Dear Trans and Queer Poets,

I am thrilled to produce the 9th annual Capturing Fire. This year we will align our opening event with Walt Whitman’s 200th year birthday May 31, 2019 as well as celebrating a second Capturing Fire Press anthology, The Fire Come Down, a collection of writing that examines the global hate we are experiencing.

We are thrilled to receive a sister city grant that allows us to archive poetry written during these times when our civil liberties are tested. This collection features writers from Paris, France as well as in Washington, DC and our Capturing Fire participants. We are also proud to debut the poetry collections of Brendan Gillett, Drew Pisarra, Tyler French & Jerrica Escoto.

Most of all, we look forward  to bringing Shannon Cain, prose writer and director of Maison Baldwin. Cain’s work to save Baldwin’s Saint Paul De Vence home as a nurturing literary center for Queer and People Of Color is awe-inspiring.

This year we are grateful to honor Cecily Schuler, whose work as a connector to queer poets has been invaluable. During the last 6 years, Schuler has nurtured and fostered Trans & Queer poets to take their first steps onto the slam stage.

Capturing Fire would not exist without the encouragement of Charlie C. Petch and J Mase III. I thank them for their continual inspiration.

All slam participants will be required to attend an orientation brunch provided by Capturing Fire at Busboys & Poets the morning of June 1, 2019.

Lastly, we are in gratitude to The DC Commission for the Arts, Whitman 200 of the DC Humanities and Studio 3440 for their commitment to this year’s event.

Sincerely,

Regie Cabico