Affrilachian Poets: 25 Years of Redefining Appalachia. (Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Ricardo Nazario Colon, Ellen Hagan, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Keith Wilson) Central to the purpose of the Affrilachian Poets is redefining what it means to be from Appalachia. To that extent it has members from the 13 states found within the Appalachian region. This panel explores notions of place and culture within the group celebrating its 25th anniversary and allies it has made along the way.

Brave New Voices. (Bao-Long Chu, James Kass, Alise Alousi, Ellen Hagan, Deborah Mouton)
Performance poetry inspires diverse youth populations to produce dynamic writing influenced by rap, hip hop, popular culture, and oral cultures.Today spoken word and written word poetries share more in common than they once did. Panelists will explore the socio-political history of spoken word, the complexities unique to teaching performance poetry in schools and communities, and expanding opportunities for young performance poets, including slam competitions and Youth Poet Laureate programs. 

Detals TBD - more info soon