Workshops
2024
JaZZ:Jam…Zpace Ztation DJ-Creative Writing Workshop. Queens Public Library. 02/20/2024
RootWording Workshop. Wake Up Everybody Community (01/05/2024-continuous).
2023
D’Actionary: Because There’s No Dictionary in the Wild at The School of Making Thinking. (04/2023)
Alchemizing Freedom Lab for BHM at Queens Public Library (02/2023)
Wellness Wednesday Workshops with Queens Public Library (07/2022-06/2023)
2022
ReVer(b)sions Lab series with Lewis Latimer House Museum (07-12 2022);
Herbarium Verbarium workshop at car-free Earth Day event in Albee Square (04/23/2022)
“A Way Into Conversation: Centering Personal Narrative in History-Making” workshop with Queens Memory at Arts in Education/Face to Face conference (04/12/2022)
Poetry As Architexture workshop with Westchester University Poetry Center’s Poetry and Creative Arts Virtual Festival — Breakthrough: Invigorating Creative Practices (04/07/ 2022)
ReMemory Workshop Series with Queens Memory (03/2022)
Newtown Literary Poetry Editor (2022-2023)
Poets of Queens Neighborhood Poetry Workshop
2021
James Baldwin’s America: Both Light and Dark Reading & Discussion series with Lewis Latimer House Museum and Humanities NY. (09/ 2021-11/2021)
James Baldwin’s America: Both Light and Dark Discussion Series
Herbarium Verbarium Workshop at Idlewild Park (Oct 16, 2021)
PoeTREE Event: Have you ever loved a tree at Queens Botanical Gardens (10/03/2021)
NYC Artist Corps: PoeTREE/A Tree I Love Project
Natural An/Dems workshop (Herbarium Verbarium Series) for Lewis Latimer House Museum (Aug 28, 2021)
Natural An/Dems Workshop at Lewis Latimer House Museum
Magic Signs & Vision Binders Workshop Series for Queens Public Library (04/2021)
Magic Zigns and Vision Binders Workshops for National Poetry Month (Queens Public Library) (Video Links Below)
Magic Zigns & Vision Binders Poetry Workshop: Bookcrafting 101
Magic Zigns & Vision Binders Poetry Workshop—Somagraphy
Muditations (Tending to Our Poetic Gardens)
Coding Your Cosmos. The Coop Workshop. (01-02/2021)
2020
Memory as Time Capsule series for Queens Memory. (11-12/2020)
Memory As Time Capsule Workshops: November 17, December 1, December 15
Magic Zigns & Vision Binders: Source & Error To Get To a Y? World of Witches at May Day Space. (11/08/2020)
Audre Lorde Readings & Discussions. Lewis Latimer House Museum and Humanities NY. (08-12/2020)
Your Silence Will Not Protect You! – The Writing of Audre Lorde Humanities New York/Lewis Latimer House Museum Reading & Discussion Series
Finding the Self in Font: Kamau Brathwaite. Queens Public Library. (06/29/2020).
2019
From Words on a Page to a Published Poem: An Editing Workshop at Indie Author Day. (11/16/2019)
Magic Zigns & Vision Binders at World of Witches Market (10/12/2019)
Magic Zigns & Vision Binders at The Lit Exhibit (06/21/2019)
Recipe Poems workshop at Conference on Creative Aging (05/15/2019)
Text & Texture Workshop Series for Su-Casa program at Brooks Memorial Senior Center. (03/07/2019-06/06/2019)
All/Terras: Science Fiction Art Lab Workshop and Tour for Families at Sugar Hill Children’s Museum and Queens Museum (05/04, 11, 25/2019)
All/Terras: Science Fiction Art Lab Workshop and Tour for Families
Todas/Terras: Laboratorio de Arte y Ciencia Ficción
Taller y tour para familias
May 25 2019
1:00pm–2:30pm
Español Abajo
A league of time-traveling beings from alternate worlds is heading towards earth to restore peace in the universe!
Join us at Queens Museum for the culminating workshops in a series organized together with Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling. Children and their families will respond to a series of writing and storytelling prompts inspired by the work in the Queens Museum exhibition, Mundos Alternos: Art and Science Fiction in the Americas and create their own science fiction story of time travel inspired by their family, neighborhood, and culture!
This workshop and tour is ideal for children ages 6 to 10!
The workshop includes a special children’s tour of the Mundos Alternos exhibition where families will interact with the various works in the exhibition. The tour will be led by teaching artists Sherese Francis and Greg Corbino, as well Director of Exhibitions and Curator Hitomi Iwasaki.
