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Isa Borgeson

@isaborgeson

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Oakland ✈️ Philippines | Poetry and Ocean 🌊 | Ghostlines Collective | The Root Slam 🌳
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Join Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellows and Mesa Refuge at Lit Crawl – a massive, one-night literary pub crawl through San Francisco’s Mission District. This reading includes Isa Borgeson, Rona Fernandez, Jassmin Poyaoan, Aileen Suzara, Aimee Suzara, and Angel Trazo, who were brought together through the Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellowship at Mesa Refuge. Kapwa is a Tagalog word that does not have an exact English translation, but describes “the universal truth of interconnectedness and solidarity with all living beings.” In the spirit of kapwa, these writers bring into conversation distinct explorations of intergenerational relationships and trauma, mothering, queerness, climate change and the role of colonialism, and mythology. When: October 24th, 6:30pm Where: Medicine for Nightmares, SF #litcrawl2026
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Excited to read alongside these amazing fellow Helen Toribio Kapwa writers at my first @litquake event! Thank you @medicinefornightmares and @mesarefuge for holding space for us ❤️
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Litquake Out Loud 2026!!! Give it up for @giovanna_lomanto, @zeejamz, @_agua.cura, and Mukethe Kawinzi for their amazing curating powers. Thanks everyone for coming!! Sponsored by @ybgfestival and @visityerbabuenasf @48hillssf
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It's October so that means it's @litquake season!! Sunday was the beginning as #LitquakeOutLoud took over @yerbabuenagardenssf As always, the show was curated by @giovanna_lomanto @giovanna_lomanto curates this event featuring queer BIPOC poets #Litquake The afternoon was broken down into three different readings starting with one moderated by the coolest goat farmer ever Mukethe Kawinzi!! The theme was #HandsInTheSoilLegsOnThePole as he needed "freedom from the screen" and needed to put "my hands in dirt" The first poet was Kevin Madrigal aka @chefpapixulo who was "ready to explode" and wants to "free these so called United States" reminding folks that "pride was a riot" and that its "time to act up." #OutLoud Nnenna Loveth (@pleasure.as.compass ) read about how "I am, if nothing else, a survivor" and pondered "what is the point of the mouth if not to profess our loving?" They also stated how "I don't believe in Hell but I do believe in justice" #SonnetForOutsideHos Brandon Logans shared how "to have a vision of the future you have to question yourself" and that "I am a melody upon the senses" and how we've come to a place where Apocalypse becomes the friendly neighbor always checking in. May-Li Khoe (@mayli ) read about the ancestors "inside me" and how you should "twist the heavens with your hips" and how "when I eat her out, its ancestral" 😋 #OutLoud @richard.the.iii provided some interstitial jazz These queer AF poets!! #OutLoud The second reading was moderated by Zara Jamshed (@zeejamz ) with the theme of #FluentInRebirth #OutLoud First up was Mason J. (@frisco_griot ) who read about the "glitter in my ribs and the ancestors in my breath" and how the "world is better when we insist on existing" as well as how "San Francisco is ridiculous and so am I" and that we should "let the dead vogue" because "elegy is not enough" and how "in this river of grief, we gather." #OutLoud @isaborgeson considers poems as incantations and how they want to be a fish and want "my gender to expand until the sky bursts." They also read a poem to their niblings asking "is my gender a poem for them to finish?" #OutLoud Reggie Edmonds-Vasquez (@reggiepoetry
