East Meets Words is the longest running Asian American / Pacific Islander open mic series in the East Coast. 

On Friday, April 10th, we will host our 121st open mic. It feels great riding off the energy of our 10th Anniversary. We have features ranging from APIA luminaries I Was Born With Two Tongues, Beau Sia, Reggie Cabico, Kelly Tsai, and Yellow Rage, to local community youth and budding artists and activists just starting to find their voice.

/// THE FEATURE /// 

CHRYS TRAN
is an emerging Vietnamese American writer and new media artist from Oklahoma City. Competing on the Brown-RISD team for their second year, Chrys was a semifinalist at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI). They have performed poetry through the Kundiman & Verlaine Reading Series. Their work interrogates constructions of trauma, diasporic memory, and history as a queer and trans child of refugees. Constantly yearning for southern fried cooking, Chris is currently working on their first chapbook.

SONJA JOHN
is a Filipino-Caribbean-American spoken word poet and artist attending RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), working on a BFA in painting. She is a part of the Brown/RISD College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) team. Sonja has performed through WORD!, the premier college hill spoken word group for marginalized voices. Her work seeks to investigate multi-cultural identities, trauma, diaspora, and queerness across archipelagos everywhere. She hails from White Plains, NY

/// Location ///
EMW Bookstore 
934 Massachusetts Ave 
Cambridge, MA

/// Admission ///
Doors open at 8:00 pm
$5 suggested donation
All ages welcome, wheelchair accessible (except restroom)

We strive to create a safer space and a platform for artists and non-artists to perform work of all stages. Everyone is welcome to attend and sign up on the open mic. The space is especially appreciative of work that challenges stereotypes and amplifies marginalized voices - prioritizing API performers. Time is set aside at each open mic for community announcements, meant to raise awareness about social justice issues in the greater Boston area. Enjoy, instagram and tweet with hashtag #eastmeetswords and #emwbookstore.


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