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Mark-Anthony Johnson, Imani Tolliver, and Kai M. Green will perform their original poetry at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library.

Mark-Anthony Johnson

As spoken word artist and poet, Mark-Anthony’s work is dedicated to honoring spirit while using art as a tool for liberation. His dedication to art in the form of spoken word is grounded in his belief that poetry is a necessary tool in challenging, healing from, and visioning past racism, trans and homophobia, and Patriachry. Be it on stage at the US Social Forum, in local high school’s training Black and Brown young folks to use poetry to end the school-to-prison pipeline, or on the busses of Los Angeles, his art is dedicated to healing the impacts of oppression, elevating our spirits, and fighting for the liberation of oppressed peoples one syllable at a time.

Imani Tolliver is a poet, visual artist and educator. Her poetry has been recognized by a Lannon Literary Fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the John J. Wright Literary Award at Howard University. She has been honored with a Certificate of Appreciation by the City of Los Angeles for her work as a promoter, host and publicist in support of the literary arts in Southern California and served as a Poet Laureate for the Watts Towers Arts Center in Los Angeles, California. Currently, she serves as the Cultural and Fine Arts Supervisor for the City of Buena Park, where she produces community & youth theatre, summer concerts, youth arts festivals, and curates an exhibiting visual artist series. Imani also volunteers, marches, and pitches in whenever she is able, in support of the vibrant and beautiful LGBT community of which she is wholly and happily a part.

Kai M. Green is a poet, performer, musician, and filmmaker dedicated to bringing the stories of the oppressed to forefront through his art and scholarship. Kai completed their B.A. in American Studies with a minor in Africana Studies at Williams College in 2007. Kai is a PhD candidate in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at The University of Southern California and working on a dissertation that engages the stories and histories of Black Queer Los Angeles.