Just after being named Maryland’s 11th State Poet Laureate, Brion Gill, also known as Lady Brion, made it clear she wanted to create a her own literary arts festival that united voices from throughout the entire state. This weekend, that vision comes to life with the inaugural Revolutionary Writers Poetry Festival happening May 15-17.
Featuring a dynamic lineup of workshops, panels, showcases, open mics, and poetry slams at The Voxel and Baltimore Unity Hall, the event is a return to Gill’s roots. Before becoming Poet Laureate and the director of the Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts & Entertainment District, she competed in high school debate, organized youth slams, and frequented the stages of local open mics.
While Baltimore has been blessed with many literary gatherings this year—including CityLit Festival and the special AWP Conference & Bookfair—this one will stand out in its narrow focus on spoken word artists. The hope is to give poets from around the country the opportunity to hone their craft in a creative, brave, and affirming environment.
Gill is well positioned to lead this work, drawing on her own experience as an international spoken word performer, poetry coach, activist, organizer, and educator. “The poetry is the point,” she says.
Ahead of the packed weekend, we spoke with Gill about the role the festival will play in building community and artistic growth.
What was the original spark behind the Revolutionary Writers Poetry Festival?
I always knew that one of the things I would love to do as Poet Laureate was create a statewide festival that highlights spoken word. Poetry is like the illegitimate child of the literary arts. It’s less explored, less celebrated. We don’t make as much space for it, even though, in my opinion, and in many others’, it’s the birth of poetry. Before it was written, it was spoken, right? We need to do a better job of honoring it, honing those skills, and building it up.
As Maryland’s Poet Laureate, how does this festival reflect your vision for literary arts across the state?
Maryland is a diverse place, and I think the literary arts scene reflects that. Maryland, especially as it includes Baltimore, has a really strong spoken word community. Ultimately, I want spoken word to have an indelible mark in the literary story of Maryland. It’s not an afterthought. It’s not a footnote. I want folks to know about it, because we have champion slam artists and amazing spoken word poets. I want that to be a bigger part of our story. And there’s a resilient writing style that’s coming, especially out of Baltimore, that I really want to amplify.
Who have you collaborated with locally to bring the festival to life?
It’s such an honor to be able to do it in partnership with Charm City Slam, run by Kenneth Something, who has created a premier spoken word poetry slam and open mic in Baltimore City. Poets from all across the United States and beyond participate in it. And then Unique Robinson, who is also a powerhouse in her own right. This partnership between all three of us really amplifies the potential of the festival.
The festival includes spoken word, slam poetry, open mics, workshops, and panels. How do you see these different opportunities working together to build community and craft this weekend?
People aren’t curating spaces that are designed for spoken word artists to kick it and work with each other. So the networking part is big to me. It’s just like, damn, I get to be in a space with Black Chakra. I get to be in a space with Kenneth Something. I get to be in a place with Ephraim Neamiah? You might get to see them on a stage, but at the festival you can actually be sitting next to them writing.
Beyond that, some of the panels are designed, unlike the workshops, to really talk about career paths in writing—self-publishing work, finding an agent, finding a publisher, revenue streams. So the panels are really more career-building based, whereas the workshops are to produce new works or ideate on new concepts. And then we have the open mics that really allow you to be in space, share your own work, or hear other people share theirs.
Is there a program you’re most looking forward to?
I’m really excited that we’re premiering, like the world premiere, of a documentary called Slam about the national champion Baltimore City Poetry Slam Team on Sunday night at The Voxel.
What role do you think Baltimore City plays in shaping the national poetry landscape?
One, Baltimore has always been extremely unapologetic in the way that we present our poetic concepts and styles. Other poets, especially when they’re not from predominantly Black cities, feel like they have to sort of apologize or make their poetry palatable. Baltimore has never taken that approach. And you see the shift in what I would call “unapologetic poetry” across the nation, where people now present very different poems than what you might have seen 10 years ago.
As far as group poems are concerned, Baltimore has also created a very clear standard for what it means to choreograph poems in tandem and what it looks like to harmonize. And lastly, Baltimore brings a certain level of seriousness to the competitive space. Some people do it very much as a hobby, but, for us, it was like there was something at stake. We came onto the scene in 2015, not knowing anything about the national slam scene. And the very next year, we were national champions. We were a quick study. We turned things around. And now, Baltimore is the model.
What legacy do you hope the festival builds for Maryland’s literary community?
It’s similar to Baltimore City being a model on the national slam scene. I would love for this to be a model of how we create spaces that are not just designed for connection, but for bringing together the best of the best to really teach, connect, and provide tools so that people can feel empowered.