Education
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
2021 ONE Archives Foundation, Changemaker, Pride Publics: Words and Actions
2020 Certificate of Congressional Recognition, U.S. House of Representatives
2017 Avest Award for Literary Arts, The Women’s Building
2007 Certificate of Recognition, City of Los Angeles
2007 Poet Laureate, Watts Towers Arts Center
2003 Cave Canem Foundation Fellowship (2003, 1999, 1997)
1997 Jenny McKean Moore Workshop Fellowship, George Washington University
1997 Lannan Literary Fellowship, Folger Shakespeare Library (1997, 1996, 1995, 1994)
1994 John J. Wright Literary Award, Howard University
Professional Experience
2022 Featured Artist & Poet, Queer Diasporas: Lavender City of Dreams, a Virtual and Live Exhibition, City of West Hollywood
2022 Featured Artist, Spectrum: Spring Fantasy
2021 Featured Poet & Speaker, WE RISE 2021: Love Letters in Light, Short Film Documentary, Electric Park Films
2021 Featured Poet, Love Letters in Light, Public Art Project, LA County Library, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and WE RISE
2021 Facilitator, Poetry & Visual Art Workshop, Virtual Poetry and Creative Arts Festival West Chester University
2021 Facilitator, Poetry & Visual Art Workshop, International Women’s Writing Guild
2021 Facilitator, Poetry Workshop, Elysian Valley Art Collective
2020-2007 Supervisor, Cultural & Fine Arts Division, Community Services
Department City of Buena Park Civic & Youth Theater, Concerts, Festivals,
Large-Scale Special Events, Visual Art Exhibitions, Leisure Classes,
Cultural Excursions
2016 Panelist, I Come to Witness: Writers as the Children of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference
2014 Keynote Speaker, Voice Music For Whole Living: Peter J. Harris & Imani Tolliver, Annual Multicultural Conference, Metropolitan State Hospital
2013 Keynote Speaker, Poetry is Not a Luxury: Exploring the Healing Nature of the Written Word, Annual Multicultural Conference, Metropolitan State Hospital
2011 Keynote Speaker, LGBTQ+ Pride Graduation Ceremony, California State
University, Long Beach
2010-2008 Facilitator & Co-Founder, Poetry Workshop, ArtPod, Artists Relating to the Politics of Dreams: A Queer Normative Collective for Artists Dedicated to Social Justice with D’Lo and Imani Tolliver, Southern California Library
2009 Facilitator, Poetry Workshop, Department of Women's Studies California State University, Long Beach (2009, 2007, 2006, 2005)
2008 Panelist, Queer Text(ures): Reading and Writing LGBTQ+ Community History, Department of Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
2008 Panelist, Leimert Park Village Book Fair, The World Stage
2007 Guest Speaker, Images in Blackness, Bunche Library and Media Center, University of California, Los Angeles
2007 Facilitator, Poetry Workshop, Poetry at The Village, Ed Gould Plaza LA Gay and Lesbian Center
2007-2005 Director of Student Services, American Musical and Dramatic Academy
2005-2004 Director of Programming & Community Outreach, A Place Called Home
2004 Curator, Friday Nights at the Getty Presents: Pure, The Getty Center
2004-2002 Director, Independent Living Program, The Way In Youth Center, The Salvation Army
2003 Curator, Juneteenth Hip-Hop Poetry Slam: New School vs. Old School,
The World Stage
2002 Facilitator, Wednesday Night Poetry Workshop, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
2002 Curator, Poetry Reading Featuring Rachel Kann and Charlotte Young,
Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
2002 Curator, Poetry Reading Featuring Jennifer Bowens and Tracy Holton,
Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
2002 Curator, Poetry Reading Featuring Aida Salazar and Alicia Vogl Saenz,
Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
2002 Curator, Juneteenth Poetry Slam: Harlem Renaissance vs. Black Arts Movement, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
2002-1999 Program Director, Weingart Youth Center, The Salvation Army
2001 Co-Curator, The World Beyond Poetry Festival, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
2001-1999 Assistant Program Director & Academic Director, South Central Youth Project, The Salvation Army
2000 Editor, Stories: The Life of Ellen Cook, Autry Museum of the American West
1999-1997 Language Arts Teacher, Marcus Garvey School
1997 Facilitator, Storytelling Workshop, Bringing African Storytelling to the Classroom, District of Columbia Public Schools
1997-1996 Co-Coordinator, Tellin’ Stories Project
1996 Editor, Women, Words and Other Wonders: Writings from The Dinner Program for Homeless Women, WritersCorps/AmeriCorps National Service (1996-1995)
1996 Editor, The Office of the President, William Jefferson Clinton
