Vanessa Vrtiak
Vanessa Vrtiak started searching for her voice in the 4th grade. She had a sunflower print journal and she would spend hours in tall trees, deep in the world of her own thoughts. In High School, she found the courage to perform her first poem at a Poetry Cafe in the library. She won her first slam, and auditioned to be on the Humboldt Youth Slam Team. Poetry brought her to countless stacked stages, one of them was the Apollo Theater. Vanessa has competed in the Individual World Slam, and National Poetry Slam. She has self published five collections of poetry, her most recent: The Compass in Her Own Blood. Vanessa is also the host of the Humboldt Poetry Show, and co-founder of A Reason to Listen Poetry Collective, which has been bringing poetry to the north coast for 15 years. She has directed, starred, and produced in countless community plays, which have raised thousands of dollars for local non profits. Vanessa is committed to poetry as a tool for activism. Her heart resides with developing systemic changes within the criminal justice system, seeing the humanity in people, and her profound love for her family.