Colossus press

Colossus:Body
Voices in support of the sovereignty of the self

Recognizing each other, all Americans, as autonomous being(s) with full liberty and equality means to open our hearts and to viscerally understand how bodily autonomy, or the lack thereof, is enacted and lived based on skin color, income, language, gender identity, and perceived difference from a heteronormative, Christian, cis-male, white, and wealthy standard. While the right to choose abortion might be one of the most urgent manifestations of the Supreme Court’s current attacks on bodily autonomy, we at Colossus Press—and the authors featured in this reading—know that reproductive freedom is just the tip of the iceberg. As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote of the Triple Evils of racism, poverty, and war, the featured poets and writers know that many impingements on bodily autonomy are interconnected through white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression. The voices in the Colossus:Body anthology say YES to the ways we are different from each other and YES to the ways we find similarity, they say YES to the ways we stand and defend our boundaries and claim the right to define ourselves and our lives. With the Dobbs decision, there is a gathering storm that will continue to challenge our rights to bodily autonomy and personal freedom. We hope you will witness these testimonies and find strength to stand for yourself and your own freedom and autonomy, and lend that strength when possible to the people in your community who need what you can share.

Sara Biel (she/her) is a poet and social worker living in Oakland, California. Sara is co-editor of the Colossus Press anthology series. Colossus’s new anthology, Colossus:Body, is a poetic collection exploring our right to bodily autonomy. Her chapbook, Prescribed Burn, was published in February 2023 on Finishing Line Press.

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Elaine Cynthia Brown, aka Poet E Spoken, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She's a History Teacher, Freestyle Poet, and Author of Cried Out Laughing, (A Look Into the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 and Joshua Halsey's Descendants.) Her work has appeared in many critical anthologies

Sharon Coleman's poetry and prose appear in Your Impossible Voice, Faultline, The Ana, Dream
Pop Press, White Stag, and Rivet. She co-curates the reading series Lyrics & Dirges, and co-directs the
Berkeley Poetry Festival. Her books include Paris Blinks (micro-fiction) and Half Circle (poetry chapbook).
She received the Maverick Award from the ruth weiss Foundation, a Luso-American Fellowship for
the Disquiet Literary Conference in Lisbon, and the Brereton scholarship for the Napa Valley Writers
Conference. 

Elisa Salasin has had poetry, essays, op-eds, and photography, published in Colossus:Body, Colossus:Freedom, AMP:always electric, SF Public Library Poem of the Day, sPARKLE & bLINK, CounterPunch, and the Bay Area Writing Project’s Digital Paper. Her chapbook, She Watches Wild Horses, is available from Finishing Line Press.

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Kim Shuck is a visual artist, poet and general troublemaker. Kim is solo author of ten books and editor of a further ten anthologies. Shuck served as the 7th Poet Laureate of San Francisco. She was named as an inaugural National Laureate Fellow by the Academy of American Poets, was awarded a Censorship Award by PEN Oakland, and volunteered for over 20 years in San Francisco public schools teaching math principles by folding origami which resulted in a stack of Volunteer awards. Shuck’s most recent publications are This Wandering State vol. 1 and Noodle Rant Tangent.

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Kimi Sugioka, is a mother, educator, songwriter and poet. Her newest book is Wile & Wing on Manic D Press and she is the Poet Laureate of Alameda, CA. She loves cats and birds and believes that creating community through art is a revolutionary act.

Our intention is to create a space where we can gather in the spirit of resistance to call out cruelty and support concrete change through fundraising. In 2017, we released the first installment of Colossus, raising money for Freedom for Immigrants through ticket and book sales. In 2020, we released Colossus:Home, our second anthology, to support Moms4Housing and help bring attention to the growing problem of homelessness in the Bay Area and around the world. This was followed by Colossus:Freedom, and in summer, 2023, Colossus:Body Voices in support of the sovereignty of the self The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of hope and freedom throughout the world. As the political weather of our country roils toward fascism, it stands as a reminder that a strong, countervailing spirit pushes back against that narrative of fear. At the foot of the Statue of Liberty lies Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, “The New Colossus.” The words of this poem provide the focal point for our writing.

LEG 2: 5:30-6:30p VENUE: Bookmark Bookstore 721 Washington St

ABOUT BOOKMARK BOOKSTORE:
Bookmark Bookstore
The Bookmark Bookstore is a nonprofit used bookstore that is owned and operated by the Friends of the Oakland Public Library and staffed by volunteers. All of the many thousands of books and media in store are donated, and all proceeds support the Oakland Public Library. A true local establishment, the Bookmark celebrated its 30th anniversary this past year. Located at 721 Washington Street in Old Oakland, the store is open Wednesday-Friday from 11:00am – 4:00pm and Saturday-Sunday from 10:30am – 5:30pm. 

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