2018 Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Inc. Teaching Assistant at PS 188Q (09/2018-03/2019)
Breath/Bread of Life: Creating Treasures with Wordplay at Lewis Latimer House Museum (08/26/2018)
Free Verse workshop series at Jamaica Probation Center/NeON (02-06/2018)
Between Eye and The Other: Writing With You and Images with Sherese Francis Workshop at Cambria Heights Library (Part of St. John’s University’s Citizen Exhibtion) (02/10/2018)
Between Eye and The Other: Writing With You and Images with Sherese Francis Claudia Rankine’s Citizen explores the fluid relationship between text and visual art s well as the first person, second person and third person points of view. Through this workshop, attendees will look at the writing and imagery in Citizen and write pieces based on prompts inspired by Rankine’s words, use of images, and different points of view.
2017 “Inventing New Wor(l)ds” Teens workshop at Queens Library at Ridgewood. (11/18/2017)
2016
Poetic Inventions: Electricity, Enlightenment, Expression Workshop at Lewis Latimer House Museum (06/26/2016)
No Longer Empty Teen Docents Workshop (05/2016)
Performances
2023 Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event: an exquisite corpse- poem about revelation featuring Queens poets (Sept. 28, 2023)
Poets of Queens Reading at The NYC Poetry Festival (July 30, 2023)
2022 #ObsidianVoices + The Poetry Project’s #LetsPlay — Obsidian’s Playground Issue Launch Reading (Dec. 5, 2022)
Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event: an exquisite corpse- poem about recollection featuring Queens poets (Oct. 3, 2022)
Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival: Laureates of the Caribbean — The Rum Bar Line Poetry Reading (Sept. 11, 2022)
Moving Verse Performance at JCAL (poetry and dance) (July 9, 2022)
The Brooklyn Rail’s Common Ground Reading for Archer Aymes Lost and Found Retrospective: A Juneteenth Exhibition. (June 16, 2022)
Natural An/Dems Immersive Workshop and Reading at Ankhlave, Flux Factory and The Rhizome Project’s For the Public exhibition at Local Project (Feb. 10, 2022)
For the public — Natural An/Dems workshop and Reading
2021
Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event: an exquisite corpse- poem about ritual featuring Queens poets (Oct. 1, 2021)
Do-Si-Do Chapbook Launch
Lewis Latimer House Museum and African Voices’ “My Soul Will Be A Star” Exhibition Opening (Apr 23, 2021)
Weeksville Weekend event, “Conjure: Poetic Pasts & Constructed Futures (Apr 10, 2021)
The Musical Summit/Cultural Collaborative Jamaica
Harlequin Creature ’s Social Justice Reading Series: Age of Aquarius (Feb 7, 2021)
2020
Open Mic Feature Reader. Queens Public Library. (Nov 19, 2020)
Women Writers in Bloom’s Halloween Feature Reader (Oct 31, 2020)
Link to Poets of Queens Reading
Laureates of the Caribbean for Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. (Sept 11, 2020)
Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival — Laureates of the Caribbean
Queens Writers Resist and QueensBound’s Say Their Names: A Reading to Honor Black Lives (June 24, 2020)
Armstrong Literary
Queens Museum and Free Verse Online Open Mic (Sundays Mar 29-Apr 19, 2020)
2019
Words on Water: Works on Water/Underwater New York Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event (Sept 21, 2019)
UNY @ BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL: WORDS ON WATER
Join Underwater New York for a reading and conversation with writers-in-residence at the Works on Water/Underwater New York artist residency on Governors Island. The residency provides an incubator space for diverse investigations of water in the urban environment. Underwater New York is a platform for creative work inspired by the waterways of New York City. Moderated by Underwater New York founding editor and Works on Water organizing member Nicki Pombier Berger, the event will feature writers Sherese Francis, Killian Quigley, Supriya Wheat, Tobias Carroll, and Asya Graf.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2:30-4:00pm
Governors Island, Nolan Park 5B
THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2019 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL EVENT
WORDS ON WATER is part of the OUR FUTURE FESTIVAL, a day of climate action, ideas and inspiration throughout Nolan Park on 9/21
Big Words, Etc Reading at 61 Local (61 Bergen St) (July 24th 6:30-8:30pm)
Harlequin Creature Social Justice Reading Series (Berl’s Poetry Shop) (June 14, 2019)
HOW TO BUILD A FIRE: RENEWAL
May 31, 2019
8:00pm
STORYTELLERS:
Jackie Reason
Sherese Francis
Inspired by artist Monica Jahan Bose whose works revolve around our bond with nature, our footprint both carbon and journeys of immigrants and refugees; and the interconnected essence of communities. Bose – “Water is an enduring theme, speaking to life, climate, sustenance, death, and renewal.”
