Friday, March 6, 2026
6:30 – 9:30 PM
4MLK
4 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21201
When the world is heavy, we must find our joy and dance. Come celebrate that one good thing that’s worth the sweat.
Hard Times Require Furious Dancing* is a gathering that is defiant in joy. This free event invites writers, readers, and literary folx to step out of conference mode and onto the dance floor.
A high-energy evening designed to bring together creatives from across the country to celebrate literature, movement, and connection. Music curated by Baltimore’s DJ Chris Brooks and The Jonathan Gilmore Project, light bites, a cash bar, a photo booth, and plenty of room to dance, meet new people, and reconnect with old friends. Whether you come to move or simply be in the room, this is a space for collective joy and footstompin’ music.
The only thing left to bring is a good vibe and your energy.
Registration is required: https://citylitproject.salsalabs.org/hardtimesrequirefuriousdancing/index.html
ATTIRE: Festive! Wear something that moves, shines, or makes you feel seen.
Featured Artist: Yemonja Smalls “Bahama Mama”
Dr. Yemonja Smalls is a multidisciplinary artist who has spent over twenty years professionally seeking to understand people, what motivates and challenges them and assisting in building supports to help them live their best lives. Her extensive work with people with developmental disabilities has informed her fascination with the complexities of relationships, which is a common theme reflected in many of her layered mixed-media creations.
Yemonja’s creates in various mediums from paint, wood, glass and anything else she can hold and mold. Her works have been exhibited in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, the Frederick Douglass Issac-Meyers Maritime Museum, Hill Center Galleries, Harold Washington Library, South Side Community Art Center, Howard University, the Sojourner Family Peace Center among others, and reside in various private collections across the nation.
Yemonja’s signed limited edition print “Bahama Mama” will be available for sale directly from the artist.
Follow her on Instagram /Facebook @Yemonja Paints
http://www.YemonjaPaints.com
This free event is hosted by:
CityLit Project
CityLit Project nurtures the culture of literature in Baltimore and throughout Maryland. We create enthusiasm for the literary arts, connect a community of avid readers and writers, and design opportunities for diverse audiences to embrace the literary arts.
citylitproject.org
IG: @citylitproject
FB: CityLit Project
Wexford Science & Technology
Wexford Science & Technology, LLC is a real estate company exclusively focused on partnering with universities, academic medical centers, and research institutions to develop flexible, forward-looking real estate strategies and solutions. Our approach empowers institutions, enabling them to strategically leverage real estate as a tool to advance their academic, research, and commercialization missions and achieve long-term objectives within their strategic plans. We specialize in creating dynamic, activated, mixed-use Knowledge Communities that support research, innovation, economic growth, and community inclusion and opportunity.
wexfordscitech.com
LinkedIn: Wexford Science and Technology
BioPark at the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, Baltimore BioPark offers a dynamic lab and office environment for life science companies — including global firms, next-gen ventures, university spinouts, distinguished research organizations, cutting-edge clinical care and contemporary workforce training programs. An extension of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), a thriving academic health center combining cutting-edge biomedical research and exceptional patient care, the BioPark fuels the translation of research and the commercialization of new drugs, diagnostics and devices. It fosters a strong culture of innovation and facilitates collaboration among its resident companies and the University: tenants are sourcing expertise from University faculty, joining forces on federal research grants as subcontractors and sponsoring millions in research projects. In addition to advancing research and discovery, the BioPark is dedicated to strengthening West Baltimore — stimulating economic activity, providing workforce development and training and supporting the communities surrounding the 14-acre campus.
umbiopark.com
The Loft
Celebrating 50 years, the Loft is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit literary centers and is dedicated to advancing the power of writers and readers to craft and share stories, to create and celebrate connections, and to build just, life-sustaining communities. Each year, the Loft engages over 7,000 people via its classes, workshops, mentorships, events, resources and services for writers and readers. In addition to offering over 500 classes and writing intensives each year, the Loft offers a wide variety of mentoring opportunities, awards, and fellowships for Minnesota writers and partners with schools, libraries, and other organizations locally, regionally, and nationally.
