Towards Collective Liberation: A poetry reading and celebration of Freeland by Leigh Sugar, with Ally Ang, Shelby Handler
Please join us in celebrating the release of Leigh Sugarâs debut poetry collection, FREELAND (Alice James Books, 2025). Sugar, who formerly lived in Seattle, has taught several courses at Hugo House, and is excited to share in this exciting time with the Hugo House and greater Seattle literary community. A Jake Adam York and Alice James Award finalist, FREELAND is a collection that interrogates the US Criminal Legal System, following a romantic relationship between the speaker and an incarcerated beloved. Leigh will be joined by friends and Seattle-based writers Ally Ang (whose debut Let the Moon Wobble is also forthcoming from Alice James!) and Shelby Handler. Reading with Q&A to follow.
Ally Ang
Ally Ang is a gaysian poet & editor based in Seattle, WA. Their work has appeared in The Rumpus, Muzzle Magazine, ANMLY, and elsewhere. Ang is a 2023 National Endowment for the Arts fellow and MacDowell fellow. Their debut poetry collection, Let the Moon Wobble, is forthcoming from Alice James Books in 2025. Find them at allysonang.com or on Twitter and Instagram @TheOceanIsGay.
Shelby Handler
Shelby Handler is a writer, translator, and organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace. Recent work has appeared in and or is forthcoming in Poetry, The Iowa Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Redivider, Poetry Northwest, The Journal, Black Warrior Review Online, Four Way Review, among others.Â
Leigh Sugar
Leigh Sugar (she/her) is the editor of Thatâs a Pretty Thing to Call It: Prose and Poetry by Artists Teaching in Carceral Settings (New Village Press, 2023). She has taught courses and workshops at the Institute for Justice and Opportunity, NYU, Poetry Foundation, Hugo House, Justice Arts Coalition, and other sites, both in person and online. Her work ap- pears in POETRY, jubilat, Split this Rock, and more. An associate producer for Commonplace, Leigh holds an MFA in poetry from NYU and a Master of Public Administration specializing in Criminal Justice Policy, from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. A University of Michigan Hopwood Writing Awardee, Leigh lives in Michigan with her pup.
