Reflections
Reflections: Mirrors to the Queer Experience is a poetry and visual art collaborative project, focusing on expression of the LGBTQIA+ community in Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties.
In this first anthology, selected poetry was given to visual artists who have “mirrored” the poems through their visual art and used their own lenses of queerness to collaborate. With the help of KMUD and Swimming With Elephants Publications, the collected work will be printed July 2023 (preorders available on our gofundme ). We have also had the honor to bring this project to Southern Humboldt KMUD Pride event and the Summer Arts and Music Festival in Southern Humboldt County. We have more events in the works for this summer, including a spotlight at Friday Night Market in Eureka, CA, July 28th and at Eureka Street Art Festival on August 5th!
If you would like to see more of the work, check us out on instagram @redwoodreflections. You can also hear a few of the poets in an archived episode of KMUD’s Voices on Wednesday June 28th at 8pm.
Submissions for future Reflections projects will be updated both here and on our instagram. We look forward to getting in touch and seeing you out there this summer!
THE REFLECTIONS TEAM
Moth
Moth Taylor (they / them) is an emerging Queer poet from Reno, Nevada living in the beautiful part of Northern California everyone thinks is in Oregon that is unseeded Wiyot territory. They have recently released their first chapbook and have a forthcoming full-length collection of poetry and art being published by Swimming With Elephants Publications in Spring 2024. They are a facilitator for queer centric art and poetry projects including Reflections, a working artist,, and they really hope you know you are loved.
Susanna
Susanna Gibson is an indigequeer Family Nurse Practitioner who lives and works on unceded Wiyot territory. They currently work in reproductive healthcare, (still) healing wounds at their job & in their life. Yes, you can ask them nurse questions, they won’t mind. They frequently work with poetry, art, and queer spaces in Humboldt County, bringing safe space for everyone’s expression through their many endeavors.
Dorothee
Being the Membership Coordinator at KMUD, Dorothee is always looking for ways to create community around radio projects. This idea developed when she heard Susanna on Voices on a Wednesday night, loved their energy and asked them to create a poetry/art contest. And as Pride was being prepared at the same time, they decided to make it a queer contest…. finding the true essence of what reflections has become.
SWIMMING WITH ELEPHANTS PUBLICATIONS
Born in Albuquerque, NM, they recently moved to Eureka, CA where they work within our local community along with national authors to create a plethora of publications which not only promote up and coming poets, but also bring awareness to various social issues and public concerns through topical anthologies.
Their primary goal is to create quality publications as well as anthologies and commissioned publications that uplift under-heard voices and amplify them.
KMUD participates to the development and promotion of the Reflections project, as proposed by its vision of a “community of listeners who work together to create better, more just and sustainable world”. The artists are encouraged to be KMUD members and invited to our Voices poetry program.
JUDGES
Dylan Collins
Dylan Collins is a writer, poet and special education teacher. He began writing at a young age mostly short stories and poems as an outlet for his frustration of feeling alone and voiceless but never shared until much later as an adult. Some of the things he loves are basketball, dogwood flowers, the smell of the ocean and road trips.
He was part of the City Soul Café poetry show in North Carolina and founded Word Humboldt, a spoken word open mic and community in Arcata, California.
He has published two full length poetry books, the first “Love Poems We Write Ourselves” in 2019 and in July 2021 released his second book “In Our Hearts Slowly Built a Thunder” in collaboration with the incredible art of Nikki Valencia aka Soulbunni.
Follow: @notgoodorbadpoetry @wordhum
Kiki
Indigenous (Cree/Mohawk) & Queer artist, entrepreneur and owner of Kiki Planet Shop & Kiki Planet Productions. Former Vice Chair of the Arcata Chamber of Commerce. Clothing Designer, Musician, Event Producer, Advocate, Activist, and highly acclaimed Meme Curator. I believe in serving my higher-self, and empowering others to do the same. I believe in radical self-love and mindful practice of decolonization through celebration. Celebration of self, queerness, diversity, friendships, and love. The celebration of us, the celebration of community. Follow me on Instagram @itskikicosmo or see what’s coming up next with the KP Crew at www.kikiplanet.productions
Wil Gibson
Wil currently lives in Humboldt County, California where the trees are big and he currently serves as Eureka, California’s Poet Laureate. He has had 5 collections published by kind people, and has been included in a number of anthologies and lit mags both online and in print, such as Marsh Hawk Review, Button Poetry, Midwestern Gothic, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, Cascadia Rising, Collective Unrest, Yellow Chair Review and many more. He has twice been nominated for both a Pushcart and Best of the Net, is a community board member of Word Humboldt, co-owns ReWorded (a poetry only bookstore) with his patient partner, Susanna, and is editor-in-chief of Swimming With Elephants Publications.
You can find links to books and more info at wilgibson.com