Women of Stone Soup – Hyattsville

Tamarra Royal, Hostess and Bookseller

What are your hobbies outside of work?

Exploring Washington, DC, reading, painting, and listening to music.

1) Who is your favorite female artist?

Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Dawn Penn.

2) What woman has inspired you?

My Mother is the reason I am the person I am today and even though she no longer with me she is still inspires me.

3)The Busboys and Poets community knows you’re a phenomenal woman, what makes you so?

I try to work as hard as I can to achieve the goals set for me. I also help others when they need it and I think I am one in SOOO many phenomenal women who work in the Busboys and Poets community.

For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday

Feb 1, 2024

Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals. He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.” … Continued

Palestine Week 2024

Jan 12, 2024

January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued

Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Doritt Carroll

Sep 14, 2018

intermittent apnea of unknown causation I. the first time it happened i thought i was being strangled four fingers compressing each side of my throat no air II. have you ever eaten crabs? first you flip the breast tab up then you fold the crab back like the binding of a new book then … Continued

5. Cuba – Ministry of Culture

Jul 11, 2022

We approach the towering yellow stucco building that houses the Ministry of Culture. There is a delegation waiting patiently to greet us at the sidewalk. They are standing in front of a metal gated entrance. Their inviting faces have welcome written all over. We exchange “Holas”. And handshakes. The handful of Spanish words I know … Continued