Scott College, Jennifer is an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellow and has additional fellowships from Callaloo and The Watering Hole. She is a school librarian at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, SC and is the founder of the Soda City Poetry Festiva
Rhea Carmon is a poet, motivational speaker, teacher and the founder of the 5th Woman Poetry Collective. She is the author of several chapbooks, including Let the Sun Shine In (Iris Press, 2022); Through the Clouds (2019) and Solar Flares (2015). She has directed the 5th Woman On Stage since 2015 and created the 5th Woman Fellowship in 2017 to mentor poets. Her awards include the 2019 East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame for Poetry and 2017 Community Shares Award for Artist of Change. Rhea is the first African American Poet Laureate of Knoxville, TN. During her service, she wrote a spoken-word symphony and performed Vivaldi Reimagined with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. She is constantly using poetry as a conduit for inspiration and creating space for conversations about current issues of social change and justice.
Knoxville Poet Laureate Emerita | The 5th Woman, Executive Director | RheaSunshine Poetry, motivational poet/mentor
Tama Brisbane is Stockton’s Poet Laureate Emerita, having served four historic terms from 2015-2023, and presenting well over 300 times, including the inauguration of the city’s first Black Mayor, Michael Tubbs. Her Guest Poet performances at The King Center and Ebenezer Baptist Church led Martin Luther King III to say to her, “your words matter.” Her peace poems have been translated by the UN as part of its International Day of Peace, and reside in the personal collection of Beatle Ringo Star. She is co-founder of The Expression Lab, a literary arts project in Zambia that now reaches high school students in 3 cities.
“Mama T” is a published author, a Susan B. Anthony Award Winner for Creative Arts, a Black Women Organized for Political Action Honoree, a University of the Pacific Woman of Distinction, an Action on Behalf of Children Honoree, and a founding member of the National Black Poet Laureates Society. Her tireless efforts on behalf of youth – particularly those of color and from marginalized communities – have been celebrated and recognized by both houses of the California Legislature, by the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate.
Chasity Gunn Poet Laureate of Elgin, Illinois, 2019-2022
Chasity Gunn is a native of northwest Alabama. She received her MFA from Hamline University and a BA in Journalism from Belmont University. The author of How to Create a World (2018), her spoken word has been featured in the Bedlam Theatre’s 10X10 Fest and the Elgin Fringe Festival. A VONA summer workshop participant, she was awarded a Teach for Justice grant from Teachers Pay Teachers and a Cultural Arts Commission grant from the city of Elgin. Gunn is an English professor at Elgin Community College and the inaugural poet laureate of Elgin, Illinois. In 2021, she received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.
Tshaka Campbell is the first black, Santa Clara County Poet Laureate and has authored four books of poetry entitled “TARMAN”, “MUTED WHISPERS”, “STUFF, I will write more”, “TUNNEL VISION'' and is latest book published by El Martilo press entitled “BLOOD AT THE ROOT. ” His words have been featured in Bridges Review, BBC UK, Content magazine, Speakeasy vol 1, Liminal Animals, Rigorous magazine, among others. A city of Milpitas and city of Sunnyvale commendation in the arts award recipient, Tshaka has also collaborated on projects with the World Health Organization (WHO), the De young museum in San Francisco, the NUMU and Triton museums, as well sits on the Board of Directors for Silicon Valley Creates arts council and Poetry Center San Jose. He has partnered with the Silicon Valley Transit Authority and community members to deliver youth programs centered around expanding poetry and literature. He has 4 spoken word albums entitled "ONE", “BLOODLINES”, "SKIN vol.1"; and his most recent release "NKISI" is currently available on all streaming platforms.
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San José Poetry Festival 2025 is presented by Poetry Center San José and sponsored in part by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José; a grant from SVCreates, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts Council; and additional support from Anne & Mark’s Art Party and the Brandenburg Family Foundation. Many thanks to Four Points by Sheraton for hotel accommodations and Robertino R. Ragazza for his guidance and hospitality. We would like to acknowledge and offer our deepest gratitude to past and current venues worthy of your support: San Jose Stage, Central Park Library Santa Clara, Convergence Arts Center, SJZ Break Room, Art Boutiki, Books Inc., Caravan Lounge, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, First Unitarian Church of San José, History/San José, MACLA, Mama Kin, Recycle Bookstore, The School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza, Tabard Theatre (R.I.P.), Willow Glen Public Library, Works/San José art & performance center and Hillbrook Upper School of San José. Please support these spaces however you can. And we thank all our volunteers whose time and effort make this festival possible.