Our Beyond the Page series kicks off with an open mic, poetry feature, and tequila cocktails from Middle Child to celebrate our featured poet, Brandon Melendez! Come with new shit, old shit, or a piece that inspires you to share with us!

Brandon Melendez is a Mexican-American poet and software engineer from California. He is the author of 'Gold That Frames The Mirror' (Write Bloody 2019). He is a National Poetry Slam finalist and two-time Berkeley Grand Slam Champion. A recipient of the 2018 Djanikian Scholarship from the Adroit Journal, and the 2018 & 2019 Academy of American Poets Awards, his poems can be found in Black Warrior Review, Muzzle Magazine, Shenandoah, and elsewhere. He currently lives in Philadelphia.