Dear Friends of Poetry,
Our February 20, Poetry Night will feature the Sacramento poets Denisha Coco Blossom and Anthony Xavier Jackson. We meet at 7 PM at the John Natsoulas Gallery, and we hope you can join us!
Denisha Coco Blossom is a Poet-Mentor, Educator, Author, and Scholar-Activist recognized for her advocacy, community empowerment, and storytelling. Raised in South Sacramento, she serves as Associate Director of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), mentoring youth to find their voices and create change. With degrees in African American Studies, Education, and Organizational Communication, Blossom combines her academic background with a passion for spoken word as a tool for healing and empowerment.
Since her debut in 2009, she has performed at major events such as the Sacramento Women’s March and has opened for Hillary Clinton. As a youth mentor, she has led the SAYS Youth Slam Team to national success and inspired change through innovative workshops in schools, prisons, and conferences. Her accolades include the Sacramento Poetry Day Award and the SAYS Tupac Scholar Award. Her poetic memoir, The Makings of a Project Queen, and her website capture her journey, faith, and philosophy: Love yourself first before you lose yourself. To learn more about Denisha Coco Blossom, visit her website at www.cocoqueendom.com or visit her social media at @cocoqueendom across all platforms.
Anthony Xavier Jackson is the recent winner of The 2024 Sacramento Poetry Week’s Annual Poetry contest. Anthony Xavier Jackson has been writing poems and songs since his teens, drawing inspiration from sci-fi, myths, all genres of music, and all manner of spiritual pursuits, including recovery. Anthony has recently published his first collection of poetry, The Razor of Your Smile, available on Amazon and elsewhere. Jackson has seen his work published in Bar Bar, Wingless Dreamer, Dipity, The Word’s Faire, and Tule Review 2024. Jackson is a member of GTFO Poetry Collective based in Sacramento. Find his poems paired with his music on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Jackson is also a Substance Use Disorder Counselor who aspires to Social Work credentialing. He firmly believes everyone deserves healing.
The open mic starts at 8. Performers will be asked to limit their sharings to two items or four minutes whichever is shorter. The open mic list is typically full by 6:45. People who show up early to help set up chairs will always earn a spot on the open mic list. Thanks to the new producer of Poetry Night, Robby Nykodym.
Find out more about the Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting https://www.poetryindavis.com. Encourage your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, check out his weekly podcast at https://poetrytechnology.buzzsprout.com/. Also, see some of his recent essays on Substack: https://andyjones.substack.com/. Dr. Andy’s Substack is almost to 250 subscribers. Perhaps you will help him reach his goal.
In 2025, we plan to feature the poets Robby Nykodym, Oswaldo Vargas, Patrick Grizzell, Clarence Major, April Ossmann, Julia Levine, Susan Browne, Dane Cervine, Brad Buchanan, Chris Erickson, Diane Frank, and new UC Davis creative writing professor Cindy Juyoung Ok.
Upcoming Events:
March 6 – Cindy Ok
March 20 – National Storytelling Day
April 3 – Clarence Major and April Ossmann
April 17 – Julia Levine and Susan Browne
May 1 – Patrick Grizzell and Oswaldo Vargas
Please plan to join us on every first and third Thursday of the month at 7 PM at the John Natsoulas Gallery for the Poetry Night Reading Series.
Fondly yours,
Dr. Andy Jones
Host, The Poetry Night Reading Series
