Listen to the live recording of Studio A from Sunday, March 5 for a reading and interview with poet JP Howard. Howard, a Cave Canem graduate fellow, is the author of SAY/MIRROR, a debut poetry collection published by The Operating System (2016, 2nd expanded ed and 2015, 1st ed) and a chaplet "bury your love poems here" (Belladonna Collaborative*, 2015). SAY/MIRROR was a 2016 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the Lesbian Poetry Category. JP is currently a Pushcart Prize Nominee for her essay published in Mom Egg Review and is a finalist for Split This Rock's 2017 Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism. JP is featured in the 2017 Lesbian Poet Trading Card series from Headmistress Press and is an author in Lambda Literary's 2017 NYC LGBTQ Writers in School Program. JP was selected as a 2016 Judith Markowtiz Emerging Writers Award Winner from Lambda Literary Foundation and is Split this Rock 2017 Finalist for their Plow Award for Poetry & Activism.JP curates and nurtures Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon (WWBPS), a forum offering women writers at all levels a monthly venue to come together in a positive and supportive space. The Salon has been featured in Poets & Writers Magazine and on CUNY-TV's cable tv program Study with the Best!" She is the recipient of Brooklyn Arts Council Grants on behalf of the Salon for 2014 through 2017. The Salon celebrates a diverse array of women poets and includes a large LGBTQ POC membership. JP is an alum of the VONA/Voices Writers Workshop, as well as a Lambda Literary Foundation Emerging LGBT Voices Fellow. She was a finalist in The Feminist Wire’s 1st Poetry Contest and in the poetry category for the Lesbian Writer's Fund of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Her poetry has been featured in Emotive Fruition, a lively performance series in NYC, where actors bring to life new page poetry for the stage. Her poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Queer Voices Anthology, Apogee Journal, The Feminist Wire, Split this Rock, Nepantla: A Journal for Queer Poets of Color, Muzzle Magazine, Adrienne: A Poetry Journal of Queer Women, The Best American Poetry Blog, MiPOesias, Mom Egg Review, Talking Writing, Connotation Press and the anthology, Stand Our Ground: Poems for Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander.JP was one of Velvetpark Magazine's Official 25 Queer Women of 2016 (#15) and she was selected as one of GO Magazine's 2016 "100 Women We Love!" JP believes self-care is crucial and was 1 of 11 Black Queer and Trans Women to discuss self-care in Elixher. She is proud that her Queer family was on a 2014 cover of Gay Parent Magazine. JP is all about collaborating with community. She is currently a scholar-facilitator for Humanities New York and has facilitated community readings and discussions celebrating James Baldwin. She is Editor-at-Large forMom Egg Review. JP has facilitated workshops, been featured on panels or will make forthcoming appearances at The Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Fire & Ink: A Writers Festival for GLBT People of African Descent (Detroit, MI, 2015), Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), (Washington, DC, 2017, Los Angeles, CA, 2016, Minneapolis, 2015 and Seattle, WA 2014), The Lesbian Herstory Archives, The LGBT Community Center (NYC), The Black Lesbian DIY Fest (2014 and 2015) and the inagural Beyond Bold and Brave: Black Lesbian Conference (Barnard College, March 2016). JP holds a BA from Barnard College, a JD from Brooklyn Law School and an MFA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York. She resides in New York with her wife and two sons. You can find her at http://www.jp-howard.com/