Press & Media
Kabal Briar (pronounced “Cable”) is a Black, queer, award-winning poet, author, educator, and speaker based in Bellevue, Washington. For interviews, features, readings, and speaking requests, start here.
Featured review
MOUTHY, reviewed by Literary Titan. Five stars, June 2026.
“Mouthy is a fiercely intimate poetry collection about reclaiming a voice after years of being taught to shrink.”
— Literary Titan
“What moved me most is that Mouthy doesn’t mistake volume for healing.”
— Literary Titan
Interview
“Learning to Trust My Voice.” Literary Titan, June 2026. Kabal on building MOUTHY, softness as strength, and learning to trust his voice.
Literary publication
“I Was Tender Before I Was Trouble.” American Poetry Journal, October 2026.
A second poem, “Things I Thought God Was Mad About,” appears in the same issue. See the issue
Awards and recognition
- Winner, International Impact Book Award (MOUTHY)
- Gold winner, Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Poetry, 2026 (MOUTHY)
- Pushcart Prize nominee, 2026 (“The River Was Not Water,” nominated by Fifth Wheel Press)
- Highly Commended, Washington Poets Association 2026 Poetry d’Amour (“The Last Good Peach at the Bottom of the Bag”). See the winners
- Work appears in the American Poetry Journal, October 2026
Anthology
Contributor, Way Downstream (Fifth Wheel Press, 2026).
Announcements
“Kabal Releases MOUTHY: A Spoken-Word EP Streaming Now With Book to Follow” (January 2026, distributed announcement). Read the announcement
Books
- MOUTHY: Poems in Defense of Being Loud, Soft, Queer & Undeniable (Woodbridge Publishers, February 2026), ISBN 9781807044381. About the book
- Somewhere Better in My Head (out now). About the book
Short bio
Kabal Briar (pronounced “Cable”) is a Black, queer, award-winning poet, author, educator, and speaker based in Bellevue, Washington. His debut poetry collection, MOUTHY: Poems in Defense of Being Loud, Soft, Queer and Undeniable (Woodbridge Publishers, 2026), won the International Impact Book Award and the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Poetry. His work appears in the American Poetry Journal (October 2026), and he is a 2026 Pushcart Prize nominee. He has performed on the Bellevue College PrideFest mainstage and as the City of Bellevue Pride keynote speaker.
Press contact
fashionablykabal@gmail.com
kabaltv.com | Instagram: @fashionablykabal