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came back stateside in time for 1) football season & 2) the best time of the year… @litquake OUT LOUD!!! we r gonna have so much fun @yerbabuenagardenssf on october 4! small press book fair! music all day by @richard.the.iii !!! THE PREMIERE WEEKEND for emerging/emerged qtbipoc writers! this is my favorite event to host every year. this is my pet project i love so dearly. thank you to litquake for trusting me again! <3
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“no one asks the fish their gender. no one / mispronouns him. they see a school swimming / in synchrony.” From “self-portrait as fish” by Isa Borgeson, today’s featured poem on Queer Poem-A-Day 🌈🐠
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Say hello to our STELLAR July cohort 💫💫💫 we kicked off the month with a fabulous opening call last night. Oodles of poetry was shared, some gorgeous and heartfelt intentions for the month were conjured, and so much sweetness and laughter enveloped the zoom room! 🌞 👉 Swipe to see the poems each of shared during the opening call (including works by ISL alums, AND a current July ISLien!!) as well as the words we’re feeling as we launch into this month of poetry and learning and growing! Ps. Pop it in a comment if you’re a July ISLien and want to be tagged but haven’t been yet! 😘😘😘
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Dear community and supporters, We write to you with abundant gratitude and to update you on our progress. In August, we came to you with a rallying call to ask what support you could offer as we aimed to bridge a $68,750 funding gap. We are elated to share that we are still here thanks to every donation of funds, time, and talent that you contributed to allow Split This Rock to keep doing our necessary work. The outpouring of support we have received from you all has buoyed us and expanded our imagination of what’s possible at Split This Rock. We are now 85% of the way to our fundraising goal! We will continue our fundraising efforts with the hopes of raising the remaining 15% of our goal—that’s just over $10,000—by the end of the summer. Can we count on you to help us meet our goal? Thanks to you, we were able to raise $20,478 from donations, merchandise sales, and ticket sales. This was only possible because: –Almost 500 of you answered our call with a monetary donation ranging from $5 to $1,000, or became a monthly donor; –Over 40 of you filled out our Community Outreach Form with offers of support; –27 generous poets volunteered their time and talents to participate in readings, facilitate workshops, and feature at our DC fundraising party; and –Over 300 community members attended workshops, readings, and our DC fundraising party. We offer a special shout out to poets who have generously brainstormed with us or donated their time and labor towards our virtual and in-person fundraising events so far: Kay Ulanday Barrett, Hanif Abdurraqib, Clint Smith, Ra Avis, Khadijah Queen, Kyla-Yến Huỳnh Giffin, Jorrell Watkins, Ana Portnoy Brimmer, Gabriel Ramirez, Arianna Monet, Ina Cariño, MT Vallarta, Amir McClam, Tala Khanmalek, Joselia Hughes, Ezra Fox, Jimena Lucero, Zuggie Tate, Cai Sherley, Golden, Chrysanthemum, Sami Miranda, John Chambers, Sagirah Shahid, Aliah Lavonne Jahan-Tigh, Isa Borgeson, Lehua M. Taitano, Noah Arhm Choi, Noʻu Revilla, and S. J. Ghaus. [Continued in comments] A series of 7 graphics with Split This Rock’s red logo and text that reads “FUNDRAISING UPDATE” at the top. Each graphic has text from a letter to the community with expressions of gratitude and updates on Split This Rock’s fundraising progress since August 2025. The letter text is included in the caption and comments. The last graphic includes collaged images of Split This Rock’s Staff and Board members.
