Theresa Davis is a name any Atlanta writer recognizes. She is the co-host of the long-running Cliterati, a regular part of the city's Art Amok Poetry Slam Team and is the 2011 Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion.
A mother, a teacher of 20 years who comes from a family of distinguished writers and artists, Davis self-published six chap books before Sibling Rivalry Press approached her about publishing her first full-length collection of poems in a book titled "After This We Go Dark." Her work gained the attention of the Atlanta City Council, which honored her with a proclamation in 2012 for her past work as well as her becoming the World Poetry Slam Champion.
Brit Blalock, an Alabama poet, hopes to fund the publishing of a collection of essays written by LGBT Southerners and donate copies of the collection to libraries across the Southeast. “As We Are” is a planned collection of 15 to 20 essays written by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender authors who grew up in the so-called “Bible Belt” of the Deep South.
“I was writing a poetry collection and my poems were mostly about the overlap of growing up gay and being a child of the South,” Blalock, who identifies as queer, said by phone. “I really wanted to see what it was like for other people. I know there's a wide variety of experience.”
Blalock began looking for works but was unable to find a similar collection. An idea took shape and Blalock began accepting submissions from authors across the region over the summer.
Theresa Davis, one of Atlanta's leading slam poets, won the Women of the World poetry slam competition held in Columbus, Ohio, during March 9-11.
Davis, a lesbian, regularly performs in Atlanta for such groups as Cliterati held at Charis Books & More and with the Art Amok slam poetry team.
The Women of the World poetry slam is in its fourth year and attracts dozens of slam poets from across the country to compete.