An Apology to Stina French

We would like to take a minute to apologize to Stina French. At an event that South Broadway Press helps organize and which Sarah hosts, a poet who was performing asked “Stina, why are you not up here?” and Matt Clifford said “because she talks about people” After Stina replied “Toxic masculinity,” to Matt, Sarah referred to the interaction as “poet drama” to the audience and the poet on the microphone.

Unkindness isn’t okay, and it’s especially not okay in a public setting. Stina, you deserve to expect that a community space will be kind, and that any conflict between you and someone else will be handled privately and still kindly. When something unkind happens in a community space, it should be addressed. Sarah apologized to Stina the night of the event and once again would like to apologize for not addressing the conflict then and there.

Brice also apologized to Stina the night of, and would like to apologize now publicly. We also would like to apologize for not being more communicative with Stina and the community at large in the weeks following the conflict. We’ve learned a valuable lesson about keeping communication open and transparent in our community.

We hope that there is a space for reconciliation here. We are open to dialogue, and Sarah also plans to address this incident and share this apology at the next community event.

Yours in Community,

Brice and Sarah, of South Broadway Press

Matt Clifford would like to say this:

I am sorry to talk about people talking about people to other people in front of other people. It was not my space to truth and talking about people to other people like that isn’t cool. Stina, I hope you and everybody could know just how sorry I truly am. I intend for my own health to never speak of or to you again.

This was an individual slip of tongue in the midst of playing I wish didn’t happen. We have had overwhelmingly successful collaborations with around 400 poets, musicians and artists of many mediums, including ~55 last month and dozens more in the upcoming weeks. Our record of diversity is among most any event on the Front Range. If you don’t feel Punketry is a welcoming space, obviously don’t come, but I can promise you it is and we will continue the work to make sure it stays that way.