Sampaguita Press is releasing an audiobook of Maria Bolanos poetry collection SANA for free community access. Celebrate the release with us!
Spend a joyous evening with us at Medicine for Nightmares and hear performances by the writers at Sampaguita Press and PAWA. We'll close out the night with a reading from SANA and chat with author Maria Bolaños.
Come early to buy books and get your copy of SANA signed!
Performer Bios
Maria Bolaños (she/they) is a Filipina American poet & co-Founder of Sampaguita Press. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net in 2021 and 2022, and has been featured in publications such as Touchstone, Cut Fruit Collective's Cut Fruit Stories, and decomp journal, among others. Maria is the author of the poetry chapbook, SANA. See more of their work on Instagram, @mariabeewrites.
Keana Aguila Labra (they/them/she/her) is a Cebuana Tagalog Filipinx genre- and genderfluid poet, book reviewer, editor, and writer. She is EIC of Marías at Sampaguitas and co-Founder of Sampaguita Press. They are also the co-Director of the Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate Program, and their poetry was nominated for Best of the Net in 2019 and 2020. Outside of literature, they work to bring music education to students with San José Jazz. Keana is the author of No Saints (Lazy Adventurer, 2020), Mohilak (Fahmidan & Co., 2021) and Kanunay (Self-Published, 2022).
Karen Llagas's new chapbook, All Of Us Are Cleaved, is recently published by Nomadic Press. Her first collection of poetry, Archipelago Dust, was published by Meritage Press in 2010. A recipient of the 2022 RHINO Founder's Prize, Filamore Tabios, Sr. Memorial Poetry Prize, an Elizabeth George Award and a Hedgebrook residency, her poems, translations, prose and reviews have also appeared in various journals and anthologies. Born and raised in the Philippines, she has an MFA in Writing from Warren Wilson College and a BA from Ateneo de Manila. Karen lectures at UC Berkeley and works as a freelance translator. More on her at http://www.karenllagas.com
Ellie Lopez (she/her) is a Mexican-American storyteller/photographer from the 209. Her work has been featured in Marías at Sampaguitas, Mixed Mag, Sin Cesar (Formerly Dryland), and recently in Hot Pot Magazine. When she’s not ear hustling for the best chismes you can find her info at linktr.ee/ellielopez
Lorenz Mazon Dumuk is a poet, spoken word artist, and curator. He is a VONA alumni, and a MALI (Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute) alumni. Ay Nako: Writing Through the Struggle, and I Think In Poetry, are the titles of his two book collections of poetry. Lorenz had curated various events such as ReWrite Open Mic, Glowing with the Moon, and the Eastridge Open Mic. His want to create a nourishing experience at his events, pushes his desire to connect communities and its people.
Beverly Parayno's fiction, memoir, essays and author interviews appear in Narrative Magazine, Bellingham Review, The Rumpus, Warscapes, Huizache, and Southword: New Writing from Ireland, among others. Her work has been translated into Mandarin and published by World Literature, a journal of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Her debut short story collection WILDFLOWERS will be published by Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (May 2023). Parayno earned a BA from San Jose State University, an MA from University College Cork and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She serves on the board of PAWA, a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to supporting Filipinx American writers and artists, and on the executive committee for Litquake. A native of East San Jose, she lives and works in the Gold Country of the Sierra Nevada foothills as an animal communicator and freelance grants consultant for social justice nonprofits. You can find her at www.beverlyparayno.com.