Who We Are
We are a southern-based vanguard who builds Harlem Renaissance-style spaces in the contemporary South.
Our core purpose is to cultivate and inspire kinship between poets of color from all spoken and written traditions, thus creating a tribe with a mutual focus of poetics and craft-building.
MISSION & HISTORY
The Watering Hole was created as a Facebook Group by fellows of the Cave Canem South Workshops from 2009 and 2010.
We draw much of our inspiration from those three-day workshops, which were hosted by Dr. Kwame Dawes, editor of Prairie Schooner. The sessions were led by Nikky Finney, a National Book Award winner; Patricia Smith, who was inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, and Frank X Walker, co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets.
We hosted our first retreat in 2013, launched the organization in 2014, and became a nonprofit in 2015.
CO-FOUNDERS
Monifa Lemons
Co-Founder
Also recognized as SelahthePoet, Monifa Lemons began in Columbia, SC in the late 90s. Both Spoken Word Artist and Host at various venues since 1998, Monifa is committed to nurturing the journey of artists from all disciplines. She also facilitates workshops on writing and intentional creation. Her work can be found in Sinister Wisdom ( The African American Review (July 2016) and African Voices (Winter/Spring 16/17). She is currently writing plays and non-fiction projects while cultivating short stories for her first manuscript.
Candace G. Wiley
Co-Founder
Candace G. Wiley was born in S.C., graduated with her B.A. from Bowie State University, an H.B.C.U. in M.D., her M.A. from Clemson University, and her M.F.A. at the University of South Carolina as a James Dickey Fellow. She is co-founding director of The Watering Hole, a nonprofit that creates Harlem Renaissance-style spaces in the contemporary South, and she often writes in the mode of Afrofuturism, covering topics from black aliens, to mutants, to mermaids. She is a Vermont Studio Center Fellow, Lighthouse Works Center Fellow, Fine Arts Work Center Fellow, Callaloo Fellow and former Fulbright Fellow to San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, a town that was founded by West Africans who had escaped from Cartagena slavery. (The people have their own language and customs that trace back to the Bantu and Kikongo in West Africa.) She is currently complete the Tulsa Artist Fellowship and is now living, writing, and running The Watering Hole from Tulsa, O.K.
Board of Directors
Dasan Ahanu, Chair
Joyce Rose-Harris, Vice Chair
Angelo “Eyeambic” T. Geter
Jevertus Burnett, Treasurer
Kayla Mallett, Secretary
Terrance Hayes
Volunteer Staff
Tanisha Hall, Administrative Assistant and Winter Retreat Coordinator
teri elam, Human Resources
Wendy Jones, Slam Coordinator
Grad. Fellows Board
Nicholas Nichols, Chair
Anna K. Stone, Website Consultant
Christopher Greggs, E-mail and Website Content Strategist
I.S. Jones, Social Media Content Strategist
Jennifer Bartell, Anthology Editor
Julian Randall, Anthology Editor
John S. Blake, Facilitator Invitations
Kirwyn Sutherland, Data Management
teri elam, Anthology Editor
Submission Readers
Amber Flame
Amoja “Mo Man” Sumler
Ashley Harris
Catherine Ntube
Camisha Jones
Dustin Pearson
DaMaris Hill
Gia Shakur
Grace Liew
Jennifer Bartell
John Blake
K.N. Marshall
Maya Marshall
Michelle Reese
Nadia Alexis
Nkosi Nkululeko
Noel Quiñones
Noor Ibn Najam
Robert E. Randolph
Safiya Washington
Fellows and Graduate Fellows
Aerik Francis
