JERRY QUICKLEY: One of the most well-known and well-regarded performance poets in the United States, Jerry has performed on the PBS documentary series Senior Year, was brought to London to perform for the Royal National Theater Company, and received multiple commissions from the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He is frequently asked to contribute to a variety of books and publications, including Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop, and the Voice of a New Generation, and Twilight of Empire: Responses to Occupation.  Jerry also recently finished writing for and having a featured role in the Sony Studios film project Shackles, and can be seen in the documentaries A Night of Ferocious Joy, Spit, and Slam Nation! He has toured his work widely and has had Artistic Residencies and/or had his work presented by a wide range of institutions including, Columbia University, Stanford, Dartmouth, The Public Theater: NYC, The Museums of Contemporary Art in Chicago and Helsinki, The Field Museum, The Warhol Museum, The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Theater De Klange: Dusseldorf, and the PICA Time Based Art Festival in Portland. Jerry made two trips to Iraq and the Middle East in a time period that included before and during the current Iraq war, and afterwards during the occupation.  He was doing independent reporting for Pacifica Radio Networks and his work formed the basis for the documentary Beats for Baghdad.  Jerry is currently a 2009 Stanford University Visiting Fellow.

JERRY QUICKLEY SPEAKS AT 9:00 A.M.

CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ: Actor, playwright, and poet from New York City, Carlos was formerly a social worker and a public school teacher in New York City.  He is a Russell Simmons' HBO Def Poet and 2006 International Poetry Slam Champion.  Winner of the 2009 Artist of the Year Award at the Promoting Outstanding Writers Awards, he co-stars in Spike Lee's #1 box office smash hit film "INSIDE MAN" alongside Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen.  Gómez recently closed the soloNOVA Theater Festival with a sold-out run of his solo play, “MAN UP,” which he then took to Scotland for a critically acclaimed month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Gomez has also been broadly published, offering his written thoughts to such exemplary periodicals such as The New York Times and AWOL Magazine, and has also been on stage with Wyclef Jean and Immortal Technique. He brings a unique style from his personal perspective, citing widely-known stories to ones he experienced as a social worker, and never fails in igniting the audience.

CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ PERFORMS AT 3:00 P.M.