Given the multiple faces of a grieving and debilitating world, a group of international poets have joined forces to produce a moment of healing through poetry. Hailing from different corners of the world, the women are united in their voice for peace. The time will be allotted for a welcome meditation, individual reading of featured poets, audience discussion of the theme(s) proposed and a healing circle.
Among five other poets, organizer Carole Metellus is a Haitian-American multi-disciplinary artist, including a writer of poetry emanating from the East Coast of the US. In October 2025, she was the featured poet on the public television program, Philly Loves Poetry under the auspices of the Moonstone Art Center. Carole’s poetry has appeared in several anthologies, most notably, Experiments in the Jazz Aesthetic. After a hiatus from her beloved art, she is eager to reconnect with those interested in cultural work and to produce her own poetry compilations.
About the poets:
Katherine Antarikso (she/her) is an architect, activist and artist. She was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and moved to the United States at the age of 10. As an activist, she works for immigrants’ rights. As a creative, she performs traditional Indonesian dance and writes about home, migration, and displacement. She is the author of the chapbook The Accidental Immigrant and co-editor of the chapbook Spacemaking An Anthology of Poems and Reflections on Sanctuary.
Faleeha Hassan, born in Najaf, Iraq (1967), is a poet, playwright, teacher, and editor living in the U.S. The first woman to write children’s poetry in Iraq, she holds a master’s in Arabic literature and has published 29 books, including Lipstick, Breakfast for Butterflies, A Goat in a Tequila Cup, War and Me, and We Grow Up at the Speed of War. A Pulitzer and Pushcart Prize nominee, she serves as Cultural Ambassador of Iraq in the U.S.
Daniela Johannes is an associate professor of languages and cultures at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Originally from Chile, she specializes in U.S-Mexico Border and Latin American Studies, which informs her poetry with themes of borders, identity and migration. Her collection, Afuerismos, [the Spanish words afuera ("outside") and aforismos ("aphorisms")] reflects the creative and political roots of the work, blending poetic performance with live music. Recently, she produced Empoerá 2025, the first encounter of Latina poets writing in Spanish in the US.
Alina Macneal is an educator, writer, and former architect. She was born in Warsaw, Poland, and spent her childhood there. She came to America at age nine, settling with her family in the suburbs of St. Louis. Her poems have appeared in Apiary, Poems for the Writing, The World to Come, Poetry 24, Welcome to the Resistance, and other publications. Her poetry often expresses the issues of exile, language, loss, and memory.
Carole Metellus is a Haitian-American multi-disciplinary artist, including a writer of poetry. In October 2025, she was the featured poet on the public television program, Philly Loves Poetry under the auspices of the Moonstone Art Center. Carole’s poetry has appeared in several anthologies, most notably, Experiments in the Jazz Aesthetic. After a hiatus from writing, she is eager to reconnect with those interested in cultural work and to produce her own poetry compilations.
Anjoli Santiago is an alchemist of words who honors her inner scientist by approaching everything with curiosity. Her creative mission: to remind everyone that creativity is inclusive and it is our gift for making magic. She is a poet, storyteller, and actor with a recent commission for a bilingual storytelling feature from the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society with ensemble132 at Teatro Esperanza. Anjoli can be found spinning poetry at open mics around town.