each other’s harvest: an afternoon of poetry, community, and address

For the last two years, Cave Canem has been leading Magnitude & Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Organizations. The study reveals key insights on the organizational needs, strategies, and models that enable Black literary organizations in the United States to thrive despite adverse socioeconomic conditions. Hosted by Yahdon Israel and featuring readings from Lauren K. Alleyne and Taiwo, Lisa Willis, Co-Principal Investigator and Executive Director of Cave Canem, presents on the release of this historic study to the public, followed by a keynote address from Jermaine Fowler. This event is free and open to the public.

About

Yahdon Israel is a senior editor at Simon & Schuster and the founder of Literaryswag, a cultural movement that intersects literature and fashion to make books accessible. He brings an entrepreneurial spirit to these pursuits as the founder of a popular book club, host of a literary podcast, creative writing teacher, and event producer, as well as his work in support of several prestigious literary awards.

Lauren K. Alleyne serves as Executive Director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center and a Professor of English at James Madison University. She is the author of two collections, Honeyfish and Difficult Fruit; two chapbooks, Dawn in the Kaatskills and (Un)Becoming Gretel; and co-editor of Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry. Her award-winning work has been widely published in publications, journals, and anthologies internationally, including The Atlantic and The New York Times. Ms. Alleyne, who hails from the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has been recognized with two US Artist Award nominations (2016, 2023), an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Poetry (2020), the Green Rose Prize from New Issues Press (2017), and was shortlisted for the BOCAS Prize for Caribbean Literature and the Library of Virginia Prize for Poetry (2020). In 2022, Alleyne was awarded the JMU Agency Star Award and an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Inspired by the pivotal work of her mother Nonkululeko Tyehemba, a revolutionary midwife, and the teachings of Black feminist writers, Taiwo's work centers on social justice, water-based healing through soak circles, and community building. She draws influence from several Harlem-based youth organizations, including the City College Child Development Center, Central Harlem Montessori School, Def Dance Jam Workshop, the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players, and the Harlem Birth Action Committee. Whether soaring towards Mexico on a school bus to form a people’s bridge to Cuba or leading the translation of a lengthy poem into multiple languages, Taiwo reflects in her art that intentional community is here and a fearless world is now. A 2025 recipient of the Laundromat Project’s Create Change Fellowship and a 2023 recipient of Dance/NYC’s Disability, Dance, Artistry and Social Justice Fellowship Program, Taiwo holds an M.Ed. from CUNY – Hunter College and a BA in Black Studies from Amherst College. She lives in Harlem, New York.

Lisa Willis, Executive Director of Cave Canem, is a passionate artistic administrator and creative space maker with over 20 years of experience managing multi-disciplinary projects in the non-profit and commercial arts sectors. She has held various consulting and management roles in development, programming, and operations for New York Live Arts, home of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Contemporaneous, Thresh, Heidi Latsky Dance, Brian Sanders’ JUNK, Kimmel Center Cultural Campus, the Mann, and JazzReach. In 2020 she co-founded The LynList, a curated listserv and grant writing support service for NYC area individual artists and small non-profit arts groups. As an advocate dedicated to articulating the conditions needed for creativity and cultural preservation to flourish, she is actively engaged in expanding the research needed to inform cultural and social progress. Her work in this area includes serving as co-Principal Investigator on the “Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Service Organizations.”

Jermaine Fowler is a New York Times Bestselling author and public historian who founded The Humanity Archive, a media company dedicated to unearthing the untold stories of history. With a deep passion for research and storytelling, he shines a light on the voices that have been erased, challenging us to see history not just as a record of the past, but as a mirror reflecting who we are today.

His work is driven by the belief that history is more than just names and dates—it’s about people, their struggles, their triumphs, and the lessons they leave behind. Through engaging narratives and thought-provoking discussions, he makes history feel alive, relevant, and deeply human. His presentations go beyond the surface, encouraging audiences to think critically, question assumptions, and find connections between the past and the present that they may have never considered.

With an approach that blends scholarship with accessibility, Fowler creates space for meaningful conversations about history’s impact on our world. Whether speaking to students, educators, or general audiences, he brings history out of the textbooks and into real life—where it belongs.