FREE SCREENING. Oregon’s Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani will share poetry prior to the screening. Starts at 6PM. 

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (96 minutes)

Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary queer poet Nikki Giovanni as she reflects on her life and legacy. This Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary beautifully captures Giovanni’s life and writings through the revolutionary historical periods in which she lived, from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter.

Anis Mojgani

Anis Mojgani is the current Poet Laureate of Oregon. A two-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, he has been awarded residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, Caldera, AIR Serenbe, The Bloedel Nature Reserve, The Sou’wester, and the Oregon Literary Arts Writers-In-The-Schools program. A recipient of an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellowship, Anis has done commissions for the Getty Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum; and his work has appeared on HBO, National Public Radio, and as part of the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day series. His work has appeared in the pages of the NYTimes, Rattle, Platypus, Winter Tangerine, Forklift Ohio, and Bat City Review.

Known for his performances and well regarded for them the world over, Anis has performed at hundreds of universities across the U.S.; festivals around the globe such as the Sydney Writers Festival, Jamaica’s Calabash festival, and Seoul’s Young Writers Festival; and for audiences as varied as the United Nations and the House of Blues. The author of six books of poetry and the libretto for Sanctuaries, his first children’s book is forthcoming from Holiday House/Neal Porter Books; his latest poetry collection, The Tigers They Let Me, comes out in July 2023. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in Portland Oregon.