BONK! Gives Thanks with Said Shaiye, Shana Wilson, and Mikey Cody Apollo

Said Shaiye is an Autistic Somali Writer & Photographer. His debut book, Are You Borg Now? was named a 2022 Minnesota Book Award Finalist in Creative Nonfiction & Memoir. He has contributed essays to the anthologies Muslim American Writers at Home, The Texas Review’s All-Poetry Issue, and We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World. He has published poetry & prose in Obsidian, Brittle Paper, Pithead Chapel, 580 Split, Entropy, Diagram, Rigorous, Night Heron Barks, and elsewhere. He holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota, where he was a Graduate Instructor of Creative Writing, as well as a Judd International Research Fellow. He currently teaches in the English Department at Century College.

Shana Wilson, who poetically goes by the name Blue Lotus, is a lover of words, good music, and creativity. She is a writer, photographer, and video editor. The healing power of poetry was introduced to her around age 7, she’s been an active listener, reader and writer of it ever since. Blue Lotus is inspired by nature, genuine connections and people learning about, expressing & living in their truths.

Mikey Cody Apollo, is a Black queer writer, filmmaker, educator, and feminist killjoy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Most of their work explores themes such as race, gender, sex, and religion. Mikey is the author of the self-published collection of poetry titled Black Girls, Silence, and Other Things Made of Gold, which has been used in classrooms, workshops, and book clubs across the United States. When Mikey grows up, she wants to be the first Black woman to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.