An Evening With Phil SaintDenisSanchez, Diana Cao, and Neysa King

***Please note: This event will take place at the Books & Books in Coral Gables on 265 Aragon Ave. Tickets are FREE and books will be available for purchase at the event. Want your copy early or can't make it in-person?

Phil SaintDenisSanchez’s debut collection before & after our bodies tackles complex familial history and struggles, emerging in the rich backdrop of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Through multilayered language and immersive imagery, SaintDenisSanchez interweaves political and social issues–from the lasting impacts of colonialism to environmental disaster–with intensely personal narratives of love, learning, and loss. The long, lyrical form and enrapturing poetic voice draw you in and refuse to let you go.

before & after our bodies maps a stunningly poignant family tree and gets at the root of the social forces that shaped its growth.

Phil SaintDenisSanchez is a Creole poet from New Orleans. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Best New Poets, Poetry International, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. His poem "monarchs are the communication medium for when i die" was a finalist for Poetry International's C.P. Cavafy Prize and his chapbook "watch out for falling bullets" was a finalist for The Atlas Review's and Button Poetry's chapbook contests, and a notable manuscript for BOAAT's chapbook contest. A semifinalist for the 2020 Discovery Prize, he has received scholarships to attend Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and presented at AWP on creating collaborations between poetry and music. Button Poetry recently published his debut collection, before & after our bodies, in January 2025. He studied music theory and composition at The City College of New York, records under the name SaintDenisSanchez, and currently lives in Brooklyn.

Diana Cao's (she/they) poetry and fiction have appeared in Ploughshares, The Threepenny Review, The Yale Review, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. She has received support from MacDowell, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and she is Just Buffalo Literary Center's 2024 Poetry Fellow, selected by Megan Fernandes. She is a winner of Nimrod International's 2023 Neruda Prize, selected by Tarfia Faizullah, and her debut collection, Slipstream, won the 2024 Berkshire Prize at Tupelo Press, selected by Matthew Rohrer.

Neysa King first gained a reading audience in the early 2000s writing about local food and young farmers with her blog Dissertation to Dirt, which was picked up by Whole Foods for their online TV series Thrive. After earning her Masters Degree in History in 2009, she worked as a product manager at tech startups for 10+ years while continuing her practice of writing.As she built a career in tech, she entered into private coaching with the lauded poet Roger Reeves and has since published two poetry chapbooks: Rainbow Body and My Heart Points Back. She has performed her poetry at numerous venues around Miami, created a short film from her work, and released a spoken word album. Her writing has been supported by Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, O Miami, Sand Berlin Literary Journal, South Florida Poetry Journal, SWWIM Every Day and others. She is currently an MFA candidate at Warren Wilson College and is working on her first novel.

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