Stats & Stanzas 2025

“I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal

I cannot be comprehended

Except by my permission”

– Nikki Giovanni, Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why); see also “Giovanni” by Jamila Woods

Every social movement of health consequence has been backed by songs, poems, and dance to codify resistance, galvanize community, inspire imagination, and testify for more just futures. For those of us “at the margins,” creative modes of expression have always been critical to our

learning and survival. For us, “poetry is not a luxury” (Lorde).

Poetry offers a necessary space for healing, resistance, and resurgence as public health continues the struggle towards health justice. It has the power to push boundaries and reimagine narratives of health equity—opening new dialogues that (re)center the voice and agency of those most burdened by social inequality.

This annual event will bring together public health scholars, educators, students, and practitioners with poets, musicians, and other artists for an evening of creative resistance and healing. In a time when LOVE *and* RESISTANCE must be simultaneous acts, this event will illuminate the necessity of both STATS *and* STANZAS to create public health futures of radical possibility.

Join us for an evening of poetry for the public’s health, featuring readings from Dr. Ryan J. Petteway, and our special guest Jae Nichelle, Nasfisario Matthews, and Sage Spicer Orak.

Also featuring:

• Guest DJ will be spinning tracks from The Public Health MixTape

• Free food

• Poetry Competition

FREE Admission

FREE Parking

Bring the kids. Bring the fam. Bring the homies. Bring the notepads. Bring the love.

Host or Publisher OHSU-PSU School of Public Health