City Shaper: poems and prompts reflecting on the environments that built us. Register here
Jive Poetic is a writer, organizer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA in Media Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his MFA in Writing and Activism from Pratt Institute. In 2017 Jive was the first recipient of the John Morning Award for Art and Service. He is the founder of Insurgent Poets Society, Carnival Slam: Cultural Exchange, and the co-founder of the Brooklyn Poetry Slam. His work has been showcased on season four of TVONE’s Lexus Verses and Flow, PBS News Hour, and BET. His poems have been published by the Academy of American Poets, No, Dear Magazine, and Toss The Earth. International recognition for his work has come from the British Arts Council; the Minister of Culture for Antigua and Barbuda; and US Embassies in Australia, Brazil, and Poland. Jive has held residencies at Fort Belvoir Army Base, Rhode Island Writer’s Colony, Marble House Project, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Currently, Jive curates and hosts the Friday Night Slam at the Nuyorican Poet’s Café. When he is not touring or hosting, Jive teaches performance poetry and hip – hop workshops to at risk youth in New York City and surrounding tri-state area.
Seema Reza is a poet and essayist and the author of two books: A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Writing and Community Building from Goddard College. In 2010 Seema began working with service members, veterans, and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and has since developed a unique multi-hospital arts program that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care and socialization. In 2015, the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore awarded Seema the Col John Gioia Patriot Award for her work with service members in military hospitals. Seema is a 2019 George W. Bush Institute Stand-To Veteran Leadership Scholar.