Poets & Scholars Panel Discussion

Dija (any pronouns) is a queer poet, new to sharing their writing publicly. When she’s not working on her poetry, you can find Dija exploring their new found curiosity for hiking/nature walks. Dija is also a 2026 Anthology Editor for Trans Poetics Archive.

Discussing the festival theme of COLLABORATION

Featured Panelists:
Bobby Sanchez
Arisa White
Ian-Khara Ellasante

Moderated by:
Dija

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About the panelists:

Bobby Sanchez is a rapper, poet, and multidisciplinary artist rooted in Indigenous and queer identity. Raised on Lenape and Siwanoy land, with family from Ayacucho, Peru, her work channels this heritage into music that grapples with Indigenous survival, gender politics, environmental violence, and liberation. Bobby identifies as trans and Two-Spirit, and her art – whether rap, poetry, or performance – reflects lived experience.

Over the past several years, she has released multiple EPs blending hip-hop, spoken word, and political commentary, performed at major Pride stages and poetry slams, and has built a body of work that prioritizes community, decolonial thought, and honest storytelling. Bobby brings an intentional presence to movement spaces, using music not as entertainment, but as a way to tell the truth, hold grief and rage, and strengthen community.

Arisa White is an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Colby College. She is the author of Who’s Your Daddy, co-editor of Home Is Where You Queer Your Heart, and co-author of Biddy Mason Speaks Up, the second book in the Fighting for Justice Series for young readers. In collaboration with composer Jessica Jones, Post Pardon: The Opera marked Arisa’s debut as a librettist. Her poetry is widely published, and her collections have been nominated for both the NAACP Image Award and the Lambda Literary Award. She has also won the Per Diem Poetry Prize, the Maine Literary Award, the Nautilus Book Award, an Independent Publisher Book Award, the Golden Crown Literary Award, and the Airlie Press Prize. The poem installation, look after your heart is permanently displayed at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. She is a Cave Canem fellow and serves on the Community Advisory Board for Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. arisawhite.com

Ian-Khara Ellasante is a Black, queer, gender-infinite poet, parent, and cultural studies scholar whose work moves across the intersections of identity, history, and imagination. Their poetry and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, earning recognition as a Cave Canem fellow, recipient of the New Millennium Award for Poetry, and finalist for the 2024 National Poetry Series. Today, Ian-Khara teaches at Bates College, located on the occupied and unceded lands of the Wabanaki peoples, the People of the Dawnland, where they continue to explore how literature can both honor lineage and create new futures.

Dija (any pronouns) is a queer poet, new to sharing their writing publicly. When she’s not working on her poetry, you can find Dija exploring their new found curiosity for hiking/nature walks. Dija is also a 2026 Anthology Editor for Trans Poetics Archive.