PiP 158: River 瑩瑩 Dandelion and Noreen Ocampo

Poets in Pajamas brings you River 瑩瑩 Dandelion and Noreen Ocampo at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, June 4th with two 15-minute live readings, immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the Poets in Pajamas Zoom and streamed on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page.

River 瑩瑩 Dandelion is a keeper of ancestral medicine and memory through writing poetry, teaching, and creating ceremony. He writes to connect with the unseen and unspoken so we can feel and heal. River has been awarded fellowships and residencies for his writing from Tin House, Lambda Literary, Kundiman, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, VONA/ Voices, and more. His work has been nominated for Best of the Net (2022) and is published in Best New Poets (2021), The Offing, The Margins, Asian American Journal of Psychology, and elsewhere. He was recently awarded the AWP Kurt Brown Prize for the title poem of his poetry manuscript. River is a water lover, and has performed and presented his work globally from the Dodge Poetry Festival to the University of Havana. for more, visit: riverdandelion.com.

“how we survived: 爺爺’s pantoum (ii)” Shady Literary Arts

“Ode to Crispy Salmon Skin” Honey Literary

Noreen Ocampo is a Filipino American writer and poet from metro Atlanta. Her collection Not Flowers won the 2021 Variant Lit Microchap Contest, and her work can also most recently be found in Marías at Sampaguitas, trampset, and Rejection Letters. She holds a BA in English from Emory University and currently studies poetry in the MFA program at the University of Mississippi.

“there are no jollibees in georgia” Marías at Sampaguitas

Join us at the PiP Zoom or on the PiP Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, June 4th. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

PiP 157: Ja’net Danielo and Athena Nassar

Poets in Pajamas brings you Ja’net Danielo and Athena Nassar at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, May 21st with two 15-minute live readings, immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the Poets in Pajamas Zoom and streamed on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page.

Ja’net Danielo is the author of This Body I Have Tried to Write, winner of the MAYDAY 2022 Poetry Micro Chapbook Editors’ Choice Award, and The Song of Our Disappearing (Paper Nautilus, 2021). A recipient of a Professional Artist Fellowship from the Arts Council for Long Beach and the Telluride Institute’s Fischer Prize, her poems have appeared in Frontier Poetry, Mid-American Review, GASHER, Radar Poetry, and elsewhere. Currently, her poem “Metastasis” is on display at the Billie Jean King Main Library as part of the group exhibition Impermanence: Stories of Rupture and Repair. Originally from Queens, NY, Ja’net teaches at Cerritos College and lives in Long Beach, CA, where she facilitates Word Women, a free virtual poetry workshop and retreat series for women and gender nonbinary writers. You can find her at http://www.jdanielo.com

“Ghost Notes” Superstition Review

Athena Nassar is an Egyptian-American poet, essayist, and short story writer from Atlanta, Georgia. Her debut poetry collection Little Houses is forthcoming from Sundress Publications in January 2023. Her work has appeared in Academy of American Poets, The Missouri Review, Southern Humanities Review, Pleiades, The Chattahoochee Review, Salt Hill, Lake Effect, New Orleans Review, Zone 3, The Los Angeles Review, PANK, and elsewhere.

“Coming of Age” Up the Staircase Quarterly

Join us at the PiP Zoom or on the PiP Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, May 21. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

PiP 156: Mary Leauna Christensen & Sarena Brown

Poets in Pajamas brings you Mary Leauna Christensen and Sarena Brown at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, April 16th with two 15-minute live readings, immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the Poets in Pajamas Zoom and streamed on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page.

Mary Leauna Christensen, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is a PhD candidate at the University of Southern Mississippi. Mary is Managing Editor of The Swamp Literary Magazine. Her work can be found in Cream City Review, The Laurel Review, Southern Humanities Review, Denver Quarterly, and The Gettysburg Review, among others. She was also named a 2022 Indigenous Nations Poets fellow.

“I WRITE ABOUT BLOOD IN TWO WAYS” & “VESSEL” Glass: A Journal of Poetry

Sarena Brown is a visual artist, poet, and 2020/2021 Dreamyard Fellow. They edit with Drizzle Review and earned their MFA in poetry from UMass Amherst. They write love poems to the body through gender feelings, queer belonging, and disability. Sarena’s chapbook “i am thankful for feeling & for the first time on earth” is out now with Big Lucks! Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @SarenaBrownie and find them online at sarenabrown.com.

