Theresa Davis is an educator, storyteller, poet, author, poetry slam champion and the host of the award winning open mic Java Speaks. She has performed on stages across the nation as a poet and keynote speaker. She was a classroom teacher for over 25 years, specializing in cross curricular education. As a slam poet, Theresa has competed individually and on teams for over a decade and in 2011 won the Women of the World Poetry Slam. In May 2013, her first full collection of poems entitled “After This We Go Dark” was published by Sibling Rivalry Press. “After This We Go Dark” became an American Library Association Honoree, and the book can now be checked out in local and college libraries around the world. Her latest poetry collection “Drowned: A Mermaid’s Manifesto”, released with Sibling Rivalry Press, in fall of 2016 received the award“Ten Books All Georgians Should Read”. In addition to being a teaching artist and outreach poetry coordinator for Georgia Tech for 6 years, Theresa hosts and participates in many of the lit events around Atlanta. Her one-woman show “Then They’ll Tell You it’s all in Your Head” Made its debut as a part of 7 Stages Home Brew series in fall of 2017.

Artist Statement

The nature of my work and my aesthetic philosophy I have been called a poet, slam poet, and performance artist. All three are appropriate and underscore that the voice, the word, the story are my primary artistic tools. My work has evolved over the years from the intimately personal to work that resounds with social and cultural truths that transcend my ethnicity and sexual identity. The ability to create and share my work is very dear to me. My art is my second skin. It allows me to connect with others in a personal way even though in most cases we have just met. Poetry is the portal to initiate dialogue.