Tag: Brook Bhagat

Poetry and Advocacy: Know Your Rights Workshop, Student/Faculty Reading, and Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre at PPSC

Brook Bhagat

Creation and empathy are intertwined, two branches on the same tree. Poets and artists have always been at the forefront of movements for justice and social change. Now more than ever, creatives are speaking up and speaking out. As the organizer and MC of the Pikes Peak State College Spring Student/Faculty/Nearby Universe Reading and Visiting Writers’ Series Event, I am honored to amplify their voices.

The Creative Writing Program and Latino Alliance are thrilled to welcome Colorado Poet Laureate Emeritus Bobby LeFebre on Thursday, March 20, at the Downtown Campus’s Studio West, 22 North Sierra Madre St. in Colorado Springs, for a multicultural night of poetry and prose.

The evening begins with a Know Your Rights and Advocacy Workshop and reception courtesy of Student Experience and Equity from 5-6 pm, followed by the Student/Faculty/Nearby Universe Reading and open mic from 6-7 pm. Finally, from 7-8 pm, Bobby LeFebre takes the stage!

LeFebre is an award-winning writer, performer, and cultural worker fusing a non-traditional multi-hyphenated professional identity to imagine new realities, empower communities, advance arts and culture, and serve as an agent of provocation, transformation, equity, and social change. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The Guardian, American Theater Magazine, and NPR. He has performed at hundreds of cultural events, social actions, detention centers, conferences, and colleges and universities across the United States and abroad.LeFebre co-founded the award-winning nonprofit organization Café Cultura and was named Colorado’s 8th Poet Laureate, making him the youngest and first person of color to be appointed to the prestigious position in the program’s 100-year history.

Multilingual poets and writers welcome! Students and faculty can email Brook.Bhagat@PikesPeak.edu to get on the schedule to read their work (1-3 min. each). PPSC welcomes all members of the community–please contact the English Department for accommodations.

Reading and Q & A for Unsolicited Press’s Literary Nights Series with Raki Kopernik and Rosalia Scalia

Brook Bhagat

I was honored to read and talk with two fantastic authors last night on Literary Nights, a reading series from Unsolicited Press hosted by Rosalia Scalia, author of Under the Radar. Raki Kopernik read from No One’s Leaving, her piercingly tender and true new novel just released yesterday. I read “Once Upon a Time I Died” from Only Flying as well as previously unreleased work from both of my collections forthcoming from Unsolicited Press: Exodus with Red Delicious, due in 2026, and I Drink From an Ear: Real Ghazals, to be released in 2027. What an awesome night! Thank you, Rosalia, Raki, and Unsolicited Press!

“I Remember It Was Called an Ash, the Baby Tree That Was” published in Red Ogre Review

Brook Bhagat

I’m proud to share publication news for this tough little thing, this tough little poem for the girl next door who was not ok. “I Remember It Was Called An Ash, the Baby Tree That Was” woke up today in the beautiful Red Ogre Review. Read and hear it here.

“Ghazal on Fire” selected as finalist for Orison Spiritual Literature Award in Poetry

Brook Bhagat

I’m proud to share that my poem, “Ghazal on Fire,” was selected as one of five finalists for the 2024 Orison Spiritual Literature Award in Poetry. I have never been drawn to poetic forms of any kind; they always felt like rules. But ghazals are different—so difficult and strange that they bring the imagination to unexpected places. I’m falling in love with them.

Pen and Pulse: Essays on Writing, Craft, and the Writer’s Journey available now from Unsolicited Press

Brook Bhagat

I’m thrilled to announce the release of Pen and Pulse, a new anthology on writing craft that features “Cracking Collarbone Jones,” the true love story of me, my beloved, and India, which began in an empty sculpture studio in New York. The threads from beyond that wind through art and life may be invisible, but if we let them, they pull us just the same.

From Unsolicited Press: Pen & Pulse: Essays on Writing, Craft, and the Writer’s Journey is a compelling collection that delves into the heart of the writing life. Edited by Summer Stewart, this anthology gathers the voices of seasoned writers like Jennifer Clark, John Biscello, Kelli Allen, and others, each contributing essays that are thoughtful, honest, and meticulously crafted. From the intricacies of storytelling to the personal challenges and triumphs that shape the writing process, these essays explore what it truly means to be a writer. With a focus on authenticity, research, and deep introspection, Pen & Pulse offers both aspiring and experienced writers a rich tapestry of insights into the art and craft of writing, making it an invaluable resource for anyone passionate about the written word. Order yours HERE.