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, Adrianne Kalfopoulou and Chandrama Deshmukh.

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

Adrianne Kalfopoulou is the author of two prose collections, several chapbooks, and three poetry collections the latest of which is A History of Too Much (2018). Her work has been published in various online and print journals including the Harvard Review online and elsewhere. Her newest publication is a book-length essay, On the Gaze: Dubai and Its New Cosmopolitanisms. Her current work engages increasingly with themes of transience, migration, refugees, and the small, unexpected joys of what it means to be alive. She is currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Rochester Institute of Technology in Dubai.

Chandrama Deshmukh is an author, poet, playwright, theatre artist, storyteller, screenplay writer and performance artist. She has four books of poems published. A Teaspoon Of Stars and Moonlit Monochrome are her recent collection of poems. Chandrama has done more than 100 poetry performances and continues to play her role in giving this art-form the appreciation it deserves. To Chandrama, poetry is the streak of silver lining amidst the chaos of life. The moon is her muse.

10 Dec | 5:30-7PM
The Yard