Wordlights

Wordlights is a poetry, spoken word and music showcase, presented by NovaPDX & Rocking Frog Cafe, and hosted by Igor Brezhnev.

We will have features from three poets—Ken Yoshikawa, Sage Lilac & Kate Leddy, as well as a showcase of 10 performers.

KEN YOSHIKAWA
Ken Yoshikawa is a shin-issei/first generation half-Japanese American poet-actor from Portland, OR. He has been active in the Portland Poetry Slam community since 2014. In his theatre career he’s appeared at the Portland Center Stage in “Mojada, A Medea in Los Angeles”, and at the Portland Playhouse in “You for Me for You”. Some notable roles include Arjun in “Chitra, the Girl Prince”, (NW Children’s Theatre), Chimney Sweep/Ensemble in “Mary Poppins” (NW Children’s Theatre), and Malvolio/Antonio in “Twelfth Night” (Oregon Adventure Theatre). Most recently he played H in “Grit”, a one-act show that toured Washington State middle and high-schools educating youth about Japanese Incarceration. Ken graduated from Reed College with a B.A in Theatre Arts. He is releasing his first spoken word album “Quiver”. Currently he is working on a full length book of poetry and on an autobiographical poetic solo play called “The Art of Fly Swatting”. He loves blue chicken taco trees and resents punctuation and grammar at his convenience.

SAGE LILAC
Sage Lilac is a trans poet and heavy metal vocalist based out of Portland, OR. She got her start in poetry just after high school by winning both the SpeakNOW Poetry Slam in 2012 and then the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition in 2013. Since then, she has lead many after school programs and in-school residencies through the Nature of Words literary center, shared the stage with renowned performance poet Buddy Wakefield, been a PDX Grand Slam finalist and most recently, competed at IWPS in 2018. Her poetry has been arranged for performance by opera singers and can be found scattered among different magazines, local newspapers, gender-neutral bathroom stalls and her own DIY chapbooks. You can get Sage’s book at https://www.etsy.com/listing/670934358/describe-your-dysphoria-in-four-letters

KATE LEDDY
Kate is a writer and mental health activist from Portland, Oregon. She grew up in Westchester County, New York and still has strong opinions about bagels. Kate has featured at various venues in Portland and represented Portland at the 2018 National Poetry Slam as well as the 2018 Individual World Poetry Slam. Her first chapbook, Homesick Season, explores nostalgia for people, places, and states of mind. Kate enjoys ice cream sandwiches, a good cleanse cry, and excitedly pointing out the only two constellations she knows. You can order Kate’s book at www.kateleddy.com.

Come joins us at The Rocking Frog Cafe for an evening of mostly poetry.

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Rocking Frog Cafe is an independently run, local gem in the lower Belmont District of southeast Portland. Nestled in a lovely early-century Craftsman-style bungalow, we offer a comfortable place to study, eat and socialize. Find out more about The Rocking Frog at rockingfrogpdx.com.

NovaPDX is a talent and production company based in Portland, Oregon. We organize and host performance and educational events, showcasing local and visiting musicians, poets and comedians. Our mission is to create spaces where talent thrives. Learn more about us at novapdx.org.

Your host, Igor Brezhnev is a poet, an author, an artist and a book designer among his other sins. He is roaming the West Coast thinking up new art, books and helping shape creative projects. You can find out more about Igor at igorbrezhnev.com