¡¡Piñata and Poems!! Featuring Alan Chazaro, MK Chavez & Gris Muñoz

Authors Alan Chazaro, MK Chavez and Gris Muñoz will discuss and read from their respective poetry books: Piñata Theory, Mothermorphosis, Dear Animal, and Coatlicue Girl. Combined, they will introduce audience members to diverse and complicated identities, share life challenges and vulnerabilities, yet also celebrate moments of joy, love and personal acceptance.

About the Poets: Alan Chazaro is the author of This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album (Black Lawrence Press, 2019) and Piñata Theory (Black Lawrence Press, 2020). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley, a former Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fellow at the University of San Francisco, and co-founding editor of HeadFake, an online NBA zine. Catch him rambling on Twitter @alan_chazaro.

MK Chavez is a writer, editor, and educator who splits her time between Portland, Oregon (the occupied territory of the Cowlitz, Clackamas, and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) and Oakland, California (occupied territory of the Ohlone people.) Her work has appeared in many literary journals, including the Academy of Poets Poem-A-Day series. She is the author of Mothermorphosis, Dear Animal, (Nomadic Press), and several chapbooks including, A Brief History of the Selfie (Alley Cat Books.) Chavez curates the reading series Lyrics & Dirges and is co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival, and is an editor at Nomadic Press. She has been a visiting instructor at Stanford University, San Francisco State University, and Mills College. She is a recipient of the Alameda County Arts Leadership Award, the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, and fellowships at Hedgebrook, Caldera, CantoMundo, and VONA.

Gris Muñoz is a fronteriza poet and storyteller. She is the author of the bilingual poetry and short story collection, Coatlicue Girl. Her work has been highlighted by The Rumpus, Bitch Media and The Smithsonian Latino Center among others and she has most recently been featured by The Texas Book Festival, The Tamarindo Podcast, and the Latino Collection & Resource Center at San Antonio Public Library in collaboration with Texas Public Radio. Gris is currently commissioned to write the biography of acclaimed LA artist Fabian Debora. She is Xicana of Apache descent.

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This event is supported in part by Poets & Writers. Visit pw.org for details.