Femi Lawal or Femi the DriFish has been a professional spoken word artist and slam poet for more than 10 years. Best known as one half of the spoken word/Hip Hop-influenced duo, THE 5th L, and the frontman for the Hip-Hop Rock band the Out of Water eXperience, Femi uses his artistry to encourage his listeners to discover their own unique voices and identities in his writings, performances, and teachings.
Gayle Danley is one of Maryland's most beloved teaching artists. Recently she launched Poetry Pros, an agency devoted to poets who are experts at weaving art into learning. She has worked as an independent MSAC teaching artist and was a roster artist for Young Audiences of Maryland where she was named both Maryland Artist of the Year and Young Audiences National Artist of the Year.
After winning the International Poetry Slam in Heidelberg Germany, poet Gayle entered the classroom teaching thousands of children how to access their emotions through the force of words.
Elizabeth Rees is the author of Every Root a Branch and three award-winning chapbooks. A fourth chapbook was published by March Street Press in 2002. Over 350 of her poems have appeared in journals, including The Southern Review, Agni, Partisan Review, New England Review, and Kenyon Review, among many others. She has taught widely: Howard University, the U.S. Naval Academy, Harvard University, Boston College, Boston University, Macalester College, Hamline University, and in the graduate program at Johns Hopkins University.
Douglas Thomas, commonly known as Durdi Doug, is a hip hop artist and all genre writer from Baltimore City with a keen understanding of business management. As an independent artist, Durdi Doug is able to diversify his brand by engaging in a variety of activities within the entertainment industry. Doug is on the scene, but he is also behind the scenes. Durdi Doug is a verified musician on Google, and he is the CEO of Vibes Entertainment. His popular single “Birthday Drop” premiered on World Star Hip Hop and ranked #1 on the Digital DJ Pool website.
A native Baltimorean, Virginia Crawford has been writing poetry since the age of 11. She has shared her love of words with students of all ages across the state. Her recent full-length collection of poetry, questions for water, was published in April 2021. Previously she had also published a chapbook, Touch. Ms. Crawford earned her degrees in creative writing from Emerson College, Boston, and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
Poetry Reading
Multi-media video of Melanie Figg reading poems from her award-winning poetry collection, Trace.
Medium: poery
Year: 2020
Details: 17 minutes
Self taught Artist.
Actively crafting since 2016.
Writer since birth.
Baltimore MD born and raised. My favorite literary genre is non-fiction especially history and theological studies. I’m currently learning old Latin and working on many projects. I’m 31. I have a baby girl and an amazing son whom I love to pieces.