Spring is a time to return to abundance, the warmth of the weather and our souls; the awakening of things that drive us to be out doors , commune with each other and nature. It is the beautiful propagation of life.
What is your spiritual bond with nature? Has it influenced/changed your carbon footprint? what are some habits/practices/thoughts/projects/rituals, i.e. walking a dog , singing in the rain, you will renew this spring? How will it revive you? How will it uplift and move forward into a season, promote joy, togetherness, fucking and bees? What have you learned from storms? Has the openness and wildness of Mother Nature defines/redefined your gender? Does the little boy/girl within you dream beyond the clouds?
Created five years ago, How to Build a Fire is a community storytelling series where a diverse group of individuals share real-life, personal narratives centered around a different theme each month. At times funny, at times sad, their stories weave together a broad illustration of the human experience. How to Build a Fire takes place at Open Source Gallery -a welcoming, nurturing, intimate, safe environment- where, monthly, one can see a new exhibition installed by an array of up-and-coming and established visual artists. Every year, poet and event founder Terence Degnan partners with Open Source Gallery to select two new co-hosts/curators of HTBAF. This year’s curators are poets Shafina Ahmed and Phillip J. Ammonds.
Fel Santos: I of Newtown Performance at Queens Museum (Feb 24, 2019)
February 24th, 2019 2:00-3:00pm: Fel Santos: I of Newtown Performance
(QM Theater, 2nd Floor)
Join us at Queens Museum for the culminating performance of Fel Santos: I of Newtown, a multimedia installation by poet Paolo Javier (former Queens Poet Laureate, 2010-14) and musician David Mason (also known as Listening Center) for the Queens Library LeFrak City branch that explores the sound poetry and elusive identity of Woodside poet Fel Santos. Javier and Mason’s installation at LeFrak focuses on the expansive sound poetry of Fel Santos, which draws from his immigrant Pilipinx history, encounters with the occult, and his mother’s own private language. Spanning film, video, sound poetry, and music, Fel Santos: I of Newtown shares the abundant intimacy and innovation of language and communication that is unique to multilingual speakers and postcolonial cultures.
Javier and Mason will be performing with poet Sherese Francis and artist/writer/teacher Emerald Carter.
This performance will be recorded by Montez Press Radio and broadcast on March 31st, 12-1pm.
Image: Film still, Paolo Javier and David Mason, Not Sure You Have One, 2018, digital video. Sean Hanley, editor/dp. Courtesy of the artists.
Words and Voices Reading at Jamaica Performing Arts Center (Feb 9, 2019)
Kith & Kin Presents: Queensbound at Q.E.D. (Feb 3, 2019)
Irish American Writers Association MLK Salon Reading at the Irish Arts Center (Jan 22, 2019)
IAWA’s MLK Salon on January 22nd
IAWA’s Blog Recap
2018
Harlequin Creature Reading at Kew & Willow Bookstore (Nov 9, 2018)
Join us and Harlequin Creature as it travels to Queens for the first time to host the third installment of its Social Justice Subscription Series readings! This will be the official launch event for the latest chapbook in the series, Zahura Akter’s “Unparallel.” In addition, the other two books in the series, Sherese Francis’ “Variations on Sett/ling Seed/ling” and Pamela Laskin’s “Found, But Really Lost,” will be available for sale.
All proceeds for each chapbook will go to an organization of the poet’s choice: purchases of Unparallel go to Voices of Bangla, Found, But Really Lost to Fortify Rights & Variations on Sett/ling Seed/ling to DARDA Dominica.
Queensbound Reading and Launch on 7 train and Queens Museum (Nov 3, 2018)
QUEENSBOUND is a collaborative audio project curated by KC Trommer and supported by a New Work grant from the Queens Council on the Arts. From Long Island City all the way to Jamaica, the poems of QUEENSBOUND map the neighborhoods and the vibrancy and diversity of the borough, embedding audio recordings from leading Queens poets and writers on a subway map, designed by Kyle Richard. Technical support for QUEENSBOUND was provided by Maham Faisal Khan.
QUEENSBOUND Reading and Site Launch – 11/3 at 2 pm
The 7 train, first car
On November 3, 2018, the QUEENSBOUND project will launch with a reading on the 7 line and reception at the Queens Museum.
Join leading Queens writers and poets, including Rosebud Ben-Oni, Malcolm Chang, Catherine Fletcher, Sherese Francis, Jared Harél, Nicole Haroutunian, Abeer Hoque, Safia Jama, Paolo Javier, Joseph O. Legaspi, Ananda Lima, Maria Lisella, Vikas K. Menon, Belal Mobarak, Meera Nair, Maria Terrone, and curator and host KC Trommer, for QUEENSBOUND, a borough-wide writing project. Poets and writers will read original work on the 7 train, beginning at Vernon Blvd Jackson Av stop, before stepping off at Mets-Willets Point and heading over to The Queens Museum for a reception.