IG: @loftliterarycenter;
FB: The Loft Literary Center
Kundiman
Kundiman is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing generations of writers and readers of Asian American literature. Kundiman creates a space where Asian Americans can explore, through art, the unique challenges that face the new and ever changing diaspora. We see the arts as a tool of empowerment, of education and liberation, and of addressing proactively the legacy we will leave for our future. Kundiman’s programs include an annual Retreat, readings and panels, online classes and workshops, Regional Groups, and more.
www.kundiman.org/
IG: @kundimanforever
FB: Kundiman Forever
Pen Parentis
Pen Parentis is a literary nonprofit whose sole mission is to help writers stay on creative track after they have kids. We offer an annual Writing Fellowship for new parents to help emerging writers reconnect to the creative flow, monthly Literary Salons that feature the variety of creative published work of stablished writers that are also parents, and welcoming accountability groups and networking/mentorship meetup opportunities for writers at all levels (with all ages of children) who seek a like-minded community to help them move forward and complete creative writing projects.
penparentis.org
LinkedIn: Pen Parentis
FB: Pen Parentis
IG: @penparentis
Twitter: @penparentis
Bluesky: @penparentis.bsky.social
Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance
GBCA strengthens Greater Baltimore’s cultural ecosystem by connecting artists, cultural organizations, and audiences. Through programs like Baker Artist Portfolios, CultureFly, and JobsPlus, we actively build and sustain the ecosystem by providing visibility, promotion, digital resources, and advocacy, helping artists and organizations expand their reach, share their work, and access the support they need to thrive.
Facebook: BmoreCulture
Instagram: @baltimoreculture
Wintergreen Women Writers Collective
Wintergreen Women Writers Collective is a 501c3 nonprofit that publishes, documents, preserves, and celebrates the creative work of Black women. Our vision is to see the history and legacy of Black women writers honored and preserved. At Wintergreen, Black women writers have access to intergenerational spaces where, in community and mutuality, they nurture one another and locate resources to support their creative practices.
https://wintergreenwomenwriterscollective.com
IG: @wintergreenwomen
George Mason University
George Mason Creative Writing is a community of writers in the BFA and MFA in Creative Writing programs at George Mason University. Its students and public programs contribute to the vibrant cultural scene in Fairfax, Northern Virginia, and the National Capital Region.
https://creativewriting.gmu.edu/
FB: Mason MFA BFA
IG: @mason__cw
Watershed Lit
Watersehd Lit: Center for Literary Engagement and Publishing Practice is a collective of organizations whose missions create and promote transformative experiences in the literary arts at Mason and beyond.
https://watershedlit.gmu.edu/
Getting Word
For nearly six years, Getting Word: Black Literature for Black Liberation has championed the long-term monetary support of Black literary arts organizations behind some of the nation’s leading literary talent. This historic collaboration between Cave Canem, Furious Flower Poetry Center, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, and The Watering Hole represents over 140 years of collective legacy. Each year, the Getting Word collective hosts a fundraiser, the funds of which are split evenly across the organizations to provide direct operational support for Black cultural initiatives.
https://gettingword.org/
IG: @gettingwordnow
Twitter: @gettingwordnow
FB: Getting Word
Mid Atlantic Arts
Mid Atlantic Arts is a nonprofit organization supporting artists, presenters, and organizations in the Mid Atlantic region and beyond through unique programming, grant support, partnerships, and information sharing.
https://www.midatlanticarts.org/
@midatlanticarts
Radius of Arab American Writers
RAWI is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides mentoring, community, and support for Arab American and SWANA writers. Through readings, panels, workshops, and festivals that emphasize inclusivity, we create liberatory space and highlight voices and people threatened by erasure. Founded in 1993 as the Radius of Arab American Writers, RAWI means storyteller in Arabic. We are dedicated to helping writers with roots in the Arab and SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) region as they share their lived experiences.
www.arabamericanwriters.org
Furious Flower Poetry Center
The nation’s first academic center for Black poetry, the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University is committed to ensuring the visibility, inclusion, and critical consideration of Black poets in American letters, as well as in the whole range of educational curricula.
www.jmu.edu/furiousflower
@FuriousFlowerPC
Hurston Wright Foundation
The Hurston/Wright Foundation supports Black writers in developing their writing and creating quality literature. Providing intensive writing workshop retreats, residencies, and craft talks, Hurston/Wright’s mission is to mentor, recognize, and provide community for Black writers. In addition, the organization strives to connect writers with reading audiences, creating spaces for engagement. Co-founded by multi-genre writer Marita Golden and cultural activist Clyde McElvene, Hurston/Wright produces The Black Writer’s Studio podcast and presents several awards, including the annual Hurston/Wright Zora Awards.
https://www.hurstonwright.org/
IG: @hurstonwrightfoundation
Twitter: @hurstonwright
FB: The Hurston/Wright Foundation
Cave Canem
Cave Canem is a nonprofit organization committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets. Founded by artists for artists, Cave Canem fosters community across the diaspora to enrich the field by facilitating a nurturing space in which to learn, experiment, create, and present. Cave Canem develops audiences for Black voices that have worked and are working in the craft of poetry.
