First Friday at Greene Block + Studios, Pride Edition!

Kick off Pride Month in Waterville! Featured performers, an open mic, and an all-ages dance party!

Starting at 5 pm, join featured readers Arisa White and Stacey Tran for poetry and performance. Following the readings, Tyler French will host an open mic centering LGBTQ+ artists and poets until 6:30 pm. Bring a poem, song, or story that is 4 minutes or less to share on the mic!

After the open mic, stick around for an all ages dance party to celebrate Central Maine’s LGBTQ+ community.

Performer Bios:

Arisa White is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Colby College. She is the author of Who’s Your Daddy, co-editor of Home Is Where You Queer Your Heart, and co-author of Biddy Mason Speaks Up, the second book in the Fighting for Justice Series for young readers. Her poetry is widely published and her collections have been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, Lambda Literary Award, California Book Award, Wheatley Book Award, and has won the Per Diem Poetry Prize, Maine Literary Book Award, Nautilus Book Award, and an Independent Publisher Book Award. As the creator of the Beautiful Things Project, Arisa curates poetic collaborations that are rooted in Black queer women’s ways of knowing. She is a Cave Canem fellow and serves on the board of directors for Foglifter and Nomadic Press. To learn more about her other publications, honors, and projects, visit arisawhite.com.

Stacey Tran is a community organizer, author of a poetry collection, Soap for the Dogs (Gramma, 2018), and founder of Tender Table, a project celebrating Black and Brown community by connecting and honoring identity, traditions, joy, resilience, and the fight for collective liberation through storytelling and food. www.tendertable.com

Tyler French (he/him/his) is a queer writer living in Waterville, ME. His first book of poetry, He Told Me was published by Capturing Fire Press in 2019. He has poems in The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database, Assaracus, Bending Genres Journal, and Beech Street Review. He is a co-creator and baker for Queer Cookies, a poetry series, bake sale, and poetry/cookbook celebrating LGBTQ+-identified poets. He currently serves as the Program Manager in Colby College’s Arts Office. See more of Tyler’s work at tylerhfrench.com.

Contact Colby Arts Office Program Manager Tyler French at [email protected] if you have any questions.