The weight of recent events in our country and communities is weighing heavy on our hearts. Many of us are facing threats against our very existence, the existence of people we love, the existence of people we don't even know, but who we believe deserve the right to equal opportunity, justice, and freedom. It is easy to feel alone or terrified right now. We are justifiably fearful or angry, and we need each other more than ever.

It is because of this urgency to unite and discuss and heal and work and serve as conductors for change that writers and poets from across the metroplex are coming together to give our community a place to stand up and speak out against hate, intolerance, and fear. We will not be silent.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 18 at Deep Vellum Books. Around 3:30, we will begin introductions and take to the streets. There will be a march through Deep Ellum accompanied by frequent stops in designated locations for the poetry readings. Attendees are encouraged to prepare accordingly for being outdoors and to bring signs with literary messages of solidarity and love.

This is a public event. You are not alone, and you are welcome here.

We invite and encourage the participation of the entire literary community. To signup to read poetry, volunteer, and/or distribute zines, books, or other materials at the event, please fill out the following form before midnight on November 30: https://goo.gl/forms/ny8pVLc9GSmPk9Xk2

Readers will be contacted the first week of December and invited to select the work they will read from a curated list of poems that address solidarity, injustice, survival, protest, resistance, and activism.

The following is an ongoing list of DFW literary/arts organizations & collectives dedicated to uniting together against injustice:

Spiderweb Salon (Denton)
Deep Vellum Books (Dallas)
Pegasus Reading Series (Dallas)
Dark Moon Poetry and Arts (Dallas)
OPP (Dallas)
Pandora's Box (Dallas)
Art & Words (Ft. Worth)

We love you and are here for you.

Add your organization to this list by sending an email to spiderwebsalon@gmail.com or filling out the signup form above. 

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"So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive" -Audre Lorde

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." -Dylan Thomas

"Now that we have come out of hiding,
Why would we live again in the tombs we’d made out of our souls?" -Khaled Mattawa