Facing Each Other: Facing Ourselves featuring Poets: Romeo Oriogun, Rio Cortez, Yasmeen Waheed and Musicians: Nicole Yarling (Vocals and Violin), Tal Cohen (Piano)

Presented by The Betsy Hotel, O,Miami, Wolfsonian Humanities Lab, collaboARTive, and Iris Photo Collective iWitness at The Betsy.

Hosted at Iris Photo Collective 225 NE 59th St Miami, FL 33137

Rio Cortez is a Pushcart-nominated poet who has received fellowships from Poet's House, Cave Canem, and CantoMundo. She is also the New York Times–bestselling author of the picture books The ABCs of Black History (Workman, 2020) and The River Is My Sea (S&S, 2024). Her debut poetry collection, Golden Ax, was longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry and the Pen America Open Book Award, was a finalist for Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award and was a 2016 Cave Canem Chapbook winner.

Romeo Oriogun is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and the author of Sacrament of Bodies (2020), Nomad (2021), and The Gathering of Bastards (2023). A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has been recognized with the Nigeria Prize for Literature, and The Nebraska Book Award for Poetry, among others. He has also been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for PoetryHis work has appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, American Poetry Review, The Nation, and other journals. He has also served as a juror for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He teaches Creative Writing, African and Postcolonial Poetics, The Poetics of Migration and Exile, and Gender and Sexuality in African Poetry at Florida Atlantic University.

Z. Yasmin Waheed, the current Poetry Coalition Fellow (2024-2025), brings her perspective as a writer, translator and artist born in Istanbul and raised in Miami. A summa cum laude graduate in English Literature from Florida International University, Waheed's experience spans book publishing, broadcast television and academic writing instruction.

Tal Cohen is a Grammy award-winning jazz pianist currently located in Miami. He has received acclaim including winning the Barry Harris National Piano Competition and was the recipient of the prestigious Freedman Fellowship, performing to a sold-out crowd at the Sydney Opera House.

Nicole Yarling is a rich velvet voice with technical skill and personality to boot! Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, a musical household laid the groundwork for Nicole's career. She is an Assistant Professor of Music at Florida Memorial University and a lecturer at Frost School of Music. She is a gifted violinist, educator, and mentor to countless admirers.