Author Next Door: Where Art and Culture Collide | A Busboys and Poets Books
About this Event
On Sunday, September 13th at Busboys and Poets Anacostia, join us for Author Next Door: Where Art and Culture Collide, the next installment in our rotating celebration of community storytellers from across the DMV.
This panel will spotlight authors whose works explore different formats and genres: poetry, historical research, fiction, and photography. Each of our featured authors will read from and discuss their writing, come together for a conversation about the intersections of their books, and answer questions from the audience. We invite you to come listen, engage, and support these local authors and their powerful stories!
februaries by Michele Evans
Evans, a fifth-generation Washingtonian and English teacher, revisits significant and complicated moments from America's past to spark necessary and challenging conversations about the future of humanity. This poetry collection was inspired by the literary tradition established by an assembly of living legends from the Washington, DC metropolitan area such as Dr. Joanne V. Gabbin and E. Ethelbert Miller.
Native American History of Washington, DC by Armand P. Lione
Read the missing stories of DC's precolonial history. Native Americans lived on the land that is now Washington, DC for several thousand years before English settlers arrived in the early 1600s. The Native people had villages, quarries and burial grounds throughout the city, ranging from what is now Rock Creek Park to the grounds of the White House. These sites speak of the history of the Anacostans and the preceding tribes who once walked the land under historic sites and museums that now neglect them. Local author Armand Lione details the record of the Native tribes of the District and deals with the complex question of why these stories have not been offered to the public.
Love At Second Sight by Ayoka B.
Love At Second Sight by Ayoka B. explores how love changes us. Infused with lyrics and poetry, the novel includes discussion questions and a music playlist. A beautiful cover features custom artwork by Maryland-based artist, Keiona Clark.
DC Film Collective - Volume 1 by Tobias Shaw and Brett Parsons
There is so much photography in the world today. We are surrounded by images, inundated with them, numb to them. With the unavoidable abundance of photos today, the valuable commodity has become our finite attention.
This community-curated collection of images is as much about the art of seeing photography as it is about the art of taking photographs. With so much of what we see being determined by algorithms, this book attempts to be a community driven means to share photography with an offline intentionality.
Copies of each author’s book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and all authors will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Doors open at 4:30pm and there will be full dinner service throughout the program. The program begins at 5:00 pm and will be followed by Q&A and book signing. Please note that this event is in-person.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Michele Evans is the author of purl (Finishing Line Press, 2025) and februaries (Yellow Arrow Publishing, 2026). She is a fifth-generation Washingtonian (D.C.), poet, English and Creative Writing teacher, and adviser for Unbound, an award-winning high school literary arts magazine. Her poetry has been published in anthologies, journals, and magazines, including Artemis, Bellevue Literary Review, and Gargoyle. Despite always wearing the color black, this Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee loves blueberries, blue hydrangeas, blues musicians, and Blue Mountain coffee. She lives online at www.awordsmithie.com.
Dr. Armand P. Lione has lived in Washington, DC for more than 40 years, but, like many of us, he had overlooked the stories of the Indigenous people of this city. Spending time in Australia during the last 18 years sensitized him to the hidden history of Indigenous people around the world. Starting in 2016, he began to collect the social and archaeological records of the Anacostan Natives of DC, and published a blog and a website to draw attention to their history on this land. In addition to his primary job as a Reproductive Toxicologist, Dr. Lione worked as an amateur historian for the last 10 years, combing the rich resources of the Library of Congress and other DC sources for documentation of the city's Native history. In the fall of 2023, the History Press published his book, “Native American History of Washington, DC.”
Ayoka B. is a multi-genre author of six books who centers Black love and joy. With tenderness and ache, she tells stories through her unique lens. She is also co-host of the podcast Writing While Black.
Ayoka began writing short stories in high school to express her feelings. In college, she pivoted to poetry, writing her first poetry collection, Mule of the World. It is volume one of a series which includes Love LETTERS, Estoy Esperándote and Sexfunky.
Ayoka's debut novel, Love At Second Sight, is a love story which follows the journey of FMC Shane, a Single Mom and poet. Written in descriptive prose, this page-turner features unforgettable characters and is infused with lyrics and poetry. A companion novel, The Composition Of Evan Jeffries featuring fan-favorite character Mike, is scheduled for completion in Summer 2026. Works in progress include a short story collection; two poetry collections; and a supernatural YA novel entitled, Bluff.
A DC native, she lives in Costa Rica with her family. Her intention is for readers to discover joy. When she's not writing or recording, you'll find her nose in a book.
Brett Parsons is a multi-disciplinary artist, producer, actor, writer, and musician. In 2022, he co-founded the DC Film Collective to help unite local artists, and later launched Murray Cinema Inc. with his brother Timothy, a nonprofit whose short films have been featured in film festivals such as DCIFF, Awesome Con, and NOVA FEST.
BOOK DETAILS
februaries
By Michele Evans
February 3, 2026 | Paperback | 118 pages | $19.99
Native American History of Washington, DC
By Armand P. Lione
September 4, 2023 | Paperback | 144 pages | $24.99
Love At Second Sight
By Ayoka B.
February 13, 2024 | Paperback | 322 pages | $16.49
DC Film Collective - Volume 1
By Tobias Shaw and Brett Parsons
May 1, 2026 | $40
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