1996 Facilitator, Poetry Workshop, African American Poetry Lecture Series, Higher Achievement Program (1996, 1995)
1996-1994 Instructor, Creative Writing, WritersCorps/AmeriCorps National Service
1995 Editor, Janus Literary Journal, Howard University
Publications
2022 Nonwhite and Woman, Woodhall Press, forthcoming
2022 African American Heritage Month Calendar & Cultural Guide, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019)
2022 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Heritage Month Calendar & Cultural Guide, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017)
2022 The Library Love Letter: Letters One
2022 Scenes of Southern California Vol. 2: Poetry of Places, Four Feathers Press
2021 SKEW 3: Black Abundance, A Celebration of Blackness as an Extravaganza of/in Black Beings, Expressions and Revolutions
2021 LACMA Unframed, I See Myself In You, Personal Essay and Self-Portrait Tutorial Inspired by the Black American Portraits Exhibition
2021 Beneath the Soil: Queer Survivor's e-Zine, Time to Tell Project
2020 Public Intellectuals
2017 Author, Runaway: A Memoir in Verse, World Stage Press
2017 Voices From Leimert Park: Redux, Harriet Tubman Press
2017 Cultural Daily
2015 Corners of the Mouth: A Celebration of Thirty Years at the Annual San Luis Obispo Poetry Festival, Deer Tree Press
2011 Don’t Blame the Ugly Mug, Moon Tide Press
2009 Van Gogh’s Ear #7: The Supernatural Edition
2007 HIS RIB: Poems, Stories & Essays by Her
2006 Voices from Leimert Park: A Poetry Anthology
2006 Poetry Super Highway, 8th Annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day
2006 Hand Tooth Nail
2005 Get Underground
2004 All About Jazz
2004 Poetic Diversity
2003 My Man: Love Poems Chapbook
2002 San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly Vol. 17
2002 Beyond the Frontier, Black Classics Press
2001 Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Russell Simmons Productions
2000 Step into a World: A Global Anthology of the New Black Literature,
Wiley and Sons
2000 Drum Voices Review, Eugene Redmond
1999 Cave Canem VIII, Cave Canem Publishing
1999 Black Love, Beyond Baroque Books
1998 Jones Juke Joint Magic, Jones Juke Joint Still Press
1997 Cave Canem II, Cave Canem Publishing
1997 The Drumming Between Us, Peter J. Harris Publications
1996 Poets Mama Didn't Raise, Smirna Press
1995 Artistic Pedigree Magazine
1994 The Flow: New Black Poetry in Motion, ECA Associates Press
Interviews
2021 ONE Archives, Pride Publics: Summer is an Elegy with traci kato-kiriyama
2021 Spectrum News 1, Love Letters in Light Hopes to Bring Angelenos Together Through Poetry By David Mendez
2020 Ukulele Magazine, The Story of Lift Every Voice and Sing and its Lasting Impact By Heidi Swedberg
2020 Voyage LA, Meet Imani Tolliver
2017 Los Angeles Review of Books Podcast, A Conversation with Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn & Imani Tolliver
2017 Los Angeles Review of Books, I Didn’t Live a Manageable Life By Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn
2013 Her Kind, A Literary Community Powered By Vida, Women in Literary Arts, Hair as Storyteller and Reimaginator: A Conversation with Imani Tolliver and Beth Gilstrap
2008 Nigerian Times, The African American Writer with a Difference
By Sumaila Umaisha
2005 KPFK 90.7, The Beautiful Struggle
2003 KPFK 90.7, Beneath the Surface
2003 KPFK 90.7, The Morning Show
2002 National Black Arts Festival
2000 Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, Po Ho One: The Poetry Hosting Conclave
1997 Howard University, D.C. Area Writing Project: An Institute for Master Teachers
1995 National Public Radio, Talk of the Nation, WritersCorps/AmeriCorps National Service
1995 WPFW FM, The Poet and the Poem, WritersCorps/AmeriCorps National Service
1995 The Washington Home of Stewart Mott, Kitchen Table Press, The Importance of a Women of Color Press
Skills
Management
Local Government Management
Community Outreach
Partnership Development
Public Policy
Risk Management
Facility Management
Non-Profit Management
Volunteer Management
Training
Event Production
Civic Theater
Youth Theater
Special Events
Concerts in the Park
Art & Holiday Festivals
Municipality Christmas Tree Lighting
Visual Art Exhibitions
Cultural Excursions
Marketing | Promotion
Digital & Print Media
Social Media
Video Content
Analytics
Branding
Layout & Design
Press Releases
Workshop Facilitation
Poetry & Creative Writing
Visual Arts
Storytelling
Writing | Editing
Creative Writing
Web Content
Copywriting
Copyediting
Proposals & Presentations
Grant Writing & Reporting
Public Speaking
Film, Television & Radio
Keynote Speaker
Panelist
Emcee
Wedding Officiant
Computer | Web
Apple & PC
Microsoft Office Suite
Google Suite
Website Building & Design
Canva
Mailchimp
Zoom