The late great poet Al Young said of Avotcja, “Introducing herself as storyteller, ‘wild woman,’ a ‘bonafide sound junkie,’ nothing slows or dampens Avotcja’s passion for the power and wonder of music. Guided by ancient, ancestral wisdom, she refuses to separate poetry and storytelling from song or dance. In ‘Blue to the Bone,’ her rhapsodic tribute to Oakland’s uncrowned poet laureate, Reginald Lockett (1947-2008), musician-poet-broadcaster Avotcja could just as well be describing her own esthetic. ‘Reggie was the real deal,’ she croons. Melodically keyed to what she calls ‘la palabra musical,’ Avotcja’s rhythmic testament–decades in the making–celebrates the world-changing spirit of human creativity while condemning its cold-blooded, tone-deaf assassins.”
Avotcja’s poems through 2013, along with prose fiction and other writings, are collected in her book With Every Step I Take (Taurean Horn Press).

Kelliane Parker’s collection of poems Down the Foggy Streets of My Mind: Portal to Dissociation, was recently published by Nomadic Press. It is, she writes, “an ode to those of us who live with Dissociative Disorders such as PTSD and DID. It is an unapologetic anthem for survivors of sexual violence to rid themselves of being shamed and blamed in silence. When we tell our truth, we take back our power, as powerlessness lives in hiding.”

The Virtual Poets!Zoom is hosted twice monthly by Kim Shuck, San Francisco Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2021. Featured poets and an open mic are presented on the 2nd Monday of the month. On the 4th Friday, the reading has an all open mic format. Bring your work! Open mic sign up takes place when you are admitted to the Zoom event.

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