"Personal Velocity" organized by Katie Bennett. The series will feature personal stories (creative nonfiction/ memoir) by Philadelphia-based writers who identify as women, nonbinary, and trans.
This night’s readers include:
Christy Davids
Christy Davids is a poet and a teacher. She is a birder, finds plants endlessly seductive, and will talk to all cats in all windows everywhere. Some of her work can be found in VOLT, Open House, Bedfellows, Jacket2, Dusie, The Tiny, and the Poetry Foundation’s Harriet, among others. She is the author of three chapbooks: on heat (2017) was selected by the editors in BOAAT Press’s chapbook competition; Dysphoric Geography (2019) was published by Neighboring Systems; and wanton (2020) was published by DoubleCross Press.
Doriana Diaz
Doriana Diaz is a storyteller, shapeshifter, and sensitive spirit rooted in Philadelphia's soulful rhythms. Doriana is the self-published author of Mami Calls Me Gabriella and Sunphases, both released in 2018. Her words have appeared in platforms such as; Nappy Head Club, Black Women Radicals, GROW/N Mag, Saddie Baddies, SYLA Studio, Black Girl Magik, We Heal Too, The Kraal, and many more! She believes words have DNA, they sit under our skin, erupting into soft and vivid explosions through our veins like lighting. Her writing is an exploration of cultural agency, archival documentation, and rhythms of resistance and expansion.
Miriam Saperstein
Miriam Saperstein is a poet and mixed media artist currently based in West Philly, and originally from the suburbs of Detroit. They put their faith in the power of decomposition to unravel and remake worlds. Miriam’s work has recently appeared in places such as Planet Detroit, Pollux Journal, The Radical Jewish Calendar, and on display at the William Way LGBT Community Center.
Alexa Smith
Alexa Smith is a poet and essayist from D.C. She lives in Philadelphia, where she works in publishing and teaches creative writing. Her work can be found online in Interim, Entropy, Memoir Mixtapes, Peach Mag, STELLA Radio, and elsewhere.