This story has been updated.
ALEXANDRIA, VA-Alexandria’s Poet Laureate KaNikki Jakarta invites residents to participate in National Poetry Month activities throughout the month of April. Schools, local businesses, libraries, and recreation centers will promote and encourage poetry writing and reading during the celebration.
2021 DASHing Words in Motion
Alexandria Transit Company and the City of Alexandria, through the Office of the Arts, joined forces again for the DASHing Words in Motion poetry contest, open to Alexandria poets and writers age 16 years or older.
The 2021 poets are: Zeina Azzam, Susan Clark Behnke, James Colby, May-Mei Lee, Betty Jo Middleton, Charlene Murphy, Devin Reese, and veeteebee. KaNikki Jakarta, Poet Laureate’s poem, along with the eight winning poets, will have their poems displayed inside the DASH buses and trolleys in April and May.
FREE Virtual Literary Events
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- Prep to Publish
Saturday, April 24 from 1–3 p.m.
Alexandria’s Poet Laureate KaNikki Jakarta leads a workshop on how to prepare work to get published. Space is limited and reservations are requested. Email [email protected]. - National Poem in Your Pocket Poetry Reading
Thursday, April 29 from 7:30–8:30 p.m.
Alexandria’s Poet Laureate KaNikki Jakarta, with the eight 2021 DASHing Words in Motion poets, holds a live reading of their poems for National Poem in Your Pocket day. The public is invited to read a favorite poem, too. This event is hosted by KaNikki Jakarta, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association and the City of Alexandria through the Office of the Arts. If you wish to read or attend, please email [email protected].
- Prep to Publish
More Virtual Events
Monday, April 6, 2020 – Open Mic #KaNikkiHarmony under the Busboys and Poets LIVE on Instagram Platform 8 pm – 10 pm. Follow Busboys and Poets to watch or participate.
Saturday, April 11, 2020 – Get to know your Poet Laureate Presented by Alexandria’s Office of the Arts. Live poetry reading, storytelling, and Q&A Live on https://www.facebook.com/kanikkij — 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Saturday, April 18, 2020 – KaNikki Jakarta facilitates PREP TO PUBLISH workshop that answers the question, “Am I ready to publish?” LIVE ON ZOOM, 1pm – 3 pm. Email [email protected] to register
Friday, April 24, 2020 – Authors, KaNikki Jakarta and Laura Di Franco present OPEN MIC AND SPOLIGHTS an interview and open mic platform present via ZOOM. $1-$5 sliding scale donation. For ZOOM link and to register, email [email protected]
Saturday, April 25, 2020 – KaNikki Jakarta facilitates POSSESS YOUR WRITING PROCESS, a workshop designed to empower you to write in your time 1 pm – 3pm Live on Zoom. Email [email protected] to register
Sunday April 26th and Every Sunday at 7 pm- Via Zoom. KaNikki Jakarta, Sim ply Sherri, Charity Blackwell, and Danielle Reed presents KEEP THE MIC ON – an online Women Lead Artistic Experience with interviews and an open mic — email [email protected] for Zoom Link
Tuesday April 28, 2020 – KaNikki Jakarta Hosts Poem In Your Pocket Day LIVE ON ZOOM. An event that will spotlight the winner of the DASHING WORDS CONTEST. These individuals will have their poems displayed on the buses and trolleys April and May 2020.
Contact Info
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kanikkij
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kanikkij
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kanikki_j
Website: www.kanikkij.com
Save the Earwig!
We protest whilst demanding that all life,
all living creatures, have the right to live
but we humans in ways still primitive
readily cause so much life so much strife
until our misdeeds cut like a knife
our deserving conscience since we give
naught towards the creatures’ cause, dismissive
are we of our apathy so rife.
But the creatures about which we don’t preach,
the bugs that can’t bring us to them adore,
their ugliness our hearts they can’t reach,
their lives we don’t at all care to restore
—instead we stomp on them, their ‘rights’ we breach—
the creepy crawler lifeforms we’ll ignore.