Red Emma’s

Let's come together in a poetry/spoken word open mic of justice, conscious thought, spirituality, fam, real life—whatever advances the village! In the tradition of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth magazine, come drop some progressive 'fiyah' on us, or contribute just with your presence and energy! By the way: it’s a non-erotic poetry, non-'love jones' type of venue, so we ask that you not go there. (And, almost needless to say, leave the misogyny, homophobia and other unnecessary ish outside!) Celebrating the power of the word with us in February is our featured poet, Cassandra IsFree! Cassandra is a four-times published author, spoken word artist, slam poet, playwright and award-winning actress from Norfolk, VA. Her book, Double Entendre, explores race, race relations, and police brutality in America and speaks to the stigma of being called “black” while having black be defined as something undesirable. She is a founding member of Verb Benders Slam Team from Hampton Roads, VA, currently ranked 5th in the world. She is a 10-time Write About Now Slam Poetry Champion, 2-time Word is Write Slam Poetry Champion, 2-time Pure Ink Slam Poetry Champion and Verb Benders Grand Slam Champion. Cassandra IsFree is ranked as the ninth-ranked Women of the World Poetry Slam poet as well as the third-ranked slam poet for Write About Now Worldwide Poetry League. She has been published nationally/internationally in publications including Bareknuckle Poetry Journal in Australia, Tokyo Poetry Journal in Japan and Defunkt Magazine (US). Cassandra was selected in 2021 as a winner of the Poetry on the Pavement contest for the City of Norfolk, VA and her poems are now stenciled onto sidewalks throughout the city. She is an educator and mentor who loves the stage. https://cassandraisfree.com/ Holdin’ it down for the evening is Analysis—poet/spoken word artist, author, rad minister and bookseller, educator, justice & human rights person… Y’all know what’s up! www.facebook.com/analysisthepoet Twitter and Instagram: @analysisthepoet CashApp: $AnalysisThePoet The mic list will be ready for you at Emma’s so you can get on the mic and share something with us! Additionally, we’ll pass the bucket—physically and electronically—to give something to our featured poet and to help build for the future. Please help support artists! The evening is, indeed, brought to you by Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, a worker-owned and collectively operated restaurant, bookstore, and community events space in the Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland that is dedicated to putting principles of solidarity and sustainability into practice in a democratic workplace!