Red Emma’s

! Join us one more time on Zoom as we gather globally as lovers of the spoken word and the just world we desire and speak of. Join us for an online open mic of the theme, “Peace, Justice, Poetry!” It’s a night of justice, conscious socioploitical thought, family, survival and empowerment, spirit—whatever advances the village! In the tradition of Emma Goldman’s “Mother Earth” magazine, come drop some rad “fiyah” on us, or contribute just with your presence and energy. By the way: it’s a non-erotic venue, so rather than a love & erotica evening, we focus the night on justice and other matters of life. And, almost needless to say, leave the misogyny, homophobia and any of the ”-isms” outside!

Likewise refusing to be bound by any restrictions is our featured poet, RikTheMost! RikTheMost is a vegan, queer, non-binary, polyamorous spoken word artist, who spends most of their spare time making homophobes feel uncomfortable.

Originally hailing from Southend, UK, they have featured all over the place, from Pride festival stages to The Royal Albert Hall and The Plymouth Barbican, as well as having been commissioned by the BBC along the way.

Rik has toured internationally as a poet, moving to Australia for a year—where they headlined Perth Poetry Festival and also qualified for the Australian National Slam Team—and subsequently competing at the American Team Slam Championships in Denver as well as taking an extra detour after that to perform some shows around Texas, where they had two poems published by Write About Now.

Currently residing and working in New Zealand on the prestigious “Exceptional Talent in The Arts Visa”, they have performed prolifically, winning the Wellington Slam Championships and ranking 2nd place three times at the New Zealand Individual Slam Finals, being voted in as New Zealand Poetry Society’s Vice President and LGBTQIA+ Representative, and running the regular online spoken word event and community: “Your Place”.

Rik is also a fully qualified teacher and has facilitated workshops for individuals, organisations, and writers’ groups alike, as well as for youth groups and school students from primary age all the way up to university – including La Trobe University in Australia, Plymouth University in the UK and Massey University in New Zealand.

As an artist constantly seeking understanding, RikTheMost is intrigued by the psychology of choice, emotion, motivation, interaction and reaction and how fear and the overcoming of it direct us. Their poetry is philosophical, challenging, funny (at times), emotional (at others) and, as an ex-breakdancer and keen juggler, (always) embellished with interesting rhythms and complex word play!

www.RikTheMost.com https://www.facebook.com/RikTheMost https://www.youtube.com/user/RikTheMost https://www.facebook.com/YourPlaceEvents

Holdin’ it down for the evening is Analysis—poet/spoken word artist, 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

ZOOM LINK & MIC LIST: To sign up to receive the Zoom link, go to https://tinyurl.com/VibeListMay2022. The mic list sign-up will be at that same location. The Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the event. If time permits we will take names onto the list during the event as well, after those who have signed up have performed. One piece; five minutes limit. Be sure to sign up for the Zoom link BEFORE the event starts, to be sure you receive it!

In lieu of our usual in-person collection to support the feature, PLEASE support the host and the featured artist directly (methods to be announced) in order to ensure the continuation of the venue. SUPPORT ARTISTS! And, of course, continue to support Red Emma’s!

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 Baltimore, Maryland that is dedicated to putting principles of solidarity and sustainability into practice in a democratic workplace!  http://redemmas.org  https://www.facebook.com/redemmas Twitter & Instagram: @redemmas

Remember: PEACE, JUSTICE, POETRY!! Will we see you there? :)