Join BPL Writer-in-Residence Cynthia Amoah for Opening Words: Community Open Mic Night at the Bexley Public Library! Poets Mandy Shunnarah and Atlas will join Cynthia for featured readings. Share your work out loud to find inspiration or listen and celebrate the p ower of words in community. \;
\nAbout the Featured Poet s:
\nCynthia Amoah \;is the inaugural& nbsp\;BPL Writer-in-Residence. \;Cynthia \;is a Ghanaian-American poet\, national speaker\, and teaching artist. She received her MFA from T he New School where she was awarded the prestigious Paul Violi Poetry Priz e and cited for Excellence in Poetry. Cynthia began competing nationally i n recitation and motivational speaking engagements in 2006. Since then\, h er dynamic voice and strong stage presence has captured and inspired diver se audiences\, both locally and globally. Her work can be found published in \;OURS Magazine\, Nimrod Journal\, Ohio Humanities: Pathways\, and& nbsp\;The African Poetry Book Fund&rsquo\;s New-Generation African Poets C hapbooks \;by Akashic Books. Cynthia&rsquo\;s chapbook \;Handr ails \;was published by Akashic in Fall 2021.
\nMan dy Shunnarah (they/them) is an Alabama-born Appalachian and Pales tinian-American writer in Columbus\, Ohio. Their essays\, poetry\, and sho rt stories have been published in The New York Times\, Electric Literature \, The Rumpus\, and others. Their first book\, Midwest Shreds: Skating Through America&rsquo\;s Heartland\, was released in 2024 from Belt Publishing\, and their second book\, a poetry collection titled We Had Mansions\, is forthcoming from Diode Editions in July 2025. Read mor e at \;mandyshunnarah.com.
\nAtlas is a poet\, e ducator\, and community builder who creates spaces where healing\, creativ ity\, and transformation meet. A U.S. Air Force veteran and former college instructor\, he brings a unique blend of discipline and tenderness to his work with young people\, guiding them through writing\, restorative pract ices\, and emotional literacy. He is the co-founder of Underdog Academy\, a spoken word collective that confronts injustice through art\, and the co -founder of Grief Club\, a growing movement that holds space for communal healing through storytelling\, ritual\, and emotional transparency. Throug h grief circles and open mics for men\, women\, and children\, Atlas foste rs spaces where vulnerability is welcomed and voices long silenced can fin ally be heard. His work centers on making the invisible visible\, honoring both the shadow and the light in all of us\, and reminding us that transf ormation often begins in the places we&rsquo\;re most afraid.
\nBPL Writer-in-Residence \;programming is made possible through a State Library of Ohio grant.
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