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90 minutes of poems. 7 ground-breaking Asian & Pacific Islander poets. 1 community of poetry & resistance. Gather with us 5/28/2026 for Resist & Revel: An Asian & Pacific Islander Poetry Celebration, a virtual poetry reading in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! The reading will be hosted by the brilliant Kay Ulanday Barrett and feature poets Aliah Lavonne Jahan-Tigh, Isa Borgeson, Lehua M. Taitano, Noah Arhm Choi, Noʻu Revilla, and S. J. Ghaus. Tickets are offered on a sliding scale and start at $5. All ticket sales support Split This Rock's ongoing fundraising efforts. Tickets are available via the link in our bio or at our website: splitthisrock.org. ACCESSIBILITY: On-screen ASL interpretation, Zoom auto-captions, and a document formatted for screen readers with poet bios and poem text will be provided. Accommodation requests received at least two weeks before the reading give us our best chance at fulfillment. This virtual poetry reading is made possible by the generosity of poets who have offered to donate their time and talents. With their help and yours, Split This Rock can bridge a $68,750 funding gap and continue our work of materially supporting poets who are often underrepresented, excluded, and erased from the literary landscape. Thank you! Image Description: Over an abstract pastel blue and orange background, Split This Rock's red logo appears above bold text which reads: “Resist & Revel: An Asian & Pacific Islander Poetry Celebration. May 28, 2026, 6:30-8 pm EDT. Tickets $5-20.” Below, seven photos of the featured poets with their names across the bottom of each photo: Aliah Lavonne Jahan-Tigh, Isa Borgeson, Lehua M. Taitano, Noah Arhm Choi, Noʻu Revilla, S. J. Ghaus, and Kay Ulanday Barrett. #aapiheritagemonth #aapi #aapimonth #aapiartists #aapipoets #apiaheritagemonth #apia #apiamonth #apiaartists #apiapoets #asianamerican #pacificislander #nativehawaiian #Poetry #Poems #PoetryCommunity #CommunityofPoets #PoetryReading #VirtualPoetryReading
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Belated birthday post. Grateful to spend the weekend around the fire and in the flowers camping with my loves. Inviting in a year of meeting more of our mother’s favorite trees, breaking more rules, and remembering to tend to all the elements of us. Ghostlines forever. Thanks to my brother’s beloved rescuing and developing an old roll of film (thank you Alicia!!), I received the best birthday gift: family photos I’ve never seen before, including with my dad. A new photo or story of someone you’ve lost? Nothing like it. I love a reminder of the ongoing relationship and surprises we can still have with the people we grieve. Free the People and Free the Land. For my forever, may I love all I can. Photo of teenage Natasha in a camping chair.
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Resist & Revel: An Asian & Pacific Islander Poetry Celebration Featuring Aliah Lavonne Jahan-Tigh, Isa Borgeson, Lehua M. Taitano, Noah Arhm Choi, Noʻu Revilla & S. J. Ghaus Split This Rock and Kay Ulanday Barrett are back to host another spectacular virtual poetry reading! Join us for a virtual poetry reading in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Thursday, May 28, 2026, 6:30-8 pm EDT. Tickets are offered on a sliding scale and start at $5. All ticket sales support Split This Rock's ongoing fundraising efforts and sustain our urgent work. Tickets are available via the link in our bio or at our website: splitthisrock.org. ACCESSIBILITY: On-screen ASL interpretation, Zoom auto-captions, and a document formatted for screen readers with poet bios and poem text will be provided. Accommodation requests received at least two weeks before the reading give us our best chance at fulfillment. This virtual poetry reading is made possible by the generosity of poets who have offered to donate their time and talents. With their help and yours, Split This Rock can bridge a $68,750 funding gap and continue our work of materially supporting poets who are often underrepresented, excluded, and erased from the literary landscape. Thank you! Image Description: Over an abstract pastel blue and orange background, Split This Rock's red logo appears above bold text which reads: “Resist & Revel: An Asian & Pacific Islander Celebration. May 28, 2026, 6:30-8 pm EDT. Tickets $5-20.” Below, seven photos of the featured poets with their names across the bottom of each photo: Aliah Lavonne Jahan-Tigh, Isa Borgeson, Lehua M. Taitano, Noah Arhm Choi, Noʻu Revilla, S. J. Ghaus, and Kay Ulanday Barrett. #aapiheritagemonth #aapi #aapimonth #aapiartists #aapipoets #apiaheritagemonth #apia #apiamonth #apiaartists #apiapoets #asianamerican #pacificislander #nativehawaiian #Poetry #Poems #PoetryCommunity #CommunityofPoets #PoetryReading #VirtualPoetryReading Over an abstract pastel blue and orange background, Split This Rock's red logo appears above bold text which reads: “Resist & Revel: An Asian & Pacific Islander Celebration. May 28, 2026, 6:30-8 pm EDT. Tickets $5-20.” Below, seven photos of the featured poets with their names across the bottom of each photo: Aliah Lavonne Jahan-Tigh, Isa Borgeson, Lehua M. Taitano, Noah Arhm Choi, Noʻu Revilla, S. J. Ghaus, and Kay Ulanday Barrett.
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Life lately ✨
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back to up