Write Now! SF Bay presents its fifth anthology, Uncommon Ground: BIPOC Journeys to Creative Activism. Many of us are deeply familiar with adversity and change. Our families have been tested by war, poverty, and discrimination for generations. Our DNA is suffused with profound lessons on how to cope with challenging times. And our writing is linked with daily activism in large and small ways.

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Edited by Shizue Seigel, Uncommon Ground features the work of 22 established Bay Area writers and artists who trace their journeys as creative activists from a BIPOC (Black, Brown, Indigenous, or People of Color) perspective. The depth of their insight arises from the legacies and challenges of their roots in Native America, Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Muslim world. Their lived experience as creative changemakers brings authenticity and humanity to today’s pressing issues—from the pandemic to racism, immigration, social justice, gender, LGBTQ issues, healing, and community building. As healers, educators, culture bearers, and advocates, they write not just for themselves but to inspire others to help build a just and compassionate society.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Faith Adiele – Nigerian/Nordic/American writer and educator
Salma Arastu – Indian American Muslim artist and poet
Adrian Arias – Peruvian American artist, performer and poet
Avotcja – Puerto Rican American poet, musician and radio DJ
Lorraine Bonner – African American sculptor and poet
Karla Brundage – Mixed-race/African American poet, essayist, and educator
Charles Dixon – pioneering African American MBA and community activist
Rafael Jesús González – Chicano Poet Laureate of Berkeley
Mark Harris – African American visual artist
C. K. Itamura – Japanese American interdisciplinary artist
Tehmina Khan – Indian American Muslim poet and educator
Tureeda Mikell – African American poet, storyteller and educator
Josu̩ Rojas РSalvadoran American visual artist and community activist
Wanda Sabir – African American writer, podcaster, trauma healer, teacher and activist
Shizue Seigel – Japanese American writer, visual artist and organizer
Sriram Shamasunder, MD – South Indian American poet/health equity activist
Kim Shuck – Tsalagi/White Poet Laureate Emerita of San Francisco
Kimi Sugioka – Japanese American/White Poet Laureate of Alameda
Elizabeth Travelslight, Filipina/White educator and visual artist
Twin Walls Mural Company muralists:
• Elaine Chu (Chinese American)
• Marina Perez-Wong – (Chicana/Chinese American/Indigenous)
Andr̩ Le Mont Wilson РAfrican American poet, writer and disabilities ally