Imani

All that you touch
You Change.

All that you Change
Changes you.

The only lasting truth
is Change.

God
is Change.
– Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower

#bleedingheartdove #dove #octaviabutler

I’m excited to share that my poem "donna summer" has been published in LA Time Capsule: Art Block Zine; Vol. 10, published by DSTL Arts! It's an honor to be part of a project that directly supports the next generation of artists in Los Angeles.

For more info:
tinyurl.com/393pjwkc

Imani Tolliver is a crafter of indelible truths. By turns beautiful and brutal, sparse and opulent, these poems sink into the marrow. Here is a poet at her highest arc, and Runaway is a luminescent gift.
— Jelani Cobb | Dean, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University

#blackpoetry #poetry

But all my life—so far— 
I have loved best 
how the flowers rise 
and open, how

the pink lungs of their bodies 
enter the fire of the world 
and stand there shining 
and willing
⁃Mary Oliver, from “Moccasin Flowers”

This mixed-media portrait, primarily in watercolor, was a recent commission for my friend Karen Stuhr. Painting her portrait was a beautiful and sacred journey; stories whisper from the freckles on her cheeks, the places warmed by the sun, and the tiny constellations of blue within her green eyes.

It doesn't have to be
“…just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak…”
-Mary Oliver, Praying (excerpt)

I ain’t being a man right now
an embryo in God’s chest
my chromosomes are unnecessary
in a place where I am not a prisoner
my son is my mother
my daughter is my father
each moment a universe
wisdom burns on candles of sound
- Peter J. Harris, 10-Minute Prayer(excerpt)

I am excited and honored to share that I have been featured in the 2025 LGBT Heritage Month Calendar & Cultural Guide - what a thrill! Wishing you all a joyful and beautiful Pride!
To view or download the guide, please visit the link in my bio.
🖤🤎🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

She holds light.

PBS was my sanctuary as a child, and it still is today. PBS Passport streaming is only $5 a month. To support your local PBS station, check out this link: www.pbs.org

@pbs.org @pbsnews.org #PBS #MrRogers

a prayer.

there are always angels
hands are ancestors
eyes closed, galaxies blossom
-Imani Tolliver
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#prayer #ancestor #galaxies

Yes, thou hadst fear. But He who sees
The sparrows when they fall;
He saw thee. bird, and gave thee strength
To brave thy perils all.
-Mary Howell, The Coot (excerpt)
♥️
#coot #bird #botanical #mixmedia #illustration #sketchbook

Imani Tolliver (she/her) is an award-winning poet, librettist, artist, educator, and producer. She is the author of Runaway: A Memoir in Verse, published by World Stage Press.

#poetry #blackpoet #lgbtpoetry #losangeles #leimertpark

Join us for an amazing ensemble of women sharing their works and paying tribute to lesbian writers we have lost.

Saturday · MARCH 15 · 1-3PM
Los Angeles LGBT Center
1118 N. McCadden Place
Pride Hall

Curated by Women Writers & Artists Matrix
#lgbt #lesbian #poetry
@lalgbtcenter.bsky.social

This is the wish that the deer would not lift their heads
and leap away, leaving me there alone.
This is the wish to touch their faces, their brown wrists—
to sing some sparkling poem into
the folds of their ears
- Mary Oliver, from “This Morning I Watched the Deer”
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#collage #deer #mixmedia

I'm excited to have three of my art pieces featured in this essential anthology. Sending light and love to us all!
🩵🕊️

In this anthology, you will find queer resilience, queer love,
queer joy, and proof that you are not alone.

Purchase your Copy Here: shorturl.at/k2ZIT

#queer #lgbtq+

Chins up, loves. Hold the vision of freedom and liberation in your divine and beautiful souls. I love you. ♥️

I want history to remember me...as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and who dared to be herself.
—Shirley Chisholm
#shirleychisholm #keepyourheadup #mlk #innervision #hope #love

Don't worry about a thing
Cause every little thing gonna be alright
-Bob Marley
♥️
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#threelittlebirds
#bobmarley

❄️🕊️Happy winter solstice, beloveds. May your wishes on these long, star-filled nights come true.
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#owl #owls #maryoliver #winter #wintersolstice #wintersolstice2024

This book right here is an account of that love, hard-won and all the bolder for it. This book right here is golden.
— Douglas Kearney | Poet, Performer and Librettist

Runaway: A Memoir in Verse. Available for purchase from World Stage Press and Amazon: imanitolliver.com/runaway.html

#poetry #poet

My story is a fairytale of excess, and in every fairytale there is evil and darkness, but you overcome it with light. I want every person I come across – the stranger on the street, the church member in the pew next to me – to feel love.
- André Leon Talley
#fashion #vogue #queericon

Calling all angels, beloveds. 🩵🕊️ "How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race?"
- Marsha P. Johnson
#angelsinamerica #marshapjohnson
#mixedmedia
#portrait

Runaway: A Memoir in Verse. Available for purchase from World Stage Press and Amazon.

To learn more, visit: imanitolliver.com

👋🏾 Here!

love anyway 🩵🕊️
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#mixedmedia #collage #heal #art