Join us at the PiP Zoom or on the PiP Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, March 19th. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

PiP 155: Jakky Bankong-Obi and Nicole Arocho Hernández

Poets in Pajamas brings you Jakky Bankong-ObiPiP and Nicole Arocho Hernández at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, March 19th with two 15-minute live readings, immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the Poets in Pajamas Zoom and streamed on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page.

Jakky Bankong-Obi is a poet living and writing from Abuja, Nigeria. Her chapbook What Still Yields was chosen by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani for publication in the New-Generation African Poets box set, by Akashic Books and APBF (Spring/Summer 2022). Jakky is Co-Editor at Ice Floe Press and her work is forthcoming and in London Grip, The Kalahari Review, Reliquiae Journal (Corbel Stone Press), Patchwork LitMag, Gutter Magazine, The Poetry Review, Pidgeonholes and Memento: An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry, etc. Jakky is on twitter as @jakkybeefive.

“False Leads” Pipe Wrench Magazine.

Nicole Arocho Hernández was raised in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Her poems have been published in The Acentos Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. She has received awards from The Academy of American Poets and the Swarthout Foundation, and a nomination for the Pushcart Prize. She was a finalist for the 2022 Black Warrior Review poetry prize, judged by Dianne Seuss. Her chapbook, I Have No Ocean, was published by Sundress Publications. Her second chapbook is forthcoming with Glass Poetry Press. Her work has been supported by The Hambidge Center and The Center For Imagination In The Borderlands, among others. She is the Translations Editor at Hayden’s Ferry Review and an MFA candidate at Arizona State University.

“I Have No Ocean,” The Acentos Review.

Join us at the PiP Zoom or on the PiP Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, March 19th. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

Announcing Poets in Pajamas 2023 Season!

We are so thrilled for a new season of Poets in Pajamas! After an incredible outpouring of submissions, we are excited to announce 24 incredible poets who will be sharing their work with us this year. This line-up is funded by a generous grant from the Poetry Foundation.

In order to grow and connect new audiences, we will be switching to a “Pajama Party” format this season – all readings will feature TWO poets! Readings are still Sundays at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time. Follow this blog and the PiP Facebook page for updates, bios, reminders, and links to the virtual readings!

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

2023 Season

Jakky Bankong-Obi and Nicole Arocho Hernández, March 19

Mary Leauna Christensen and Sarena Brown, April 16

Ja’net Danielo and Athena Nassar, May 21

Noreen Ocampo and River 慧瑩 Dandelion, June 4

Taiye Ojo and Cindy Juyoung Ok, June 18

Will Carpenter and Shareen K. Murayama, July 16

Bo Schwabacher and Ashia Ajani, July 30

Chim Sher Ting and Grace Macnair, August 6

Sarah Sarai and Milica Mijatović, August 27

Jennifer Martelli and Shlagha Borah, September 10

Ide Thompson and Annette Covrigaru, October 15

Tzynya Pinchback and Emma Aylor, November 12

PiP 154: Crystal D. Mayo

Poets in Pajamas brings you Crystal D. Mayo at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, February 19th with a 15-minute live reading immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the Poets in Pajamas Zoom and streamed on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page.

Crystal D. Mayo is a Native New Yorker born and raised in the South Bronx. She is an African Amerian writer, actress and storyteller whose Southern roots are highly influential in her writing craft. Crystal’s repertoire of writing spans from memoirs and poetry to children’s books. Her literary contributions have been published in the Bronx Memoir Project Volumes three and four, The African Voices tribute to Ntozake Shange and Our Voices Our Stories, an anthology of Writings Advancing, Celebrating, Embracing and Empowering Girls and Women of Color through the National Girls and Women of Council Inc. Her memoir “Wicked Blues” will be featured in the Connecticut Literary Anthology 2021 this fall. When Crystal is not writing she serves as a mentor for the New York based organization, Girls Write Now.

“Running Into Time” Viewless Wings

Join us at the PiP Zoom or on the PiP Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday, February 19th. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

PiP 153: Pamela Murray Winters

Poets in Pajamas brings you Pamela Murray Winters at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on February 5 with a 15-minute live reading immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the PiP Zoom and streamed on the PiP Facebook page.