2nd Annual Celebration of Southeast Queens (& Beyond) Authors at Cambria Heights Library (Oct 13, 2018)
Queens Writers Resist at Diversity Plaza (Sept 22, 2018)
2018 Literary Sundays Reading at Kew & Willow Bookstore (Sept 30, 2018)
Reading with Malcolm Boyd at Kew & Willow (Aug 25, 2018)
Bryant Park Word for Word Reading Series with Women Writers in Bloom (June 25, 2018)
FROM APARTMENT TO BRYANT PARK: A POETRY SALON GROWS UP on LitHub
Prologue: A Dedication, Reading and Ritual event for York College Southeast Queens Biennial Exhibition (Apr 7, 2018)
First Fridays at Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (Mar 16, 2018)
Celebrating the upcoming International Women’s Day, March First Friday lines up four inspiring female artists from diverse backgrounds: Takia “Judah” Parham, a United States Army Combat Veteran, theatre artist and poet, will present her poem where she seeks to expose the reality of war, prison, mental illness and self-love; Jamaica-based writer, poet, and literary curator Sherese Francis will display her J. Expressions Popup Library, a literary project that encourages the communications among Southeast Queens authors. The collaboration reflects their passion for innovation via their choreography, composition, and stagecraft. Come and gather around for an evening of feminism, activism, and art! Free and open to all.
No Rest In This Skin + Oxana Chi & Layla Zami + J is a Expressions Popup Bookshop on Friday, March 2, 2018, 7:30 pm at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, 161-04 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica, New York 11432.
2017
A Literary Afternoon with Malcolm Boyd and Sherese Francis at Lewis Latimer House (Feb 17 2018)
Queens Central Library Open Mic for Poets Feature (Dec 10, 2017)
Poets of Queens Reading Series (Dec 6, 2017)
An Evening in Creativity: Words & Voices Reading, Lucy’s Bone Scrolls book release event at Jamaica Performing Arts Center (Aug 17, 2017)
Three Legged Elephant Book Reading at Jamaica Performing Arts Center
Women Writers in Bloom Sixth Anniversary Celebration (Apr 28, 2017)
Poetic Queens: Sunnyside Queens Library Event, Newtown Literary (Apr 3, 2017)
2016
Queens Council on the Arts Lab: New Poetry and Fiction Reading
The Power of the Word | Remix Rememory at Jamaica Colosseum Mall, No Longer Empty (Dec 17, 2016)
Poets from Queens with Queens Poet Laureate, Maria Lisella, Flushing Queens Library (Apr 16, 2016) (Poets from Queens event with Poet Laureate Maria Lisella)
Brownstone Poets’ Queens Spectacular
Press/Flyers for Events and Exhibitions
Hair @ Ely Exhibition
Out Front 24/7 Banner Exhibition at King Manor Museum from September 8th to September 24th
Made In Queens from South Queens Women’s March
Threads Exhibition and Reading from Poets of Queens and Bliss on Bliss
My Chapbook, “Lucy’s Bone Scrolls: The Black Speculative Mystery School” Was Featured in Preparing Grounds: Portals and Portability Installation at the Rubenstein Art Center
Saltmark post
York College Site of SEQAA Exhibiton
Traditions Festival Online
Jamaica Flux
Jamaica Flux Press Release on QNS
Walking The Edge
Finalist (SAME Nobody Ghazal) for Furious Flower Prize!
Works on Water Residency (Open Studios Saturday and Sunday in August at House 5B)
No Dear Magazine Conversation with Eline Marx
Photos from Queens Book Fair
Fundraiser Gala for Arts Transform Inc. I am an honoree for the Community Service Award!
Print Fest and Panel Discussion
Queens Council on the Arts Interview: WHEN ARTISTS UNITE IN A CHANGING COMMUNITY….
Truth to Power Interview: The Speculative Mystery
Queens Soup Interview
Bright Young Collectors: Sherese Francis Interview on Fine Books & Collections Blog
Six Young Women with Prize-Winning Book Collections
Night Of Poetry Reading At Jamaica PAC Thrills
Newtown Literary contributor: Sherese Francis
Local Writers Host ‘Re-Inaugurate Democracy’ Event
Here in Jamaica Interview
Celebrating Books: The Queens Book Festival on Huffpost
Panels/Lectures
The Afro Now panel discussion with Neema Githere, Keisha Knight and Stephanie Dinkins
Watch conversation here
Sherese Francis 