Poetic Tuesday

Sharing works that delight, provoke, inspire and rouse, the Poetic Tuesdays series turns lunchtime into an oasis of creative expression. Lighting up Jessie Square with a fabulously curated line-up of poets and musicians, Poetic Tuesdays offer a vivifying midday breather for neighborhood groups, students, office workers on break and out-of-towners looking for respite from The City’s hustle and bustle.

Participating Artists

D. Kaur, also known as Damneet Kaur is a poet, educator, and lifelong learner with a deep curiosity for the world, whether it’s uncovering stories about the Ottoman Empire, marveling at Viking sagas, or discovering how wild figs come to be. She’s currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on poetry at Saint Mary’s College of California. When she’s not writing, Damneet can be found watching the History Channel or getting lost in the research how anything and everything came to be. As a first-generation Punjabi Sikh woman, her work is
rooted in identity, community, and the overlooked beauty of everyday life. Whether hosting poetry workshops or sharing fun facts, Damneet’s mission is to create spaces where everyone feels seen, heard and inspired.

Mukethe Kawinzi is a shepherd in coastal California where she stewards a herd of Spanish cashmere range goats to feed the soil. She has farmed in sustainable and organic agriculture for five years, with a focus on small ruminants, artisanal cheesemaking, non-violent livestock handling, and regenerative grazing. She is the author of “touching grass” (Porkbelly Press), “Koans to a Young Cowboi” (Bottlecap Press), “saanens, nubians, one lamancha” (Winner, Quarterly West Chapbook Contest), and “rut” (Ghost City Press Summer Series). Her writing illuminates the pathos and splendor of the natural world, race in rural spaces, the peculiar wit of livestock animals, and the pains and pleasures of physical labor.

Jamey Williams is a multidisciplinary artist from Richmond California who mainly focuses on music, theater and spoken word poetry. He was featured in a truth anti tobacco commercial which premiered at the Grammys and is also the first person to earn the title nicest poet in the country after winning the compliment death match at the 2017 National Poetry Slam. He’s currently on an artistic journey of releasing music every month for the next three years.

Kaylan Black is the 2021-22 Oakland Vice Youth Poet Laureate. She is currently pursuing her political science degree at SF State with plans to further her education and career goals through grad school and internships. Kaylan is moving back to Oakland to further her political and academic careers. She believes that with a strong community backing, she will be able to go forward with faith and empathy. Building an understanding of those around her and expressing these different ways of life through art, poetry especially.

Camellia Boutros is a Palestinian-Lebanese American composer and multi-instrumentalist based in San Francisco. She performs on trumpet, oud and electric bass with a diverse array of Arab, Balkan and Mexican music groups, and developed a fretless 12-string electric guitar as a vehicle for composing her own brand of Arab experimental rock. Naming her instrument the “electric oud-guitar,” Camellia writes music rooted in both Arabic Maqam and the Bay Area sound, which reflects her own experience growing up between California and the Levant. Her music and lyrics defy genre definition, forming an experimental blend of rock, Arabic folk, jazz and brass music, all of which can be found on her first solo album, Refuge.

Curated by Nia Pearl, an award-winning poet, writer, and environmental justice advocate working at the intersection of art, activism, and public engagement. She is an established host and event curator passionate about creating participatory spaces for creative expression and literary dialogue. Nia’s writing has been published in Radicle magazine, Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism, The Town: An Anthology of Oakland Poets and Painting the Streets: Oakland Uprising in the Time of Rebellion. She is one of the recipients of the 2023 Nomadic Press/San Francisco Foundation Literary Awards. 

Presented in partnership with: