Judas & Suicide is a debut poetry collection by Maya Williams about how our language from our spiritual and religious communities influence how we view and treat ourselves in staying alive. Maya and fellow poets Signature MiMi, Marco Soulo, and Myles Bullen will be sharing poems about spirituality, grief, mental health, and joy.

Learn more about Maya and the launch in the Portland Phoenix Article: "Beyond doubt: Maya Williams’ debut poetry collection is a force to be reckoned with".

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Friday, June 16 at 7:30 PM (doors 7:00 PM); 120-minutes with an intermission

This event is free to the public with a suggested donation of $15 per person.

NAMI Maine & The Yellow Tulip Project (YTP) are community partners for this event. 

YTP is a youth-driven movement dedicated to smashing the stigma surrounding mental illness – one tulip at a time. 

Through support, education, and advocacy NAMI Maine is dedicated to building better lives for the 1 in 4 Mainers who are affected by mental illness. They will share mental health resources, education, and advocacy tools during the event.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Maya Williams: Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently the seventh poet laureate of Portland, Maine. May 2023 marks the release of their debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide, via Game Over Books. October 2023 marks the release of their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, via Harbor Editions. They were one of three artists of color selected to represent Maine in The Kennedy Center's Arts Across America series in 2020 and were listed as one of The Advocate's Champions of Pride in 2022. She is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow through the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. You can follow more of eir work at mayawilliamspoet.com

Signature Soul (Signature MiMi & Marco Soulo): Signature Soul is a fusion of Rhythm + Rhyme + Reason + Resonance. Made up of the eclectic duo Marco Soulo (he/him) & Signature MiMi (she/siya/they). Together they are on a mission to raise the collective consciousness one soul at a time. The duo creates and shares poetry, music, & art that capture their experiences and shed light on their aspirations. Signature Soul facilitates creative expression labs and poetry workshops that encourage participants to explore and experiment with their voice. Marco and MiMi strive towards sustaining an interdependent network of artistic activists, free-thinkers, and community connectors who are dedicated to making our world more creative and peace-ful. Their self-titled album is out on all streaming platforms and available for download on bandcamp. For more information and to connect with them, please visit www.signaturesoul.love.

Myles Bullen: Myles Bullen (he/they) (Absentee Shawnee) is a migratory songbird/ rap seamstress/ art poet landed in Portland, ME. Their music is influenced by indie rock bands, underrated rappers, spoken word poets, and soft folk melodies. Myles has toured throughout 40 states in the US, parts of Canada, and parts of Europe performing at music venues, colleges, recovery centers, prisons, festivals, coffee shops, and opera houses. They have released several EPs, and multiple albums on the internet. Myles loves touring his music, breaking bread, ocean swimming, his dog Finn, and being vulnerable in front of living people. Myles' song "iamnotforeveryone" is currently at 600,000 streams on Spotify, and rising. You can follow Myles' work via his website mylesbullen.com

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN POLICY

No one will be turned away for lack of funds; contact MSA at 207-879-4629 or info@mayostreetarts.org for information on our pay-what-you-can admission policy.

COVID-19 POLICY

Audience members, staff, and volunteers will be asked to mask while not actively eating, or drinking.

Mayo Street Arts is committed to the safety of everyone at our events and will adhere to all Federal & Maine CDC guidelines on the day of the event. As we anticipate mid-season changes to our COVID-19 policy, please click here to visit our website and view the most current information.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Mayo Street Arts has a no refund policy for all reservations. In the event that MSA is forced to cancel an event due to weather, illness, etc., refunds will be offered via the Ticket Tailor platform.