There was a movement of spoken word and queers this millenium and at the center of that explosion was Kay Barrett.
— Scott Free, Stonewall Society’s GLBT Hall Of Fame
Kay Barrett sweeps Chicago with striking, subtle poetry …Spoken word artist and political activist Kay Barrett has been taking Chicago’s poetry world by storm. Her poetry is brutally honest and sincere.
–The Columbia Chronicle
Anyone dedicated to performance art that speaks truth to power should be dedicated to participating in Kay’s art. She doesn’t allow for easy answers and requires us to think of the history of events, not just the surface feelings of the immediate….If you have never been where kay has been, she will bring you with her. Let your journey begin.
–Toni Asante-Lightfoot, Poet, Teacher, Co-Founder of Modern Urban Griots, Former President of the African American Writers Guild & Business Manager of the Guild Complex
Amazing, powerful, truth-teller. This work shows an astute interconnectedness of issues, identities, and movements.
–Dr. Ann Russo, Women’s & Gender Studies (DePaul University)
Kay Barrrett goes for the gut in straight ahead language that lays bear what alls the body politic. She fearlessly works without a net and if you’re looking for tightly written, no-holds barred poetry that both confronts and excites, look no further.
–Lisa Alvarado Poet, Writer, Performance Artist Literary Criticism
Kay Barrett is a cultural pioneer on the American landscape, a brave, urgent young writer of conscience charting new fresh dialogue. Kay speaks of family and fundamentals…to the America I have hoped to hear from all along.
— Kurt Heintz, e-poets.net
Kay Barrett deftly combines politics with the astute poetics of everyday living. She is an energetic performer, smart and savvy and criss-crossing social lines and boundaries that she –brown, queer, immigrant… They are at once an artist, an activist, and an example of how to fight the good fight, love the good love.
— Coya Paz, founding member of Proyecto Latina & director-in-residence for the Poetry Performance Incubator at Chicago’s Guild Complex