Poetics of Freedom: A Poetry Reading with Christian Aldana, Rohan Zhou-Lee, and Ashna Ali

Three poets come together to share their work and in a short moderated discussion, ask one another questions about each other’s poetry, the poetics of freedom, and the relationship between poetry, resistance, and liberation 2024 America. The panel discussion will be moderated by Raquell Holmes from improvscience.

Rohan Zhou-Lee, pronouns They/Siya/祂 (Tā) is a Queer/Non-Binary (gender Firebird) Black-Asian author, dancer, and organizer in New York City. Zhou-Lee is the founder of the Blasian March, an initiative to build solidarity between Black, Asian and Blasian communities through education and celebration. Zhou-Lee is also a dancer, trumpeter, and writer of poetry, essays, and Afro-Asian fantasy.

Christian Aldana is a queer, Filipinx, artist, educator and community organizer based in Chicago. Though she has a soft spot for the Midwest, part of her will always be in South East Asia (Cebu and Saigon) where she grew up. They are the author of The Water We Swim In (Sampaguita Press, 2023). Chris is the founder and Co-Director of Luya, a poetry organization that centers the stories and experiences of people of color. Luya has been hosting open mics, shows, and workshops since 2018. Luya believes that art is a potent political tool, and creates intentional spaces to encourage poets to make unapologetic art towards a future where we are safe, thriving, and free.

Ashna Ali is a queer, disabled, and diasporic Bangladeshi poet and writer raised in Italy and based in Brooklyn. They serve as the administrative assistant for improvscience. Their debut collection, The Relativity of Living Well is forthcoming from Bone Bouquet in 2024. A Best-of-the-Net nominee, they are a 2024 Periplus Fellow, a 2023-2024 Fellow for In Surreal Life, and serve as Poetry Editor and Director of Educational Programming at Epiphany Magazine. They publish a queer feminist weekly Substack called Pain Baby, and they are the founder and co-host of the monthly poetry and music open mic and showcase, Priyo@Parlay.