Sunday June 9 from noon-6, PPC will join the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in the Giant Eagle Activity Zone in the Backyard for poetry activities all day capped by an hour of poetry on the Backyard stage!! If you have some free time Sunday, we could use a couple more volunteers to work the table with us, please email Lori Beth at [email protected]

Your feature poets Sunday will be your faves:

Dan is mostly not himself. Most of the time, most of the cells in “Dan’s” body are actually bacterial cells, not “Dan” cells. And most of those bacterial cells are gut bacteria; so whether or not “Dan” is in the cellular majority depends on how recently Dan pooped. Dan sometimes wonders whether, if he pooped more often, he would feel like he had a more of a controlling stake in his own life and personhood. Dan and his bacteria are from Rindge, NH. One time, when he was at his Grammeyhead’s house in Rindge, NH, Dan fell down some stairs. But he caught himself, so he was fine. It was awesome. Some of Dan’s favorite things in life include gum, friends, and having imaginary arguments in which he absolutely crushes his friends. Imaginary Argument Dan doesn’t gloat or anything though–no matter how many times he wins the same imaginary argument–because Imaginary Argument Dan is a paragon of reason, compassion, and quiet dignity. Real Dan doesn’t presume to understand himself very well, but he knows he’s not really like that. At least not most of the time.

IncoMEplete is a Pittsburgh native, a board member of the Pittsburgh Poetry Collective, 2 time Steel City Slam Finalist event host, writer, and poet. Her artistic expression as a poet is a method of coping with trauma and overcoming the emotional challenges stemming from the loss caused by gun violence.

She shares and creates pieces for purpose, navigating safe spaces throughout the city spreading awareness of various struggles and issues of society affecting everyday life. IncoMEplete gives hope one piece at a time through her spoken word art.

James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet who works in film production. His latest chapbooks are A God You Believed In (Pinhole Poetry, 2023) and Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022). Recent poems are in Ghost City Review, Little Patuxent Review, and Pirene’s Fountain. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (jamescroaljackson.com)

Miss Macross is a Pittsburgh-based multi-genre artist who enjoys watching mecha anime and taking naps. Her most recent chapbook, LATE TIGHT IN A NIGHT SPACE, was published by Alien Buddha Press in 2022. She is the Publishing Director for Write Pittsburgh and inconsistently blogs at missmacross.com

Kendall Snee is a 10th grade English teacher and Pittsburgh poet. She has made a name for herself among the Carlow University Mad Women. Her work appears in their most recent publishing of Voices from the Attic, Dionne’s Story for sexual assault survivors, along with Pittsburgh’s Yawp magazine. Pre-pandemic, Snee was a winner of Pittsburgh’s Nasty Slam spoken word poetry and has since started reading with the Pittsburgh Poetry Collective / Steel City Slam.

Stephen Lin is one of the founders and editors for Everything in Aspic. His poetry has appeared in Pressure Gauge Press, Philosophical Idiot, the Edges zine, the Guts zine, Pretty Owl Poetry, Cartridge Lit, and FreezeRay. He works at an immigration law firm, was born and raised in Pittsburgh, like most vampires–I mean yinzers–refuses to cross any rivers.

Shockie G!!! Spoken Word Poet, known for captivating performances and powerful ​words. As the 2022 and 2023 Grand Slam Champion here in Pittsburgh at the Steel City Slam, ​she has proven her skill by winning multiple Slam competitions. Her ​work has been featured in various publications, including Read or ​Green’s “Out Loud” LGBTQ Anthology and “American Graveyard” anti-​gun violence anthology, Nymeria Publishing’s “Descendants of Medusa” ​Anthology, and her own self-published chapbook “Shattered Emotions ​Scattered Thoughts”. Shockie G recently released a full collection of her ​work “In Lieu of Flowers”, a must-read for poetry lovers. You can catch ​her performing at events that allow her to connect with communities ​and share her passion for spoken word.