Surprise release: a climate crisis concept album from Guante & Big Cats

First and foremost, endless thanks to you for signing up for this newsletter. As I mentioned, I don't plan to send out tons of messages—more digest-style, once-every-few-months updates. And this is a big one (that I wanted you all to see first): a surprise instant release of the first new Guante & Big Cats album in over five years, All Dressed Up, No Funeral.

You can stream it wherever you listen to music (here's the spotify and apple music links), and if you're able, please consider buying it on Bandcamp. For indie/underground artists, those sales really do make a difference in our ability to do this work.

The official blurb: 'All Dressed Up, No Funeral' is a concept album about the climate crisis. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bunch of songs about trees or the importance of recycling—decorated indie Hip Hop duo Guante & Big Cats have crafted a furious, laser-focused rebuke to doomsaying, “abandon your posts”-style cynicism. This is an album about how while it is naive to believe that victory is inevitable, it is equally naive to believe that victory is impossible. It’s about how collective action can be healing, how grief can be a superpower, and how hope can—and often must—have sharp edges.

I wrote a much longer breakdown of the project at my website, with notes on the process, recommended readings & resources, lyric squares for sharing on social media, and even a kind of works cited-style list of all the references and easter eggs in the lyrics. Thanks so much for checking it out; any word-of-mouth hype/promotion is greatly appreciated.

Other updates: big virtual poetry show on 8/7, what I've been reading, and more

I want to keep this message fairly short and focused on the new project, but a few other quick notes:

• Big Virtual Performance: Join me, Andrea Gibson, Rudy Francisco, Neil Hilborn, Rachel Wiley, Ollie Schminkey, Zach Goldberg, Sabrina Benaim, and TaneshaNicole this Wednesday (August 7, 2024) for a virtual poetry performance/fundraiser. Info here on how to register and/or donate if you are able.
• Poem-A-Day: This is an update I'm adding after already sending the newsletter out, but Danez Smith picked one of my poems for the Academy of American Poets' "poem-a-day" series here!
• Mobile Zine Library and Button Zine Bundle: I've been bringing my mobile zine library to more and more events lately, and it's been so rewarding to share such good content (on Gaza, consent, abolition, activism, healthy masculinity, and so much more) with so many people. While you can find the text of the zines for free here, and I give physical copies away for free at events, if you'd like a bundle mailed to you, Button Poetry can do that!
• Bangtan Remixed: A Critical BTS Reader comes out next week, but can be preordered now. For any other folks out there interested in the intersection of fandom, social justice, and critical analysis, the anthology (also on IG) is full of fascinating work by smart people, including my partner UyenThi, whose incredible essay weaving together BTS, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the Minneapolis Uprising closes the book.
• It's the fourth anniversary of my "Recommended Reading" project (every third post on my IG grid highlights some writing that I feel is important, useful, or otherwise interesting; I also keep a running list of them all here); a few recent selections:
  • Kamala Harris Will Shift on Gaza Only if We Make Her (Y.L. Al-Sheikh and Nickan Fayyazi)
  • Gaza Diaries: “We Left Our Souls at Home.” (Heba Al-Agha and Julia Choucair Vizoso)
  • A Love Letter to All Who March (LJ Amsterdam)
  • Palestinian Feminists Speak Out Against Reproductive Genocide (Truthout)
  • “‘The Bulldozer Kept Coming’: A Girl Stares Down Death in Gaza” (Lujayn, 16, Rafah)

Incredible writing and truth-telling in those pieces—and as always, the point isn't just to raise awareness or stoke outrage; the point is to pivot toward action. I've shared a number of calls-to-action (an invitation to email reps, a family fundraiser, a guide for social media signal-boosting, and more) in my linktree here.

BONUS EDIT: a one-minute promo video I shot for the upcoming "Not Another Bomb" action on 8/18/24.

A final pitch

I make my living as a performer, speaker, and facilitator. So if anyone out there is connected to a college, a conference or festival, a high school, any kind of gathering of cool people that books artist/educators like me, please be in touch! My booking info and contact form are both here.

Thanks so much for reading. Please feel free to let me know what you think of the new album, either via email, or via Instagram, BlueSky, or wherever.