9:30am – Check In

10:00am – Keynote by Shihan Van Clief

10:30am – Workshop: Writing as Healing by RAVINA

11:30am – Publishing Panel with World Stage Press, Kaya Press, Riot of Roses, and Hustle Diva

12:30pm – Lunch Networking with Beyond Baroque, Southeast Asian Poetry Collective, Tree Art Talks, and Tuesday Night Project

1:30pm – Workshop: Remember Why You Wrote It by PAGES Matam

2:30pm – Showcase featuring Matthew Cuban, Jade Phoenix, Antonio Cortez Appling, Maylie Macias, and the Open Mic

4:00pm – Closing

Shihan Van Clief
@therealshihan

Father of three and husband of one; Shihan is a multi hyphenate artist. He is Co-founder of the nation’s largest weekly open mic, Da Poetry Lounge and loves black licorice.

Writing as Healing: What Lives Within
Facilitated by RAVINA
@WRITINGASHEALING.LA @RAVINA.340

Step into a playful, liberating space hosted by RAVINA (founding director of WAHLA- Writing As Healing LA) where writing becomes an act of freedom. This generative poetry workshop invites you to unlock the voice waiting inside your ribcage and explore your most raw, honest, and authentic self. What would your poem back to yourself sound like? Open to all levels, this experience blends creative play with guided prompts to help you reconnect with your voice and community. Led by award-winning author and spoken word artist RAVINA, you’ll leave feeling inspired, grounded, and creatively energized. An optional open mic-style share space will be offered.

Workshop Facilitator: RAVINA is a South Asian American, bestselling author, spoken word poet & licensed therapist based in Long Beach CA with roots in the U.S. Virgin Islands. YELLOW is her debut full length collection of poetry and prose published by World Stage Press & recipient of the Long Beach Best Poetry Collection of 2021. RAVINA has performed poetry on nationally and internationally acclaimed stages including the House of Blues. Ravina is the founding director of Writing As Healing Los Angeles and an active touring and performing spoken word artist with the collective Long Beach NeverSpeak!

Remember Why You Wrote It
Facilitated by PAGES Matam
pagesmatam.com

A writing & editing workshop on understanding how to ask better questions in order to create more authentic and resonant work. We invite you to reconnect with the heart of your writing by revisiting the intention, emotion, and purpose behind every word.

Workshop Facilitator: PAGES Matam (They/He), is a genderqueer college drop-out turned award-winning film-poet and agent of imagination who creates timely and timeless stories centering Black & queer characters defying the odds. Born in Cameroon, Central Africa, then blossomed in the DMV (Piscataway Land), they are a polyglot with an obsession for gummy bears, battle-horror anime, and fried plantains as thorough as their love for creating magically surrealist high-concept dramas and thought-provoking poetry navigating themes of chosen family and healing from emotional, societal, and ancestral wounds. Anansi meets Baldwin with a splash of Olivier Armstrong, their work is deeply rooted in Queer Black liberation, their immigrant experience and love for West-African Folklore, as well as Toni Morrison’s words: “the function of freedom is to free someone else.” PAGES is a multi-time Poetry Slam Champion, Burlesque performer, teaching artist and organizer as seen on BET, TV One, Essence Fest, MACY’s, The Kennedy Center, Apollo Theater, & TEDx. Additionally, they were named a Google x The Guardian Rising Voices and Cultural Ambassador to the National Fair Housing Alliance, earning multiple poetry and screenwriting fellowships including Callaloo at Brown University, DEFINE AMERICAN, Artist Disruptors, Circle of Confusion Writers Discovery, TRIBE at SuperSpecial by Amy Aniobi, and GLAAD Black Queer Creatives. They were a 2025 finalist for the PAFF x John Singleton Fellowship, and have a TV Fantasy TV series in development with ITV & Anarchists United executive produced by Lily Wachowski (The Matrix). Their proof-of-concept short film produced by SuperSpecial, SEVEN MINUTES OF HEAVEN won multiple laurels on the festival circuit and was a 2024 Diversity at Cannes Showcase.

World Stage Press
@worldstagepress

The World Stage Press’ dedication to the community it serves runs deep. Founded to amplify underrepresented voices, the press continues the legacy of The World Stage by publishing poetry, fiction, and essays that reflect diverse lived experiences. As a publishing arm of Community Literature Initiative, World Stage Press poets uplift local and global storytelling and keep the spirit of community-based literature alive.

Kaya Press
@kayapress

Kaya Press is an independent, nonprofit publishing house dedicated to innovative and overlooked Asian Pacific American and Asian Diasporic literature, and has been publishing since 1994.

