Oscar Wilde once wrote “A flower blossoms for its own joy” and the same can be said for poetry--it is written and read for its own joy. Come and witness the joy of poetry at Alserkal Avenue's first poetry open mic hosted and curated by Danabelle Gutierrez. This edition of The Joy of Poetry will be featuring poets, Alysia Knowles and Lori Zakariyya King.

WhatsApp 0552181534 if you’d like to perform.

*Kindly note that out of respect for a diverse audience and the UAE, we would request that you refrain from performing pieces that have explicit language or topics, as well as any pieces that are disrespectful to Islam and other faiths, the UAE, its leaders, and their allies.

Danabelle Gutierrez is an award winning artist, writer, actress, and photographer. She is the author of Tears Across the Earth, a collection of short stories and poems, as well as poetry books & Until The Dreams Come and I Long To Be The River and chapbooks Eventually, The River Surrenders and Softer. Her writing has been published in The Common, Cordite Poetry Review, Postscript Magazine, ElectraStreet, WordsDance, and in a video for Vogue Arabia recited by Ciara, among other publications. Born in Las Piñas, raised in Cairo, Vienna, and Muscat, Danabelle currently lives in Dubai.

Poets

Alysia Knowles is a full time content producer and Co-Founder of Just Entertainment, and a patron of the arts in its purest form. Our next contender has worked with influencers in the Middle East and Europe. She loves being behind the camera as much as she enjoys being in front of it.

Lori Zakariyya King is an award-winning British performer who lives in Sharjah. He is a creative copywriter by day and has been UAE based since 2021. The themes of his work are nostalgia, sport, religiosity, representation and desire. He is a narrative driven slam-style poet who has been published in a number of literary magazines. Lori is a former BBC Writersroom drama scriptwriter, but absurdist comedy is his passion. Hailing from Surrey in England, the bleached blond Chelsea FC fanatic graduated from the University of Greenwich with a first class degree in English with Creative Writing in 2012 and holds postgraduate credentials. Favoured writers of his include Pablo Neruda, Federico Garcia Lorca, Mark Danielewski and Warsan Shire. His slam poet idols are Anis Mojgani, Andrea Gibson, Amir Sulaiman and Polarbear.


5-7PM | 17 December