The Poetry Electric fuses music, movement, sound, and dance with the spoken word and presents artists working in a wide range of styles including beatboxing, jazz and hip-hop theatre. This series has presented over 200 emerging poets from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Jane LeCroy serves the Poetry Gods as a featured character in the Poetry Brothel NYC. She is a teaching-artist bringing love of poetry to students, and publishing their work through various programs like Uptown Stories. She sets her poetry to music in her bands: Ω▽(Ohmslice), the experimental modular synth project, and The Icebergs, an avant-pop band of cello and drums. Her records are streaming everywhere. Three Rooms Press published her multimedia book of lyrical poems, “Signature Play.” Pink Trees press published a new collection of her poetry, “Spellbook of Ordinary Mistakes.”
Filip Marinovich is a performance artist and poet, he is the author of Wolfman Librarian, among others. He will be performing as Clowncest, a clown from nowter space
Maggie Dubris is an East Village based writer and composer. Her books include BrokeDown Palace and The Favored Child of the Sub-Mariner
Jeffrey Cyphers Wright received his MFA after studying with Allen Ginsberg. A New Romantic poet, he is also a publisher, art and literary critic, eco-activist, impresario, filmmaker, and artist. He is author of 20 books of verse, including Blue Lyre, Party Everywhere, andDoppelgängster; Self Portraits in a Funhouse Mirror. Wright publishes Live Mag! His work appears in Best American Poetry, 2023. He has received a Kathy Acker Award for both publishing and writing. His most recent collection called Fuel for Love, won the James Tate Award for poetry in 2023 and was published by SurVision Books. You can see Wright’s films and puppet shows on Youtube.
David Mills, cum laude Yale grad who holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and an MA from New York University, both in creative writing. He’s published four full-length poetry collections: The Sudden Country, The Dream Detective, Unhired Hands (about slavery in Queens and Massachusetts) and Boneyarn—winner of the North American Book Award and the only book of poems about slavery in Manhattan. Mr. Mills is also the author of two chapbooks, After Mystic and How the Earth Answers, which focuses on slavery in the Bronx. His poems have appeared in Ploughshares, Colorado Review, Crab Orchard Review, Jubilat, The Common, Brooklyn Rail, Rattapallax, Poetry Daily, Evergreen Review, and Fence—and he has been a Pushcart Prize finalist.
William Electric Black, aka Ian Ellis James, is a seven-time Emmy Award winning writer for his work on “Sesame Street” between 1992 and 2002. He also wrote for Nickelodeon’s “Allegra’s Window” and Lancit Media’s “Backyard Safari.” In 2022-2023, his children’s television show – “Rap-U-Cation” was optioned by FarView Entertainment. He also developed an original TV show for FarView called Dragon Clouds. In a series of multimedia projects with Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D, and Artie Green, he has campaigned for exercise and good nutrition for young children, prescription drug awareness and obesity prevention. Faculty member, Dept. of Dramatic Writing, NYU Tisch. New tune on Spotify – Dancing In The Girls Room.
Malikah Marie Stafford is a playwright, television writer, spoken word poet, and singer from Atlantic City, NJ. After receiving her B.A. in Communication Studies with a minor in Africana Studies from Stockton University, she matriculated to New York University, and acquired her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing. Stafford’s original television pilot, Mixed Up, is available on Amazon Prime Video. While Stafford is primarily a television writer, she has a love for playwriting. Her first full-length original play, Domino, was a finalist for the 2024 Goldberg Playwriting Prize. She is also the 2025 recipient of the Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission, presented by the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. In her work, Stafford explores the variations of the human experience that fosters social change and understanding of people from marginalized identities.
Lilo is a Bronx-born teaching artist, activist, spoken word poet, and actress who’s been performing for 13 years. She uses her art as a way to educate, connect with, and create a safe space for others. Her work primarily focuses on social issues and introspection. Her art lives at the intersection of healing and resistance, using poetry and performance to educate, empower, and create a safe space. She’s shared her voice alongside changemakers like Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Vanessa Gibson, and Richie Torres, and has opened for Hamilton: The Musical. Whether in classrooms, theaters, or rallies, Alyssa’s words aim to reflect the truth and reimagine the future.
Poetry Electric 2025–2026 is made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The John Golden Fund, and The Shubert Foundation. Additional funding from the Axe-Houghton Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.