https://cavecanempoets.org/
IG: @cavecanempoets
Twitter: @cavecanempoets
FB: Cave Canem
The Watering Hole
The Watering Hole invests in pursuing the craft of poetry. We are a home where poets of color in the South can learn and grow at each others’ feet. As a multiethnic, intergenerational, intersectional Tribe, we meet poets at every level from Slam to Ph.D. to beginner, from Gwendolyn Brooks scholar to Kendrick Lamar aficionado, from retiree to elementary school student.
https://gettingword.org/
IG: @twhpoetry
Twitter: @twhpoetry
FB: The Watering Hole Poetry
and Obsidian
Celebrating 50 years, Obsidian was founded by the late poet Alvin Aubert with help from poet Sonia Sanchez. Aubert mobilized energy created by the Black Arts Movement to address the lack of venues for writers of African descent. Published biannually in print and year-round online, Obsidian supports the contemporary poetry, fiction, drama/performance, visual, and media art of Africans globally, and remains an independent beacon for critical-creative Black thought.
Social Media Handles
https://obsidianlit.org/
IG: @obsidianartsmag
Twitter: @obsidianlit
FB: Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora
DANCE PARTNERS:
Baltimore Beat
Baltimore Beat is a Black-led, Black-controlled nonprofit newspaper and media outlet. Our mission is to honor the tradition of the Black press and the spirit of alt-weekly journalism with reporting that focuses on community, questions power structures, and prioritizes thoughtful engagement with our readers. We aim to serve all of Baltimore City, including those with limited internet access and those who are a part of underrepresented communities. Our organization aspires toward a more equitable, accountable, and rigorous future for journalism that fully represents the stories of all our neighbors.
www.baltimorebeat.com
IG: @baltimorebeat
Baltimore Magazine
Bmore Art
BmoreArt is a leading resource for contemporary art and culture in the Baltimore region, a platform for creative and critical discussions. We apply editorial and community building capabilities including digital publication, a biannual print journal, community events, lectures, and social media, to further the cultural and economic interests of artists, arts organizations, cultural institutions, and diverse audiences for arts and culture in the region.
https://bmoreart.com/
IG @bmoreart
The Clifton House
The Clifton House continues the legacy of acclaimed poet Lucille Clifton and community activist Fred Clifton by providing mentorship, local and global resource access, training, and development in the creative arts to underrepresented and underserved people of all ages in the Baltimore and surrounding communities, with particular focus on Afrodiasporic, female, and gender non-conforming LGBTQA+ poets, writers, artists, and creative activists.
Thecliftonhouse.org
IG: Cliftonhousebaltimore
The Ivy Bookshop
The Ivy Bookshop is a community gathering space anchored by a vibrant bookstore in Baltimore’s historic Mt. Washington neighborhood. We believe in books as tools of connection between people, and we invite you to the store to linger and gather – whether by finding a hidden gem of a book with a bookseller in the shop, enjoying our abundant outdoor spaces, or joining us at an author event where books come alive in conversation.
www.theivybookshop.com
IG: @theivybookshop
Maryland Institute College of Art
Morgan State University – Department of English and Language Arts
The Department of English and Language Arts offers students the opportunity to grow as writers, researchers and critical thinkers. Employers around the globe continue to tell universities the type of recent graduates they’re looking for: those who can think creatively with good writing skills- that is the sort of scholar our department develops.
The Department of English and Language Arts houses a variety of University and departmental programs. These programs include: the Creative Writing Program, the First Year Writing Program, the Introduction to Humanities Program, the Reading Program, the major in English, the major in Screenwriting and Animation (Cinematic Arts and Sciences), and the minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
https://www.morgan.edu/english/overview
@morganstateu
@morganstateu_engl
Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse
Red Emma’s is Baltimore’s only cooperatively-owned and operated bookstore, cafe, and social center. Founded in 2004 by social justice organizers, writers, and readers from around the city, Red Emma’s has grown into a literary and creative hub for Baltimore City and beyond. (3128 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore MD 21218 – open Tuesday – Sunday!)
www.redemmas.org
@redemmas
Scribente Maternum
Scribente Maternum is a community of writers who identify as mothers. We have our own stories and struggles, but we come together because of our love of writing and our love of our children. This space is for the writing process, not the final product. Scribente Maternum is a play on “writer mom.” But that’s where the fanciness ends. This community is down-to-earth and real. The one thing we are serious about is how central motherhood is to our human experience. Our goal is to embrace the tension that exists between motherhood and writing. Our children are our greatest distraction, but also our greatest inspiration. We are exhausted from being the on-call parent, but we find something new to write about every time we look at them.
https://www.scribentematernum.com/
Yellow Arrow Publishing
Yellow Arrow Publishing supports and inspires writers and artists identifying as women through publication and access to the literary arts. Women’s voices have historically been underrepresented in literature, and we aim to elevate those voices and stories through our programs and publications.
www.yellowarrowpublishing.com
IG: @yellowarrowpublishing
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