Charis and Cliterati pair up to present an inviting and fierce open mic & reading series that celebrates new voices and seasoned veterans alike. Co-hosted by Karen G. and Theresa Davis, all are welcome to come and share their work. If you would like to participate as a reader or performer, all you need to do is arrive by 7:15 pm ET to sign up on the list. If you are a non-acoustic musician and would like to plug your instrument into our sound system, please contact info@chariscircle.org ahead of time to let us know so we can have the right setup for you! There are no genre, style, or form requirements, but please keep your set to under five minutes to allow everyone to have a turn!

This month's featured poet is Cavar in celebration of Failure to Comply. How far would you go to have real freedom? To have true autonomy of both mind and body? The narrator of Failure to Comply wants self-determination at all costs, and they want you to know what it did, in fact, cost them. Their story is just a little hard to convey, as they're not entirely sure where, or even when, they are.

Set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future, this literary sci-fi novel presents a world where humans have been unshackled from disease and their basest desires thanks to the genetic engineering and societal supervision of RSCH--an inscrutable entity with unimaginable power (including the ability to literally shape reality). In RSCH's march toward perfecting the species, however, there are "deviants" (including LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities) who are fighting for a different vision of humanity. But where can they find hope when horror abounds, projected into their own bodies and minds by RSCH?

[sarah] Cavar is an anti-genre writer, PhD candidate, and instructor of undergraduates on both u.s. coasts. They are the author of Failure to Comply (featherproof books, 2024). Cavar edits manywor(l)ds.place, and has had work published in The Offing, Split Lip Magazine, Nat. Brut, Electric Lit, and elsewhere. More at www.cavar.club, librarycard.substack.com, and @cavarsarah on twitter.

This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Event. The suggested donation is $5, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please enter an amount between 0 and $500 to reserve your virtual seat.

Cliterati Open Mic Featuring: Cavar in celebration of Failure to Comply