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gigi bella performs glam rock poetry one woman show for the Albuquerque Funny Fiesta

Big Feelings is officially an SPD Bestseller !!

Explora hosts poetry workshop for teens and families.

Poet to perform in Highland, IN on midwest tour.

‘Memoir in verse’: Gigi Bella releasing poetry collection ‘Big Feelings,’ will do online reading

Take a look at the list below for the most exciting collections coming your way this year, all by and for the rest of us: poets who are women, womxn, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI, international, LGBIA+, TGNC, queer, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities.

Here are 44 of my favorite collections of 2020!

"Gigi Bella ranked the tenth woman poet in the world at the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) in 2017, so it is remarkable to witness her sonnets, drafts, and more on the page. Bella’s poetry book Big Feelings encapsulates the vernacular of brown girlhood that gives the reader the permission to feel all of the variances of love, heartbreak, femininity, and the nuances of simply (and not so simply) being alive."

At the Santa Fe Women's March last January when Gigi Bella stood before thousands in a black jean jacket with a patch that said “Hex the Patriarchy,” and announced on the microphone, “I am fearless; I am warrior; I am woman; I am choice; I am all of the endless possibilities you've ever dreamed of … I am whatever I damn well please,” she was not lying.

"She never attempts to sugar-coat any of the above or make it into something lyrical. At first, the honesty is jarring. After a bit more consideration, it makes sense. These are not things that can be made lyrical. The evenings alone at Olive Garden and the mornings spent scrolling through Instagram looking for something approaching self-acceptance cannot be shown in a glamorous light. These moments can (and should) only be shown for what they are: sad, and embarrassing, and so very modern."

"Bella dripped in advice on bravery and originality, how poets need to maintain their unique voice, speak their truth and 'get free.' It’s all about acquiring that outside-of-body feeling and craving to share your story with the audience. And hopefully, you can move someone enough to use their own voice."