Valentine Pierce and Shannon Stewart

Valentine Pierce is a spoken word artist and writer, including poetry, prose, essays, journalism and more. She co-hosted the Rhythm & Muse feature/open mic at Berkeley Museum in the early 2000s which set her on the path to hosting and producing poetry programs and open mics throughout New Orleans. Recent publications include the New Orleans Poetry Journal and Rigorous Magazine. Her book Up Decatur: Second Edition, was published in 2023 and her debut book, Geometry of the Heart, in 2007. Recent performances include the New Orleans Words & Music showcase. Valentine was the Writer-in-Residence at a Studio in the Woods, 2006.

Shannon Stewart explores the intersection of dance with embodied identities and social choreographies. She works across and through disciplines but her creative practice is body-centered.

Shannon was born in the South and came of age as an artist in the Pacific Northwest, San Francisco, and Europe. She has an MFA from Tulane University in Interdisciplinary Dance Performance, a BA in Urban Design from the University of Washington and is based in New Orleans. Her work has been presented in dance studios and art galleries, and collaborative film work has been screened at film festivals big and small.

Unlikely Salons were a series of monthly salons of literature and art at the Zeitgeist Theatre and Lounge in Arabi, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans. Unlikely Salons typically featured one writer and one visual artist.

Unlikely Salons were hosted by Jonathan Penton and Leona Strassberg Steiner. The series is now over, but several recordings can be found here at Unlikely Stories Mark V.