DANEZ SMITH

A photo posted by Danez Smith (@danez_smif) on Feb 20, 2015 at 2:29pm PST

2. AJA MONET

3. MALCOLM LONDON

Cornel West just got him a copy of The BreakBeat Poets edited by @kevincoval @illuminatemics Quraysh Ali which I, and many other amazing writers are in. Get yours. Third time meeting Cornel. Shout out to The Chicago Teachers Union. A photo posted by Malcolm London (@malcolmlondon) on Apr 4, 2015 at 7:48pm PDT

4. SAFIA ELHILLO

5. ALYSIA HARRIS

M O M M A a t l a s Tour coming in April. Join the journey. (Link in bio) A photo posted by Alysia Harris (@poppyinthewheat) on Mar 10, 2015 at 11:32am PDT

6. HANIF WILLIS-ABDURRAQIB

7. PHILLIP B. WILLIAMS

Photo by the brilliant poet, photographer , painter @rachelelizagriffiths #photo #photography #art #Rachelelizagriffiths #Portrait A photo posted by pbw_poet (@pbw_poet) on Dec 26, 2014 at 9:15am PST

8.BETTINA JUDD

9. KHADIJAH QUEEN

#Throwback #poem by me, from Tuesday, An Art Project. I miss those postcard poems. A photo posted by Khadijah 👑 (@1000twists) on Mar 2, 2015 at 12:33pm PST

10. MAHOGANY L. BROWNE

11. AMANDA JOHNSTON

Photo via Amanda Johnston's Website.

Amanda Johnston wears many hats as a poet, educator, arts administrator, author, coordinator and director. A Cave Canem alumna and co-organizer of #BlackPoetsSpeakOut, Johnston has been published in numerous print and online publications, including anthologies di-ver-city and The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South. She is also the founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts, a network designed to foster and connect black women through creative writing, and retreat coordinator for the Cave Canem Foundation. Catch her on Twitter spreading the #BlackLivesMatter movement @amejohnston

Poem to check out: “Transition”

12. AARON SAMUELS

13. MORGAN PARKER

Barely made it/ barely making it/ but making it A photo posted by Morgan (@morganapple0) on Apr 18, 2015 at 11:05am PDT

Have more people the Blavity fam should know about? Shout them out in the comments below.

Blavity’s own Aaron Samuels is an award-winning poet, educator, community organizer and author. He first fell in love with spoken word poetry after being challenged by an English teacher to not break meter. Ignoring the advice, he has gone on to become a celebrated poet, TEDx speaker and a published writer with works featured inand. He is also an acclaimed performance poet, having appeared on TV One’s, HBO’s, and TEDx Washington University. Listen as he explains his journey from NYC to LA, and follow him on Twitter where he shares his poetry performances @PoetryAaron. Brooklynite Morgan Parker is a published author, editor, Cave Canem fellow and proud Sagittarius. Her publications include poetry collectionsandand contributions toand The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop . She also provides her editing genius to Coconut Magazine and The Offing . Follow her on Twitter @morganapple where she drops verse and shoutouts to other fellow poets