Kay Bell is an Educator, Storyteller and music enthusiast. Her poetry aims to weave  the language of activism with the voice of the marginalized to confront and interrogate literary spaces of oppression. For her, writing works as a birthing floor for healing, invention, and reimagination— where the poetic voice is responsible for both blessing and bruising the inquiring reader. Through writings such as “Work Sonnet,” & “Watching You Sleep” Kay continues to give rise to poetics that challenge societal norms, promote empathy, and inspires change. Currently, she works as an Academic Advisor and Adjunct Professor at the City College of New York and can be found nurturing her plants and her two sons, in the heart of the South Bronx. 

Website: iamkaybell.com

Instagram: @poetesskay

Facebook: I Am Kay Bell

Born ya-i-dil; daughter of diligent Dominican parents, raised in the solemn concrete of the South Bronx. A daydreamer, auntie poet—a purveyor of the forgotten dialects of the working class. Haydil’s words unleashes mirages our warriors dreamed we’d live.

Haydil Henriquez is an arts educator, cultural advocate, youth development program manager and Bronx-bred poet. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Education from Swarthmore College in 2014, and has worked with communities across the Diaspora facilitating oral storytelling workshops for youth. Although Haydil does not possess a formal degree in writing, she witnessed the magic of poetry during her formative years in the spoken word community. Her writing challenges ideas of belonging and home, all the while offering a battle cry for liberation. Haydil’s poetry explores the juxtaposition of collective memory and black erasure while creating a platform for a voice in its most transnational nature.