Note: Free tickets are available for the economically-distressed.
Join the Poets’ Playground Collective for a cento workshop exploring how we find solace, inspiration, and refuge in poetic lineage. Cento is a style of poem that is made up of quotations from other works. In this workshop, we’ll listen to the works of revolutionary poets, and use printouts of their pieces to create new poems of our own, with the option to share at the end.
Featuring a special reading by local award-winning artist, poet, playwright, performer, educator, cultural organizer Dasan Ahanu.
To participate, bring a poem that inspires you and a new or used book to donate to Prison Book Collective (No Hardcover, spiral-bound, or marked-in books). Book donors are automatically entered for a chance to win a free chapbook from our indie book market.
About the reader:
Dasan Ahanu is an award-winning poet, playwright, cultural organizer, performing artist, and scholar. He is a Southern storyteller who uses stories to deepen our understanding and awareness of what’s happening around us. Dasan is a visiting lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill, an alumnus of Harvard University’s Nasir Jones Fellowship, and North Carolina’s 2023 Piedmont Laureate for poetry. A respected recording artist, Dasan has collaborated with many Jazz, Soul, and Hip-Hop artists in North Carolina. He has published extensively, performed nationwide, and authored six poetry collections. Dasan has been active in poetry slam, participating in regional and national competitions as a founding member and coach of the Bull City Slam Team. He is the co-founder and managing director of Black Poetry Theatre, an African American theatre company that creates and presents productions centering on spoken word and Hip Hop. He is a builder who works with organizations and institutions to develop effective arts strategies that enhance their work in the community.
About the hosts:
A writer living in Durham, NC, Angelica has published work in over 50 literary journals with forthcoming work in The Round, Meetinghouse Magazine, JMWW, Folio Literary Journal, RHINO, and Poetry South, among others. She is the author of the chapbook, The World Is Ending, Say Something That Will Last (Bottle Cap Press, 2022) and the micro-chap, Digital (R)age (Ghost City Press, 2025). Besides being a devastated poet, Angelica is a Marketing Content Writer for a clean energy loan company. She holds pollinators, legumes, and her eight-pound Yorkiepoo in the highest regard. You can find more of her work on Instagram at a.w.ords and on her website: angelicawhitehorne.com
Antino humbly serves as the Co-Director of Poets’ Playground at Boxyard RTP. He writes ad copy to feed his daughter and poetry to feed his spirit. Based in Raleigh by way of South Florida and the Philippines, he’s performed at over 500 venues, and his words are probably on a billboard somewhere. He’s been called a magician with words. For more, antinoart.com
Homecoming is a community-led poetry jam that brings the voices of artists, organizers, and advocates under one roof. Check out the full event agenda here.
Hosted by Angelica Whitehorne x Antino Art
Ages 16+. All proceeds support local artists and changemakers.
Powered by Poets’ Playground.
Location
Suite #200, 900 Park Offices Drive, RTP, NC 27709
Suite #200, 900 Park Offices Drive, RTP, NC 27709