Riot of Roses Publishing House
@riotofrosespublishing

Brenda Vaca is a Xicana poet, author, public speaker, and independent publisher from Sejatnga, Unceded Tongva Territory, known as South Whittier, CA. Riot of Roses is her collection of poetry published by her indie house, Riot of Roses Publishing House. She founded Riot of Roses in 2021 to illuminate historically silenced voices and narratives. Her second collection of poetry, Odes y Oraciones (y unas pocas maldiciones), will be published in Spring 2026. Writing and publishing are her joyful rebellion.

Hustle Diva
@hustlediva24

Charlene E. Green, a.k.a. Hustle Diva (literal translation: Dynamic Goddess), is an Articulation Artist—an accomplished wordsmith with a vast literary range. A mainstream-published fiction novelist, self-published poet and self-help author, spoken-word artist, screenwriter, editor and publishing coach, creative consultant, and certified life coach all rolled into one, this multifaceted talent demonstrates her love for words from all angles, while ensuring that her clients and audiences are entertained, educated, and positioned to transform their lives and achieve their goals.

Matthew Cuban
@matthewcuban

Matthew ‘Cuban’ Hernandez is a poet, Educator, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu Dhabi and nearly every major city in the United States and Europe, performing, teaching and coaching poetry. A teaching artist for nearly 20 years, Matthew has spent the last 13 years working in youth detention centers, high schools, community centers, and other various orgs across Los Angeles County. Currently serving as the Director of Juvenile Programming for Street Poets Inc, Matthew has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang, performed for platforms such as BuzzFeed, LAist, NPR and even appeared on the award-winning television show, Better Things. For the last two summers, Matthew has led an arts and culture delegation to perform, teach, and speak in Havana Cuba. Matthew is also a three time Southern Fried poetry slam champion and an award-winning poetry coach, leading both Da Poetry Lounge adult teams and Get Lit Words Ignite youth teams to multiple final stage appearances at national and international poetry competitions. Cuban’s favorite activity is making people feel great; sometimes he does this through hip hop, poetry and healing circles.

Jade Phoenix
@jadephoenix_

Jade Phoenix… Is a Queer, Trans, Femme, First Generation Filipinx, Parent, LA-based Writer, Rapper and award winning filmmaker. Jade’s work is a poetic expression rooted in the multiple identities she holds and how they intersect with her day-to-day fight for a collective liberation, while boldly creating art and cultural content in hopes of bringing queer and trans stories to the center of today’s current social, political and cultural landscapes.

Antonio Cortez Appling
@thedeathofpeterpan

Antonio Cortez Appling is a Poet, Teacher and Restaurateur born in Columbus, Ohio and raised in San Diego, California. He currently resides and is a long time resident of Long Beach, California. He is the father of Mateo and husband of Heather. He is the Owner of, “The Nest: A Breakfast Joint” breakfast/brunch restaurant in Bellflower, CA. He is the founder of, “The Long Beach Poetry Slam ” and “The Definitive Soapbox Open Mic” which is the longest running continuous poetry open mic in the Long Beach area. He has been published in numerous publications, most recently the City Hearts “Art from Ashes” magazine.

Maylie Macias
@macias_poesia

Maylie Macias is a high school senior who recently committed to continuing her academic journey at Emory University for her undergraduate degree in Public Policy and Creative Writing. She is a Mexican-American youth poet from Los Angeles whose work centers on themes of embracing identity, nostalgia, and navigating humanity.

Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
@bblitarts

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States’ leading independent literary arts centers dedicated to the public’s knowledge of poetry, literature, and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California.

Southeast Asian Poetry Collective
@seapoetrycollective

The Southeast Asian Poetry Collective is a community built for creatives to convene, collaborate & engage in SEA poetry, art & literature.

Tree Art Talks
@treearttalks

Tree is an Asian American multidisciplinary artist from Los Angeles. Tree Art Talks is her small, independent art business. She offers original paintings, zines, prints, stickers, and more. The name comes from the artist’s lived experience- born with a speech impediment, she discovered that art became her clearest language. Through every piece she creates, she hopes to connect with others, spark curiosity, and inspire. She is the human embodiment of “actions speak louder than words.” Tree Art Talks celebrates creativity, resilience, and the joy of expressing without limits. Her work is displayed at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland, a gift shop/ gallery. The Joy of Food group exhibit runs until 5/16.

Tuesday Night Project
@tnproject

Tuesday Night Project (TNP), producer of its flagship program Tuesday Night Cafe, is an Asian American grassroots and volunteer-based organization fiercely devoted to bridging communities by providing programming and interactive spaces for people to connect through artistic expression and strong, creative, community partnerships. Founded in 1998, it has grown into a community of artists, organizers, activists, professionals, independent business owners, educators, and community members.

Soul Stuf
@soulstuf

Soul Stuf is a second generation, Filipino-American spoken word poet and teaching artist from Red Hook, NY but currently based out Los Angeles, CA. He loves to explore love, loss and belonging in his poetic work on the stage and the page and is an avid Magic: The Gathering fan.