Poetry Salon with Sunu Chandy and Chris Aldana

Join Sunu Chandy (My Dear Comrades) and Chris Aldana (The Water We Swim In) for a poetry salon here at the store on Sunday, August 25 at 4 PM! We’ll start with poetry readings from both authors, followed by discussion and mingling. A great event for poetry lovers and those looking to get more into the genre!

Sunu P. Chandy (she/her) is a social justice activist as a poet and a civil rights attorney. She is the daughter of immigrants from Kerala, India, and lives in Washington, DC with her family. Sunu’s award-winning collection of poems, My Dear Comrades, was published by Regal House. Sunu’s work can be found in anthologies including The Penguin Book of Indian Poets and The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Sunu is currently a Senior Advisor with Democracy Forward, and serves on the board of the Transgender Law Center. Sunu has been named as one of the Washington Blade’s Queer Women of Washington.

Sunu has previously lived in Richmond, Indiana; Nashville, Tennessee;  Port Antonio, Jamaica; New Vienna, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Kerala, India; Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts, and for 17 years in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, she has lived in Washington, DC with her family since the fall of 2014.

Chris Aldana (they/she) is a queer, multiracial Filipina poet, teaching artist, and community organizer currently based in Chicago. They are an estranged American—born in L.A., but raised in the Philippines and Vietnam before returning to the U.S. for university. They are the founder and Creative Director of Luya, a poetry organization that centers the voices of people of color. They believe deeply in using poetry to build community and to educate ourselves about history.

Their poetry has been published at Injustice Watch and Marias at Sampagitas. Their performances have been featured at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Stony Island Arts Bank, Young Chicago Authors, on NPR’s Worldview, and more.