Featuring performances by Robert Karimi, Marcie Rendon, Brittany Delaney, Bao Phi, Diego Vazquez, Tatiana Ormaza, and Guante with emcee Tou Saiko Lee and DJ Nak
At the Loft, Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
8 p.m.
No door charge.
Help send Minnesota writers from communities of color and indigenous communities to AWP, a large conference for writers where they will have an opportunity to represent Equilibrium and Minnesota to a national stage and connect with communities from all over the world. All the artists and the DJ are donating their performances to this event, and the Loft is donating registration fees as well as logistical support - we just need to raise funds to cover travel expenses. No donation is too small, and every person who donates regardless of the amount will be entered for fantastic door prizes from community sponsors Magers and Quinn, Toki Wright, Coffee Gallery, Heather Wang, The Loft, Dessa of Doomtree, Milkweed Editions, Orikal, Coffeehouse Press, Izzy's Ice Cream, First Nations Composers Initiative/American Composers Forum, and many more!
100% of all donations go directly to travel expenses to send MN writers of color and Indigenous writers to AWP.
If you can't come to the event, you can send the Loft a check or donate online. Make sure you note the donation for POC AWP.
This event is cosponsored by Equilibrium: Spoken Word at the Loft and Minnesota Private Colleges Council
Equilibrium, EQ for short, is the Loft's ground-breaking and wildly successful series devoted to spoken word artists and audiences of color. Acclaimed as one of the Nation's top spoken word venues, EQ combinines an intimate, engaging atmosphere with energetic, packed houses. EQ has created a space where national talent shares the stage with local emerging artists. As community organizer and educator Fouzi Slisli states, "EQ engages communities of color across the board, not just one group—it creates a space where solidarity becomes natural."
In addition to blockbuster spoken word shows, EQ has honored pioneers in the genre and artists of color in the Twin Cities, hosted book and CD release parties, offered workshops with Def Poetry Jam artists for at-risk youth and underrepresented communities, and collaborated with community artists on an innovative cross-generational spoken word mentorship program. Equilibrium has also produced its first-ever spoken word compilation CD, ¿Nation of Immigrants?, and has taken its artists outside the Metro area and into Greater Minnesota with its Echolocation program. Now in its 7th season, Equilibrium still packs in the crowds, bringing together the biggest names and the brightest up-and-comers to be found within the national spoken word scene.
• EQ Mailing list: If you’d like to be added to the EQ mailing list, send a request to Bao Phi, the Program's Director.
• EQ on Facebook: Check out Equilibrium is on Facebook! EQ on Facebook
• EQ Events: Check the Loft's monthly Events Calendar for upcoming EQ dates. Calendar
Kelly Tsai, The Poem-Cees, Brittany Delaney, DJ Nak
Check out Minnesota Microphone's Rob Callahan's take on a recent Equilibrium Spoken Word performance at the Loft. Saturday, September 19, 8 pm. Minnesota Microphone
¿Nation of Immigrants? is EQ's first CD showcasing Minnesota poets, spoken word artists, and artists of color/indigenous artists. Featured artists include Robert Karimi, Marcie Rendon, Juliana Hu Pegues, Tatiana Ormaza, Ibe Kaba, Khalid Adam, Preeti Kaur, Bobby Wilson, Lorena Duarte, Ka Vang, Ed Bok Lee, Tish Jones, Diego Vazquez, Christy Namee Eriksen, and Charlotte Albrecht. Curated by Bao Phi, the CD was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Antonio Rosario and features original cover art by Ricardo Levins Morales.
Star Tribune Review City Pages Review
• To Purchase the CD: Contact Bao Phi at 612-215-2585 or bphi@loft.org or mail a check for $14 to the Loft. You may also order the CD by paying through PayPal (below). Quantities are limited. We are temporarily sold out - for more information email bphi@loft.org
—courtesy of 3-Minute Egg
"The importance of an ongoing series like Equilibrium cannot be underestimated. It has been and must continue to be a haven for amazing, talented, and often underappreciated artists--especially artists of color. Equilibrium has become not only a vital space of intersection--bringing the best and brightest spoken word talents in the Twin Cities and nationwide together across lines of race, gender, and sexual orientation--but in many ways the premiere reading series of its kind, maybe in the entire country, certainly in the Midwest. To lose a series like Equilibrium would be devastating to our communities, locally and nationwide. Quite simply, Equilibrium is suffused with quality of the rarest kind."
—Dennis Kim aka Denizen Kane, co-founder I Was Born With Two Tongues, Typical Cats, Tree City Legends, and 3 time featured Def Poetry Jam poet.
"As a professor at the University of Minnesota, I greatly appreciate Equilibrium shows at the Loft as a rich, one of a kind resource in the twin cities, especially for the diverse communities of color. Every time there is an upcoming show, I make sure to spread the word among my students and friends. Students always remark on the amazing quality of the shows, often saying they were inspired by the performers and that they loved being in the midst of a supportive, energetic community of color. Equilibrium is one of the best educational programs available to young aspiring artists and to individuals and families seeking a enriching, safe, and nurturing environment to explore the arts."
—Richard M. Lee, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Asian American Studies, University of Minnesota
"I'm a medical student and poet who loves the word and community. When I first moved to Minneapolis from the Bay Area, I thought I had entered no-man's land of the Midwest, where voices of color didn't see the stage very often. But then I discovered EQ. The EQ events I have attended have never disappointed me. I have always felt refreshed and rejuvenated by what I hear and the crowd I see. I am so thankful that EQ exists here in the Twin Cities and I hope to continue to enjoy the privilege to attend EQ events."
—Preeti Kaur Rajpal
"Equilibrium still packs in the crowds at The Loft Literary Center. Bringing together the biggest names and the brightest up-and-comers to be found within the national spoken word scene, series creator and emcee Bao Phi assembles poets of color before capacity crowds to share and inspire via their words. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (as the old adage goes) and you’ll also wonder how you got so much spoken word for having only kissed five bucks goodbye. At least, I did, as I found an inconspicuous space within the tightly-packed audience of young and restless fans of voice, and got lost in the rhythms of presiding beatsmith DJ Nak while I waited for the main show to begin."
—Rob Callahan, Minnesota Microphone: MN to the Mic to the Max!