afaq
Ajanae Dawkins
Akinfe Fatou
Akosua Afiriyie-Hwedie
Alexa Patrick
Alexandria Collins
Alison Rollins
Amber Flame
Amina Iro
Amoja Sumler
Amoni Thompson
Anais Booker
Angel Dye
Angela Brown
Angelique Palmer
Anna Stone
Anthony Ragler
April Gibson
April Lim
April Wright
Ariana Francesca Thomas
Ashia Ajani
Ashley Beene
Ashley Harris
Asia Bryant-Wilkerson
Aurielle Lucier
Ayling Dominguez
Azia Armstead
Bernardo Wade
Breana Miller
Brittany Rogers
C.R. Glasgow
Cai Shirley
Calvin Walds
Cameron Awkward-Rich
Cameron Brooks
Camisha Jones
Candace Howze
Carmin Wong
Catherine Ntube
Chantel Massey
Charleen McClure
Chauncey Beaty
Ching-In Chen
Christine Jean Blain
Christopher Greggs
Clara Tyus / Clarity Levine / Riley Levine
Clemonce Heard
Constance Collier-Mercado
Courtney Gambrell
Crystal Irby
Cynthia Sharpe
DaMaris Hill
Daniella Toosie-Watson
Danielle Williams
Daniel Summerhill
Darlene Scott
Darnell “Dee Soul” Carson
Darrian Thomas
Daschielle Louis
Dāshaun Washington
David Gaines
de’Angelo Dia
Denise Irving
Deyon Williams
Divya Chhabra
D’mani Thomas
Donald Paris
Dustin Pearson
Ebony Chinn
Edythe Rodriguez
Edward Mabrey
El Williams III
Elise Hernandez
Emanuelee Bean
Emmanuel Smith
Ephraim Nehemiah
Eric Thompson
Er Ni Kaya Arnoux
Felecia Stokes
Fernanda Snellings
Frances Nan
Gabby Aboki
Gabriel Ramirez
Geoffrey Anderson
George Abraham
Gia Shakur
Goddess X (Anita Jeffery Thompson)
Grace Liew
Grace Ocasio
Hakim Bellamy
Hazem Fahmy
Hilda Davis
Honey Sanaa
Isabelle Saldaña
Itiola Jones
J.C. Rodriguez
Jae “Jourdan Lee” Nichelle
Jamal Jones
Jamal Parker
Janel Cloyd
Jasmine Combs
Jasmine Swanagan
Jason Harris
Jay (Junious) Ward
Jaz Sufi
Jemilea Wisdom-Baako
Jenna Carter-Johnson
Jennifer Bartell
Jo Reyes-Boitel
Joan Leslie
Jody Chan
Joel Diaz
Joelle Edouard
John Blake
Johnny Lee Chapman
Jordan Honeyblue
Jovan O’Neal
Joy Priest
Joyce Rose-Harris
Julian Randall
Junious Ward
Kat Noel
Kavindu Jointe
Keesean Moore
Khalisa Rae
Kiki Nicole
Kim “Kita” Marshall
Kimberly Reyes
Kirwyn Sutherland
L Renee
Lauren Bullock
Lauren Parker
LeChell Honorat
Lee Chapman
Len Lawson
Leslie McIntosh
Linda Cue
Lindsay Young
Lisbeth White
Lorraine Currelley
Lupita Eyde-Tucker
lydia cortes
M’Bilia Meekers
Madison El Maze Johnson
Malcolm Tariq
Marcus Jamison
Maria Picone
Mariah Monsanto
Mariana Goycoechea
Marlanda Dekine
Marvin Campbell
Maiya Pittman
Maiya Pittman
Maurice Norman
Maya Garcia Fisher
Maya James
Maya Marshall
Maya Williams
Mia Willis
Michele Reese
Michelle Dodd
Miona Short
Nadia Alexis
Nancy Huang
Nefertiti Asanti
Nia KB Brookins
Nicholas Alexander
Nicholas Nichols
Nicole Homer
Nicole Moliere
Nikki Gray
Nkosi Nkululeko
Noel Quiñones
Noor Ibn Najam
Penda Smith
Portia Bartley
Porscha Simmons
Robert Gibson
Robert Randolph
Rodrick Minor
Romaine Washington
Roman Johnson
Roscoe Burnems
Safiya Washington
Sadia Hassan
Saida Agostini
Sanam Sheriff
Sasha Warner-Berry
Shakeema Smalls
Shalewa Mackall
Samantha Lorient
Samantha Major
Samantha Stevens
Saul Hernandez
Sha’Condria “iCon” Sibley
Shameka Cunningham
Shauna Morgan Kirlew
Shavontae Patrick
Sheila Stowell
Shirley Jones-Luke
Solange Neema
Stephanie Suell
Tamara J. Madison
Tammaka Staley
Tanisha Hall
Tariq Luthun
Tavis Brunson
Taylor Manigoult
teri elam
Teri Vela
Tianna Bratcher
Timothy Edwaujonte
Timothy Moore
Timothy Prolific Veit Jones
ToVonnia “Blacqwildflowr” Lewis
Tyquan Morton
Usman Hameedi
Victoria Ford
Victoria Walls
Wandeka Gayle
Warren Longmire
William Evans
Willie Kinard III
Yinka Olu
Yuki Jackson
Yvette R. Murray