BAFS 2nd Sunday Class: "Poetry & the Art of Protest" ft. Aspen Everett
Schedule
Sun Mar 08 2026 at 02:00 pm to 05:00 pm
UTC-06:00Location
Boulder Public Library | Boulder, CO
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POETRY & THE ART OF PROTEST:“The artist’s duty,” says Nina Simone, “is to respond to the times we are living in.” As poets and writers, how do we find the right words for these tumultuous times, or express our frustrations with any coherence or beauty? Luckily, poetry is an art form we can use to respond in the moment, an artistic reaction with the power to become an anthem for the masses or a rallying cry at the frontlines of a demonstration. A small poem can act as an insurgent agent in the imagination, while a grand poem can become a performance that brings together the collective. In this workshop, we’ll exam chants and short form protest poetry from past and present, as well as longer forms written and performed with music, to better understand how to write our own words of resistance.
Aspen Everett is a poet, performer, and organizer who still believes words and paper are more powerful than bullets and batons. Aspen is the author of "Tributaries" from Middle Creek Publishing, Assistant Editor for Screaming at America, Community Engagement Instructor with Lighthouse Writers, and host of Spotlight: A Boulder Notoriety Show. They live in Boulder, CO with their seventeen-year-old and stubborn houseplants, and have managed to keep both alive for at least this long.
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Beyond Academia Free Skool (BAFS) offers 100% FREE Peer-to-Peer Poetry Education for the People! We invite you to join us for our monthly Second Sunday Poetry Class at Boulder Public Library.
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[Where:] Arapahoe Room of the Boulder Public Library (Main Branch). This room is upstairs by the main stairwell!
[When:] 2:00-4:45. (community building between 2:00-2:15, then class officially gets started!)
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[Tuition]
BAFS events are always 100% free to attend!
Tax deductible donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, Boulder County Arts Alliance! All donations go towards paying Poets to teach and perform in our free to the public programs.
[Link to donate:]
https://www.bouldercountyarts.org/con.../beyond-academia-llc
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JUSTICE, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, ACCESS AND INCLUSION
STATEMENT
Beyond Academia LLC Commitment to Justice, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion:
#Justice: Our mission to offer free to the public arts education is rooted in justice. The higher education system in the United States is deeply flawed, limiting the potential for diverse human capital in the arts, due to access barriers created by the high cost of tuition. Poetry is a tool which everyone deserves access to cultivating in their own voice. We strive to dismantle socioeconomic barriers to high quality arts education. In action, this looks like -
-- Advocating for free education.
-- Seeking needed funding to hire teachers for free to the public classes.
#Diversity: Poetry is the vehicle, through which we continuously arrive at a deeper awareness of the diversity of culture present within the intersectional identity of ourselves, others, and the group experience. In action this looks like -
-- Class participants representing a spectrum of lived experience and abilities.
#Equity: As we deepen our awareness and understanding of diversity, we must continually reflect on if our program practices are equitable, and adapt systems in place to ensure everyone receives what they need to participate in Beyond Academia programming. In action this looks like -
--Creating free educational spaces where anyone can be a student, regardless of socioeconomic status.
#Access: BAFS Programs will always be 100% free and open to the public. In action his looks like-
--Street Theatre Style poetry readings (free performances in public spaces)
-- Free to the public classes offered at the Boulder Public Library.
#Inclusion: We recognize that every student has a different story, and enters the classroom from a different starting point; we welcome all people, no one turned away. In action this looks like -
-- Socratic style classes that intentionally embed opportunities for civic dialogue
--an open door policy, come when you can and leave when you need to.
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Where is it happening?
Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Avenue,Boulder, Colorado, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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