Sunday April 12, 2026 at 4pm, The HOT L Poets Series continues at The Ivy Bookshop (Baltimore) with poets John Wall Barger & Hillary Gonzalez! The reading includes an open mic so bring a poem (1 poem, 3 min. or less). Now in our 8th year, the reading series is sponsored by Baltimore Poets Theatre and Smartish Pace. Hosts: Clare Banks, David Yezzi and Stephen Reichert.

John Wall Barger was born in New York City and grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He’s the author of six books of poems and one book of essays. His new poetry collection, Resurrection Pie, just came out with LSU Press. He is a contract editor with Frontenac House, lives in Vermont, and teaches at Dartmouth College.

Hillary Gonzalez (they/she) is a Baltimore based queer, disabled, and AuDHD poet, whose work explores themes of eco-poetry, identity, and healing. They are the authors of Seasons, and the eco-poetry collections, Wild Unfelt World (2026 Gnashing Teeth Publishing), and Where the Osprey Nest (Palewell Press 2026). Their poems have been published by South Broadway Press, Canid Press, and in anthologies by Bi+ Book Gang, Yellow Arrow Publishing, Loblolly Press’ anthology: Understory, a fundraising anthology for the victims of Hurricane Helene, The Body Archive by Cosmic Daffodil Journal, and In Praise of Despair, an anthology for disabled artists and writers by Beyond the Veil Press.