Tara Bracco is the founder and producer of Poetic People Power. Her writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan, American Theatre, Brooklyn Rail, Bitch, BUST, Clamor, and on The Huffington Post. Most recent NYC performances include appearances at Bowery Poetry Club, Ars Nova Theater, Nuyorican Poets Café, Strand Book Store, Brecht Forum, and Bluestockings Bookstore. She has been a guest teacher at La Tea Theatre’s "What’s In a Word" program and a guest presenter at Barnard College. Tara is a Fellow at The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, where she teaches public speaking.

Cynthia Bruckman is a writer and performer who teaches in NYC's public schools. The New York Press called her first book of poems, Endangered Species, “urban pastoral, serious fun.” She has received grants and awards from the Brooklyn Arts Council and the Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation, among others, for her work as a playwright. She holds a BA in Drama from the University of Washington and an M.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater.

Erica R. DeLaRosa is a performer, activist, and educator. She is a co-founder of Mahina Movement, a performance troupe and production company, and has shared stages with Sonia Sanchez, Suheir Hammad, and Dead Prez. She has directed and produced numerous NYC workshops and serves as the artistic director of the poetry collective Las Alumnas De Anais. Speak the Fire, Mahina Movement's recent CD, is available now! More info at www.mahinamovement.net.

Andy Emeritz has been performing as both a poet and musician since 1995. His writing has appeared in The Good Apple Literary Magazine and on nerve.com. He has performed as a musician in venues throughout New York City with the band Field Theory. He has spent a fair amount of time in Russia, and has performed at festivals and orphanages throughout Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Samara, Kazan, and a few other small towns in the countryside.He holds a BA in Political Theory from Cornell University, where he studied poetry and narrative writing under James Farrell and Dan McCall.

Galinsky is a zany, ludicrous poet/town crier who co-hosts and co-produces the Manhattan Monologue Slam. He was nominated for a Gold World Award at the New York International Film Festival. He is a member of SAG and the Dramatist Guild. More info at www.galinskyplace.com.

Nate Gunsch lives in Brooklyn and spends his days working for The Doe Fund, a homeless and prisoner-reentry services nonprofit organization. He spent four years as an officer in the United States Navy, holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Notre Dame, and has worked closely with poets Reginald Shepherd, Orlando Menes, and John Wilkinson. His poems have appeared in The Bend and his notebook.

Frantz Jerome is an activist, social justice worker, and a co-founding member of the nationally recognized poetry group Lyrical Circle. He has performed at many venues including P.S. 122, Summer Stage in Central Park, the Nuyorican Poets Café, Dance Theatre Workshop, at various schools, and on BET. Frantz has two publications where his prose is featured, and helped develop the play Off The Subject. He is also a member of the hip-hop/spoken word group Cypher Matrix. He has shared the stage with Sekou Sundiata, Baba Israel, Rokafella, Lemon, Universes, Project 2050 and Full Circle Productions. More Info at www.myspace.com/cyphermatrix.

Sugar Johnson is a poet, activist, and actor from Crown Heights, Brooklyn. His one-man show, What Had Happened Was, has been performed at La Tea Theatre to sold-out houses. His poems are featured in Signifying Harlem, edited by Jade Banks. He has shared stages with Spike Lee, Eric Sanders, and Bob Holman. He can be seen on the debut season of Jessica Care Moore’s Spoken on the Black Family Channel. Johnson has a BA in Mathematics from DePauw University.

Angela Kariotis is the author and performer of two one-woman shows: Reminiscence of the Ghetto & Other Things That Raized Me and Say Logos Say Word. She is the recipient of several awards including the NJSCA’s Playwriting Fellowship, the Tennessee Williams Theatre Fellowship and the National Performance Network Creation Fund Award. Her work has been presented by venues such as UCLA-Live, The Hip Hop Theatre Festival in New York City, and Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK. Visit www.angelakariotis.com.

Rafael Landron is a poet from Jamaica Queens. He has performed at Carlitos Café and in Teatro La Tea’s "What’s in a Word?" His one man show, Rafi’s Anti-War Expressions, was presented at La Tea Theater. Landron has been a finalist at the Nuyorican Poets Café.

Matthew Keuter is a writer living in New York. His theatre and performance works have been produced in New York, Colorado, Arizona, and Alaska.

Chris Martin received the Hayden Carruth Award, and his book, American Music, was published by Copper Canyon in 2007. His chapbooks include The Day Reagan Died (2004) and Vermontana (2003). When he’s not editing the online journal Puppy Flowers, attending the Gallatin School at NYU, or performing music with the band Twiglight, he is usually riding the train.

Dot Portella is an educator, actress, and spoken word artist. Her work has been published in two anthologies: SLAM and Skyscrapers, Taxis and Tampons. She is a previous host of the Nuyorican Poets Café Wednesday night slams, and she competed on their 1997 national slam team. She received her BFA at Marymount Manhattan College in Acting and her Masters in Educational Theatre from NYU.

Shetal Shah is an award-winning spoken word poet. Most recently, she had the honor of performing her poetry at Lincoln Center for La Casita. In 2005, she received the South Asian Media Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Arya. She is a long-time educator and screenwriter with two films currently in production. For more information, please go to www.shetalshah.com.

Pamela Sneed is a New York based poet, performer, writer, and actress. She has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Source, and Time Out. Her first book, Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery, was published by Henry Holt and her forthcoming manuscript is America Ain’t Ready. She has performed original works for sold out houses at Lincoln Center, The Studio Museum, PS 122, and she headlined the 2005 "New Work Now Festival" at Joe's Pub for sold houses. Her work has also been seen in publications including 110 Stories: New York Writes After Sept 11, Brown Sugar, and Voices Rising.

Justin Woo is a poet, theatre artist, and DJ. He has performed at universities and theatres in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and D.C., including the 2007 NYC Fringe Festival and the Tony Award-winning Crossroads Theatre. He has collaboratively created several multidisciplinary spoken word theatre pieces, and is currently working with the New Street Collective and the Spoken Word Almanac Project to create two new shows.