Illuminate: A Night of Poetry in Solidarity with Asian and Asian American Communities

ILLUMINATE is a virtual poetry reading and open mic in response to the rise in Anti-Asian violence and hate crimes, which have increased by 1900% since the start of the pandemic. Open mic will center Asian, Asian American, and BIPOC poets standing in solidarity with the Asian and Asian American community during this time.

ILLUMINATE is co-curated by Greer Nakadegawa-Lee and Lauren Ito. This programming is presented as part of the Political Inheritance Exhibition co-presented by the Asian American Women Artists Association, and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

Click Here for Open Mic Sign-Ups Here!

**Please note that once Zoom Webinar reaches capacity, you will still be able to view the event through our YouTube Stream.

Featured Poetry Readers

Yume Kim
Maya Looney
Jenny Qi
Greer Nakadegawa-Lee
Lauren Ito

Yume Kim

Yume Kim is an alumni of San Francisco State University, with an MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. She is a Kundiman fellow recipient, as well as the runner-up for the Michael Rubin Book Award in 2013. Her debut publication, Reserve the Right, is now available through Nomadic Press. Website: www.yumekim-poet.com

Maya Looney

Maya is a junior at Skyline Highschool and takes poetry classes in the basement of Temescal Library. She’s read poems for a couple years at the Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, which when it’s not on zoom takes place near a bookstore where she spends too much money on art books. Instagram: @meyerlemonsketches

Greer Nakadegawa-Lee

Greer Nakadegawa-Lee is 16 years old and a junior at Oakland Technical High School. She has written a poem every day for over two years now, and she is the 2020 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate. Her first chapbook , “A Heart Full of Hallways” is out now with Nomadic Press.

Lauren Ito

Lauren Ito is a Gosei (fifth generation person of Japanese ancestry) poet, community craftswoman, and organizer committed to advancing equity through art and design. As an artist and organizer Lauren delves into the tensions inherited within diasporic experiences, including explorations of American concentration camps, political agency, and home. Lauren’s work has been featured by The San Francisco Public Library, The Seattle Times, Japanese American National Museum, and various performance venues. Instagram: @Lauren.Ito