About

Advancing racial justice through the intersection of the arts and sciences.

Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian & Pacific Islander, and People of Color (POCs) lack representation in many settings as compared to the percentage of the population they represent. There is a profound lack of diversity in publishing, which means we miss out on the voices of these poets and creative writers. Photography and mainstream media are bereft of, or misrepresent, POCs. And the racial/ethnic disparities we see across the sciences—so near to the heart of Cambridge itself—are stark. 

In our call for entry, seven Cambridge-affiliated poets of color will collaborate with 12 local scientists of color to create a poem about their inspiration as scientists and their field of study. We will work with a local photographer of color to create portraits of each scientist. Poems and associated portraits will be printed and publicly installed at local businesses.

These public installations will give contributing poets the opportunity to publish new work, and offer the scientists an avenue to understand their work in a new language, bridging the gap between the sciences and the humanities—an analogous gesture in linking and strengthening distinct communities of color.

We will also collaborate with Spry Literary Journal (Spry Lit), which will publish an issue dedicated solely to this project.