Food for Thought: Reading with Alej Martinez & Miguel M. Morales

Food for Thought: Reading & Discussion with Alej Martinez & Miguel M. Morales

Come join us at Flagship Books for an evening of literary delight!

Alej will read about their time in the sun-baked earth of the Taos Pueblo, where generational wisdom meets the eager spirit of new generations. The reading will be a lyrical exploration of food sovereignty and cultural reclamation. Miguel M. Morales will accompany the reading with poetry - Miguel's poetry explores themes of migrant farm work, family, and social justice. The readings will be followed by a conversation about land, food, resilience, and the role of intergenerational justice in our food systems.

About the writers:

Alej Martínez is an author and poet living and making nonsense in Kansas City. A graduate of Prescott College’s Sustainable Food Systems B.A. & Sustainable and Resilient Communities M.S. Born in Jarocho land, Alej unsettled in the US at ayoung age. They write about the unearthing of trauma and social issues thataffect them and their communities, including gender, sexuality, displacement,and dismemberment. His debut anthology, Disclosure: Confessions of a Queer inCrisis, was independently published in 2018. Followed by Concealment in 2021through Resistencia Press. Some of Alej's pieces have appeared in Harbor-Review, Hawaii Review, Semillas Publishing, Immigrant Made Zine, KC Studio, and About A Place Journal. Alej is a Studio Resident at Charlotte Street Foundation. Currently, they focus on simply living,gardening, and expressing themselves in healing ways. https://linktr.ee/_alej

Miguel M. Morales grew up in Texas working as a farmworker/child laborer. He was selected as a finalist for the 2023-2026 Poet Laureate of Kansas. He is a Lambda Literary Fellow and alum of the VONA/Voices and of the Macondo Writers workshops. This fall Miguel will perform at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Miguel’s work appears in several anthologies and literary journals. He co-edited Pulse/Pulso: In Remembrance of Orlando, Fat & Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives, and the Farmworker Portfolio in The Common Journal, issue 26. He has earned several awards including the Society of Professional Journalists’ First Amendment Award. Miguel mentors farmworker youth and other intersectional writers. He believes sharing community stories requires being of service to the community.

Host or Publisher K-State Urban Food Initiatives