Writer Mary Otis' work grapples with issues of addiction, artistic purpose, and mother-daughter relationships. She recently performed excerpts from her debut novel, “Burst,” at Lincoln Center in New York City. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on finding her voice.

Hope Boykin and Teri Ayanna Wright are a duo who bring together prose and dance. Boykin is both a choreographer and writer, and Wright is a dancer who accompanies the spoken word portion of the piece, bringing it to another dimension. They share their Brief But Spectacular take on creating their own paths. It's part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

Hala Alyan is an award-winning poet, author, and clinical psychologist. She was born in Illinois but spent time in several other states as well as in Kuwait and Lebanon. Alyan shares her Brief But Spectacular take on how those experiences formed what she calls a hyphenated identity.

Douglas Martin is a poet, novelist and short story writer. They began their career as a performance poet and dramatist before shifting to writing full-length prose. They share a Brief But Spectacular take on the art of paying close attention to the everyday for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.