aja monet

Acclaimed writer aja monet is a surrealist blues poet in the business of goose bumps and heart-and-gut-telling truths. Her poems are “harmolodic,” vulnerable, and insurgent. As the youngest recipient of the Nuyorican Poets Café’s Grand Slam poetry title, she first cut her teeth in New York City’s Lower East Side poetry clubs and bars, honing her voice and craft on the storied stages of a burgeoning grassroots poetry movement. She follows in the long legacy and tradition of poets organizing in social movements for change. Her collaborative spirit has seen her shape and shift culture alongside internationally renowned artists, scholars, activists, and organizers.

Her first full collection of poems, my mother was a freedom fighter (2017), is a powerful tribute to women who embody freedom, earning a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Poetry. Her debut poetry album, when the poems do what they do (2023), was nominated for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2024. The album explores themes of resistance, love, and the inexhaustible quest for joy. As a poet and touring bandleader, she has performed at festivals, concert halls, and theaters across the globe, including but not limited to the Guggenheim, Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, Fremantle Biennale, and the Barbican Centre.

Her awards include the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Poetry Award (2019), the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award (2024), the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award (2024), the EBONY Power 100 Artist in Residence award (2024), and the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award (2025). She also serves as the artistic creative director for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. In 2022, she created VOICES, an audio play amplifying the stories of Black women across the diaspora and the African continent.

Her most recent book of poems, inspired by several years living and organizing in South Florida, is called florida water (Haymarket Books).

The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.