Poetry Open Mic @ Bica!

Join Beyond The Veil Press and the San Diego Poetry Coalition for an evening of powerful words and community! Our Poetry Open Mic invites poets of all levels to share their voices in a welcoming, creative space. The event takes place August 12, 5:30–7:30pm, with a suggested $5 donation to help cover the venue rental. Guarantee your spot now, or sign up at the door—come read, listen, and celebrate the magic of poetry with us!

Food will be available for purchase from Craveworthy Kitchen. They celebrate bold, honest cooking rooted in Californian Latin flavors. We focus on real ingredients, vibrant marinades, and fire-grilled simplicity — food that’s craveable, clean, and made to nourish. (VG & V friendly)

Delicious drinks will be available for purchase from Bica.

SIGN UP to read when you register!

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Shannon English (she/her, IG: @shannonenglishpoetry) is a poet, a maker, a lover of the natural world, and the owner of The Delicate Squash, a small business that provides seasonal, gluten-free baked goods. Her debut poetry book, Delicate Things, was published by Beyond The Veil Press. She is the Events Coordinator and Open Mic Host for Beyond The Veil Press.

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Beyond The Veil Press is a queer and trans-led indie publisher of poetry and art, founded in 2021 by two SCAD graduates. Our mission centers mental health awareness and creativeexpression. We began on the ancestral lands of the Arapaho, Ute, and Cheyenne peoples (Denver), and in 2024, we relocated to the lands of the Kumeyaay (San Diego).

The press is currently run by co-founder & poet Sage Herrin, alongside a team of generous volunteers—paid in books and deep gratitude.

Throughout the year, we donate to mental health non-profits and share free resources with our community, including writing workshops, ebooks, and any healing tools we come across.

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Sierra Zounes (she/her, IG: @ZounesWrites) has known from a young age that her life would revolve around writing. Majoring in "Literature and Writing" at California State University San Marcos with a masters in "Reading, Language, and Literacy," she taught middle and secondary English for six years, directed the San Marcos Writing Project Creative Young Writers Camps (middle and high school divisions), and committed her days to working on my various prose and poetry manuscripts.

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San Diego Poetry Coalition was brought together through the love of poetry, we San Diego poetics came together in August 2023 to do one thing: read, write, and workshop our poetry into published works of literary art.

Together, we are committed to spreading positive messages of strength through adversity while promoting our fellow poets and supporting arts and literary businesses.

Host or Publisher Beyond The Veil Press