HOW THE BOOGEYMAN BECAME A POET (Queer Book Club) | Busboys and Poets Book Club
Date and Time
Feb 25, 2024 6:00 pm
Location
Takoma
235 Carroll St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20012
Feb 25, 2024 6:00 pm
Takoma
Busboys Books invites you to join us for community, queerness, and maybe some chaos with our Queer Book Club.
Every last Sunday of the month we'll be hosting Queer Book Club led by Nathan, the Takoma Bookstore Supervisor, at Busboys and Poets Takoma. In 2024, we’ll frequently be joined by authors as well!
We'll gather to discuss a specific book by a queer author or about a queer subject matter. This book club is for anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ and wants to talk about queer books; you can also attend as an ally or if you're questioning! Show up for good food, good books, and good friends.
For February 2024, join us and author Tony Keith Jr. for his debut, a memoir in verse, with How the Boogeyman Became a Poet.
You can pick it up at the Busboys and Poets Takoma bookstore for 15% off list price or wherever books are sold, including through our Bookshop.org page. It’s also available in audiobook form from Libro.fm.
How the Boogeyman Became a Poet - Poet, writer, and hip-hop educator Tony Keith Jr. makes his debut with a powerful YA memoir in verse, tracing his journey from being a closeted gay Black teen battling poverty, racism, and homophobia to becoming an openly gay first-generation college student who finds freedom in poetry. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, George M. Johnson, and Jacqueline Woodson.
Tony dreams about life after high school, where his poetic voice can find freedom on the stage and page. But the Boogeyman has been following Tony since he was six years old. First, the Boogeyman was after his Blackness, but Tony has learned It knows more than that: Tony wants to be the first in his family to attend college, but there’s no path to follow. He also has feelings for boys, desires that don’t align with the script he thinks is set for him and his girlfriend, Blu.
Despite a supportive network of family and friends, Tony doesn’t breathe a word to anyone about his feelings. As he grapples with his sexuality and moves from high school to college, he struggles with loneliness while finding solace in gay chat rooms and writing poetry. But how do you find your poetic voice when you are hiding the most important parts of yourself? And how do you escape the Boogeyman when it's lurking inside you?
Tony Keith, Jr. will be joining us on the Busboys stage with Tiffani R. Alexander to discuss HOW THE BOOGEYMAN BECAME A POET. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event. After the event, book club members will have a chance to discuss the book and socialize!
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by a book club discussion. Copies of HOW THE BOOGEYMAN BECAME A POET will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is IN PERSON and will NOT be livestreamed.
Tony Keith Jr is a Black American gay poet, spoken word artist, and hip-hop educational leader from Washington, DC. He is author of the YA memoir in verse How the Boogeyman Became a Poet. Tony’s writings have appeared in the International Journal of Critical Media Literacy, the Journal of Black Masculinity, and many others. A multiyear Fellow of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities with a PhD in education from George Mason University, Tony is CEO of Ed Emcee Academy and lives with his husband, Harry Christian III, in his DC hometown. Visit him at tonykeithjr.com.
Tiffani R. Alexander is an award-winning writer, editor, and executive leader with over 18 years of experience developing publications and multimedia, content strategy, and executive communications. Having worked on print and online publications within the public safety sector (Law Enforcement Magazine and Officer.com, Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com), entertainment (Sister 2 Sister, Downbeat Magazine, etc.), and association and trade publishing, Tiffani most recently served as Associate Vice President, Editorial Strategy, at the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). She is CEO and Founder of TiffaniWrites, LLC, which provides editorial, creative design, and content strategy services. In addition, Tiffani serves on the board of directors at Shout Mouse Press and is working on a historical fiction/fantasy novel.
Nathan (they/them) is the Bookstore Supervisor at Busboys Takoma, and is thrilled to be moving and expanding their long-running Ace and Aro Book Club over to Busboys. They are an event organizer with Aces and Aros of the Mid-atlantic, which is cosponsoring this club. They are a life-long resident of Washington, DC and are most passionate about reading science fiction, horror, fantasy, queer theory, and queer romance - but this book club will not be limited by their tastes!
