Poetry Reading: Stages by Tramaine Suubi

We are very excited to welcome back Tramaine Suubi for an event celebrating the release of their newest poetry collection, Stages. For this event, Tramaine will be joined in conversation by Kira Tucker.

Critically acclaimed writer Tramaine Suubi follows up her debut phases, with stages. This powerful meditation, inspired by Lucille Clifton, focuses on choices and changes throughout life, from Yellow Dwarf to Protostar.

In this breathtaking companion poetry collection, inspired by the evolution of our brightest star, Tramaine Suubi offers poems alluding to the history of how it came to be and its effects on each human life. Readers will discover poems exploring everything from the gimmicks of capitalism to the false promises of tranquility.

This is another brilliant collection that will only reinforce Suubi as a rising star of her generation.

Tramaine Suubi is a multilingual writer from Kampala, and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. They are the author of phases and stages, and their creative writing has appeared in over twenty literary anthologies, journals, magazines, and reviews. They work towards the total liberation of all oppressed people.

Kira Tucker is the author of the National Poetry Series-winning collection, Wildest, forthcoming from Akashic Books in 2026. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English from Northwestern University, where she was the 2024-2025 Artist in Residence. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Poetry, Obsidian, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. A former managing editor of TriQuarterly, Kira currently teaches 11th and 12th grade Environmental Literature. A Memphis, Tennessee native, Kira now finds life in Chicago—surrounded by an indoor houseplant forest and Lake Michigan’s infinite waves.

Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email [email protected] by no later than 14 days before the event. For other access needs please email .

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Women & Children First