A Room of One’s Own Bookstore, 315 W Gorham St., will host T.S. Banks on Thursday, March 1, 6-7:30 p.m.
T. Banks is a community organizer, mental wellness advocate, poet, and playwright from Madison, WI. After graduating with a degree in English Creative Writing from UW-Madison, Banks has successfully used his plays and poetry to address racism, transphobia, and ableism. He is most known for his 2015 play, We The 350: Stories Or Racism Incarceration & Poverty in WI, a critique of Mass Incarceration in Dane County. T. recently launched his own Black, Queer, and Trans* lead arts company called Loud & Unchained Theater Co. As a Black, Trans, Queer person with a disability, T believes the movement for Black Lives must be intersectional and deeply connected to the struggle to end patriarchy – specifically in its manifestations as violence against Black Trans folks. His work addresses the need for the Black liberation movement to be accessible to those with mental wellness challenges and/or physical disabilities, as well as the need to fight for these populations to regain their autonomy in a capitalistic society.
T. Banks will be reading from his newest book, Left, a chapbook of poems centered on survival, healing, and liberation. T will also be reading from Call Me Ill, his first chapbook. A Black, Queer, Trans, and Disabled look at the medical industrial complex; as it relates to mental wellness challenges and the barriers to affirming and safe healthcare practices.
T. Banks will be joined by Matthew Lewis, a poet/playwright from Milwaukee with an undying love for Black literature, R&B music, and soul food. Matthew will be reading from The Late Bloomer, to be released in summer 2018.