Pamela Murray Winters lives in Maryland. Her poems have appeared in many journals and
anthologies, including the Gettysburg Review, Gargoyle, and Beltway Poetry. Her debut
collection The Unbeckonable Bird (FutureCycle Press) was published in 2018. She has an MFA
from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she received a 2017 Maryland State Arts Council
Individual Artist Award. She assists with the legendary Evil Grin Poetry Series in Annapolis and
organized the 2017 Writers Resist reading there. She hates writing about herself in the first
person.

“One Meander” Mike Maggio

Join us at the Poets in Pajamas Zoom or on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday February 5th. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

PiP 151: Carrie Nassif

Poets in Pajamas brings you Carrie Nassif at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on January 8 with a 15-minute live reading immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the PiP Zoom and streamed on the PiP Facebook page.

Carrie Nassif is a queer poet, photographer, parent and psychologist with a private practice in the rural Midwest. She lives happily with her partner, a 17 year-old new driver, a spoiled bearded dragon, an aging but sassy orange cat, and an aggressively friendly 65-pound lapdog. Recent work can be found in Comstock Review, Concision, The Gravity of the Thing, Tupelo Quarterly, Pomona Valley Review, in several anthologies and was featured in AROHO’s Waves Series.

“Reflection” Concision Poetry Journal

Join us at the Poets in Pajamas Zoom or on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday December 18th, 2022. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

PiP 150: Liz Chang

Poets in Pajamas brings you Liz Chang at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on December 18 with a 15-minute live reading immediately followed by a short Q&A. The event will be held over the PiP Zoom and streamed on the PiP Facebook page.

Liz Chang was 2012 Montgomery County Poet Laureate in Pennsylvania. Her poems have appeared in Verse Daily, Rock & Sling, Origins Journal, Breakwater Review and Stoneboat Literary Journal, among others. Her first essay was recently published in Oyster River Pages. Her fiction is forthcoming from Opia. She is an Associate Professor of English at Delaware County Community College.

“They’re Launching a Poem-less Library to the Moon” Verse Daily

Join us at the Poets in Pajamas Zoom or on the Poets in Pajamas Facebook page at 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific) on Sunday December 18th, 2022. When the live video starts, click join to watch the reading and interact with the poet.

This reading series is hosted courtesy of Sundress Publications. The land on which Sundress Publications operates is part of the traditional territory of the Tsalagi peoples (now Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) and Tsoyaha peoples (Yuchi, Muscogee Creek).

Poets in Pajamas 2023 Call for Readers

Poets in Pajamas (PiP), a Sundress Publications reading series, is putting together the slate of readers for 2023 and would like to invite you to apply to read. 

Poets in Pajamas is a live-feed online reading series, hosted by Sundress Publications, which prides itself on producing high-quality poetry readings for an online audience. Readers read from their own work for fifteen minutes and then answer questions from listeners for an additional ten or fifteen.

We are interested in hearing from ALL writers (we accept both poetry and prose readers) but we also particularly want to welcome writers who identify as being a part of disenfranchised communities such as but not limited to, people of color, immigrant populations, native and indigenous people, LGBTQ+, d/Deaf and Disabled, non-binary people, members of non-dominant religious groups, all women, Dreamers, formerly incarcerated, and more. We want to host you and promote your work. 

To apply, send three poems or up to five pages of prose and a short video clip of you reading, NOT a recorded reading in front of a crowd. Please send a new video of you reading at home or in your garden, in front of your computer, or in your living room. This is NOT a call for produced sessions. Read for no more than 1 to 3 minutes (less is more), and please also attach a bio and author photo in one email to poetsinpajamas@gmail.com. Submissions close December 18, 2022.

Note: We’re not concerned with audio/video quality here, nor your appearance. We are looking for that magical combination wherein the poet writes wonderful words we want to hear and knows how to give a good reading in a virtual setting. Really, one to three minutes, read as you would at any reading, one poem, or one paragraph, don’t overthink. Please apply!

Now more than ever, people miss getting out to readings. Plus many folks don’t have access to readings because they don’t live near a literary city/don’t have time/can’t get to them. These are the people who wouldn’t regularly be at your reading but want to see you read, and want to know and love your work. PiP would like to help you and them find one another.