Unlikely Saints, April 2024
On April 3, 2024, the Unlikely Saints gathered at Bar Redux in New Orleans for a night of poetry, cupcakes, and fun! Valentine Pierce, Tiana Nobile 문영신, David Rowe, and Caroline Rowe read their poems. This is the full footage of all four readers.
Valentine Pierce is a spoken word artist and writer, including poetry, prose, essays, journalism and more. She co-hosted the Rhythm & Muse feature/open mic at Berkeley Museum in the early 2000s which set her on the path to hosting and producing poetry programs and open mics throughout New Orleans. Recent publications include the New Orleans Poetry Journal and Rigorous Magazine. Her book Up Decatur: Second Edition, was published in 2023 and her debut book, Geometry of the Heart, in 2007. Recent performances include the New Orleans Words & Music showcase. Valentine was the Writer-in-Residence at a Studio in the Woods, 2006.
Tiana Nobile 문영신 is a Korean American adoptee, educator, and author of the full-length poetry collection, Cleave (Hub City Press, 2021) and chapbook, The Spirit of the Staircase (Antenna, 2017), a collaboration with artist Brigid Conroy. Her writing has appeared in The New Republic, Guernica, Poets & Writers, and Lit Hub, among others. She is a Kundiman fellow, recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award, two-time finalist of the National Poetry Series, and a founding member of The Starlings Collective. She lives with her family in New Orleans, Louisiana.
David Rowe's poetry has appeared in journals including the North American Review, the Cortland Review, Exquisite Corpse, & Big Bridge, as well as in the anthologies, Maple Leaf Rag (Portals Press), The Great Sympathetic (NAR Press), the Southern Poetry Anthology (Texas Review Press) & the Poetry Buffet (NOPJ Press). A full-length collection, Unsolicited Poems, was published by Verna Press, & a spoken-word album, File Under: Poetry, is available through Bandcamp. A native of Worcester, Mass., he lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans with his wife, the poet Caroline Rowe, & their son, Hart.
Caroline Rowe is a lifelong resident of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Her most recent work can be found in The Bangalore Review, Blazing Stadium, and the New Orleans Arts Rag, where she was also interviewed about writing, editing, and New Orleans’ arts scene. Her debut chapbook, God’s Favorite Redhead, was published in 2020 by Lucky Bean Press. Caroline lives in New Orleans with her husband, David and her son, Hart.
