Joy in the Belly of a Riot by Barbara Fant Book Launch at Lincoln Theatre

Welcome to the Joy in the Belly of a Riot Book Launch at the historic Lincoln Theatre in Columbus, Ohio!

There will be poems, music, and more poems!! Please join us as Barbara Fant returns back to her home state for her Ohio release of Joy in the Belly of a Riot! The legendary Mahogany L. Browne will join Barbara as co-host, and conversation partner.

Special guests, including Kaleem Musa, Yvonne Gilmore, Keisha Soleil, Scott Woods, and musical guests, Renee Dion and DJ EMarblez!

Barbara will also be signing books.

Please come ready for a Sunday serving of poetry, healing, and all the joy you can hold!

Barbara Fant is the author of three poetry collections, Paint, Inside Out (2010), Mouths of Garden (2022), and Joy in the Belly of a Riot (2025). Her work has been featured in Electric Literature, McNeese Review, Button Poetry, and Def Poetry Jam, amongst others. She is a Women of the World Poetry Slam Finalist and a Healing Centered Engagement specialist. She has received residencies in both Cuba and Senegal, West Africa, and has been commissioned by over 20 organizations. For over 15 years, she has led healing-informed poetry workshops for youth & young adults who are incarcerated, those in community, adults in recovery, and survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence.

Mahogany L. Browne, a Kennedy Center's Next 50 fellow, is a writer, playwright, organizer, & educator. Browne’s books include Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky,Black Girl Magic, and banned books Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice and Woke Baby. Founder of the diverse lit initiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne holds an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree awarded by Marymount Manhattan College and is the inaugural poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center.

Joy in the Belly of a Riot:

Rebirth, renewal, and healing are the heart of Joy in the Belly of a Riot. Fant’s monumental collection is a continuation of her lifelong project of using poetry as prayer; this is healing-informed poetry to restore herself, her community, and the world. Exquisitely lyrical and boldly resonant, Fant’s poems excavate the nightmares of a childhood marked by poverty, violence, racism, and the loss of countless loved ones. Suffering seemed endemic to neighborhoods like hers, and yet, in Fant’s own words, “I keep trying to write about the trauma, but the joy won’t let me.”

Steeped in a rich Black Christian tradition and drawing on Scripture for artistic inspiration, Fant’s verse offers solace and guidance for all, from the devout to the skeptical. In these poems Fant demands that we see her, and her community, throug more than our grief. As she closes this profound collection, Fant gently preaches that we choose life and reminds us that “wholeness is our birthright.”

Joy in the Belly of a Riot is a healing balm in times of sustained uncertainty and a rock upon which we can build and sustain a foundation of joy. Fant’s essential message demands to be heard, now more than ever.

Host or Publisher Barbara Fant