Words in Our Time: A Poetry Event in Honor of Parable of the Sower and Dyschronics

Aaron Jafferis is a hip-hop poet and playwright whose works Activist Songbook, The Ones, Trigger, (Be)longing, Stuck Elevator, How to Break, Kingdom, Shakespeare: The Remix, and No Lie have been produced or presented by The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Collective Consciousness Theatre and many others. Honors include a Creative Capital Award, Richard Rodgers Award, Sundance Institute/Time Warner Fellowship, NEFA National Theatre Project Grant, and multiple MacDowell Fellowships. A former Open Rap Slam champion at the National Poetry Slam Championships, Aaron is the founding artistic director of The Word poetry collective in New Haven.

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Sun Queen was born and raised in New Haven, where she currently lives. She is a Black queer woman whose passion, love, and activism are born out of her journey of self-exploration. Sun courageously learned to walk in her own truth and be her authentic self in everything she does. Sun has been in the healing profession for over 10 years. She is committed to advocacy and inspiring people. One of the most significant life events was the traumatic loss of her brother Christopher Fain, a 2012 New Haven homicide victim whose case has not been solved to date.

She is a student of the universe and life’s elements. Sun’s artistry is a reflection of life through her lenses which sparked her third eye to awaken. She vowed to cultivate her being by presenting her organic and authentic self. Through advocating and guidance, she inspires people, who didn't think it was possible, to elevate and understand life’s journey by sharing her narrative and appreciating her struggle.

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Anne:Gogh is a Hartford creative committed to uplifting the community and herself through art, self-care, expression, and safe spaces. She is determined to fortify the importance of veracity & altruism. She is a visual & performing healing artist who creates anything from upcycled garments to spoken word.

In addition to being a fulltime artist, Anne:Gogh works as an Employment Specialist. This position allows her to aid in providing opportunities for people with intellectual & developmental disabilities to lead meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion, & continuous personal growth.

Ivy P. AKA “Poiison” is a poet, who performs locally within Fairfield County. Poiison fell in love with poetry at an early age and is inspired by poets such as the American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist; Maya Angelou.

Poiison recently featured as a poet for 2nd Annual “CT Black Pride” event in New Haven, CT where she performed, “Star Bangled.” In this piece she memorialized victims of police brutality, taking time to say the names of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and many more.

Poiison also speaks about various topics which includes mental health, as poetry helped her overcome her battles with Depression and Social Anxiety. She is currently working on obtaining her LCSW and eventually aims to manage her own private practice where she can help individuals who suffer from mental illnesses. Poiison’s mission is to touch individuals hearts with her poetry.

The purpose of AnUrbanNerd's art is to show that "your gift is not your own". He used to rap as a joke with his friends but he kept it low key. Now he is comfortable sharing his passion for music and remains his goofy self. He took up the name AnUrbanNerd to embrace what he used to try to hide. At the end of the day everyone has a gift that they need to share with the world.