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Amir Rabiyah & Kay Ulanday Barrett

Amir Rabiyah is a two-spirit disabled queer femme poet and writing coach. They were born in London, England to a Cherokee and European mother and a Lebanese and Syrian father. Their work explores living life on the margins and at the intersections of multiple identities. Amir writes about living with chronic pain and illness, war, trauma, spirituality, redemption--and speaks on silenced places. Amir is the co-editor of Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices and has published in numerous anthologies and journals. They currently live in San Diego with their beautiful partner, two dogs, one super senior cat, and a 13-year-old film-making prodigy. They love being a housewife and believe domestic work, chanting Sufi prayers over a home-cooked meal, and nurturing our communities is crucial for revolution.

A Campus Pride Hot List artist, Trans Justice Funding Project Panelist, and Trans 100 Honoree, Kay Ulanday Barrett aka  @brownroundboi, is a poet, performer, and educator, navigating life as a disabled pin@y-amerikan transgender queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. They have been a poetry fellow at The Home School, Drunken Boat, and The Lambda Literary Review. K. has featured on colleges & stages globally; Princeton University, UC Berkeley, Musee Pour Rire in Montreal, Queens Museum, and The Chicago Historical Society. K’s bold work continues to excite and challenge audiences. K. has facilitated workshops, presented keynotes, and contributed to panels with various social justice communities. Honors include: 18 Million Rising Filipino American History Month Hero 2013, Chicago’s LGBTQ 30 under 30 awards, Finalist for The Gwendolyn Brooks Open-Mic Award, Windy City Times Pride Literary Poetry Prize. Their contributions are found in RaceForward, Entropy, APOGEE, Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s The Margins, Poor Magazine, Fusion.net, Trans Bodies/Trans Selves, Windy City Queer: Dispatches from the Third Coast, Make/Shift, Third Woman Press, Asian Americans For Progress, The Advocate, and Bitch Magazine. K. turns art into action and is dedicated to remixing recipes.  Recent publications include contributions in the upcoming anthologies, “Outside the XY: Queer Black & Brown Masculinity” (Magnus Books) and “Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices” (Trans-genre Press). When The Chant Comes (Topside Press) is their first collection of poetry. Check out their work at kaybarrett.net