Quintessential Listening: Poetry

Mary Gilliland is the author of two award-winning collections: The Ruined Walled Castle Garden (2020) and The Devil’s Fools (2022), with poems, anthologized most recently in Rumors Secrets & Lies: Poems on Pregnancy, Abortion & Choice; Nuclear Impact: Broken Atoms in Our Hands; and Wild Gods: The Ecstatic in Contemporary Poetry and Prose. She is a past recipient of the Stanley Kunitz Fellowship from the Fine Arts Work Center and a Cornell University Council on the Arts Faculty Grant. https://marygilliland.com/ https://www.codhill.com/product/the-devils-fools/ https://twitter.com/newsthatstays https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK6j5jNA5jTFAb9qV6QsTGw https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Devil-s-Fools

Rick Lupert has been involved with poetry in Los Angeles since 1990. He is the recipient of the 2017 Ted Slade Award, and the 2014 Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center Distinguished Service Award, a 3 time Pushcart Prize Nominee, and a Best of the Net nominee. He served as a co-director of the Valley Contemporary Poets for 2 years, and created Poetry Super Highway. Rick hosted the weekly Cobalt Cafe reading for almost 21 years which has lived on as a weekly Zoom series since early 2020. His spoken word album "Rick Lupert Live and Dead" featured 25 studio and live tracks. He’s authored 26 collections of poetry, including “I Am Not Writing a Book of Poems in Hawaii,” “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express,” and “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion” (Ain’t Got No Press) and edited the anthologies “A Poet’s Siddur”, “Ekphrastia Gone Wild”, “A Poet’s Haggadah” and the noir anthology “The Night Goes on All Night. He also writes and draws (with Brendan Constantine) the daily web comic “Cat and Banana” and writes a Jewi

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Dr. Arif Ahmad is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society and practices cardiology and electrophysiology in southern Wisconsin. He is a mid-Westerner with pride for where he came from – Pakistan, his faith – Muslim, and most of all, for the county he now calls home – America. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, he has lived in New York City, Milwaukee, and Iron Mountain, MI, and now resides in Madison, WI. He also has a farm 20 minutes from his home.  Dr. Arif Ahmad lived his first 30 years of life in Pakistan. After coming to America in the 1990s, he has been in the United States for almost 30 years. Through his experiences and optimistic outlook, he shares an encouraging vision for America in his debut book, A Piece of Me: An Arrangement of Words To Inspire Reflection. Written over a decade the 2010s, his book offers provocative thoughts on a wide variety of topical areas, including unity, diversity, news media, faith, and health. It became a best

Mary Louise Kiernan is a member of both Calling All Poets and the Woodstock Poetry Society. She was awarded the 2015 Poetry Prize by Tempe Public Library in partnership with Arizona State University. Kiernan’s poetry appears in The New York Times and elsewhere. Most recently, her debut book's closing poem has been translated into Italian for The Salerno Project's anthology of poems penned by a multinational group of poets. Her debut poetry collection is titled "The Gift of Glossophobia." https://www.marylouisekiernan.com Amazon.com: The Gift of Glossophobia: 9781952326929: Kiernan, Mary Louise: Books https://www.facebook.com/marylouise.kiernan https://www.instagram.com/postsbymarylouise

Millicent Borges Accardi, an NEA fellow, is a Portuguese-American writer. She has four poetry collections, including Only More So (Salmon Poetry, Ireland). Among her awards are poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, CantoMundo, Fulbright, Foundation for Contemporary Arts NYC (Covid grant), Creative Capacity, Fundação Luso-Americana, and Barbara Deming Foundation, “Money for Women.” She lives in the hippie-arts community of Topanga, CA, where she curates Kale Soup for the Soul and Loose Lips poetry readings. https://www.amazon.com/Millicent-Borges-Accardi/e/B003AOMTEI/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1 https://twitter.com/TopangaHippie https://www.instagram.com/topangahippie/ https://www.facebook.com/MillB/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbXwQAICIc https://www.linkedin.com/in/millicent-borges-accardi-bb4b964/

  Mbonisi Zikhali is a poet/spoken word artist and storyteller born in Makokoba, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He has loved poetry since he was a child. He won his first poetry certificate when he was 8 years old. His spoken-word/storytelling name is Zomkhonto, which happens to be his bloodline’s totem. He is also a trained journalist, youth mentor, qualified community services worker, grassroots community organizer and mental wellness advocate. He considers himself an afro-empath, and is driven to ensure that people find joy in the power of words and story-telling. Some of the recent publications he has appeared in include winner of Off Topic Publishing's August 2022 Poetry Contest,  Best New African Poets 2019 Anthology by Mwanaka Media and Publishing, Ipikai Poetry Journal's inaugural and second edition (initiative of the Zimbabwe Poets Society) among others. His work is also showcased at the World Poetry Slam Championships (September 26-30, 2022) in Brussels, Belgium. In 2021, he was part of Artcite Windsor (Canad

Jamey Boelhower is a poet and independent author with numerous published works to his name. Not only is Jamey a prolific writer but also he has been an educator for over 20 years. Although his focus is on poetry, Jamey has also made a name for himself with his compelling blogs and popular fictional novel Under the Lights. Jamey’s most recent works include April 2020: A Poetic Time Capsule of Writing and Living During a Pandemic, These Words Believe in Ghosts, and Father and Son: Words Apart, among many others.  Throughout his career, Jamey has delved into a variety of topics, including family, heartache, and the mysteries of life. Jamey is well-known for challenging his readers' perspectives and inspiring them to see things in a deeper way. As a loving husband and father of six, Jamey enjoys spending his free time with his family. Currently, he is working on new works that will be released soon.  

Vincent J Calone is a New Formalist poet. He studied under Lewis Turco- author of the "New Book of Poetic Forms" on New England Press.  Poet, playwright, actor, director- he wears different many hats but the message remains the same- Why do we do what we do? How can we change it? And how can we learn, grow and evolve? Recent publications include, Fresh Words An International Literary Magazine; selected anthologies- Cooch Behar, Nature and Everest out of India, Wingless Dreamer, The 24 Hour Poetry Marathon and regular appearances on Spo-Fest, The MUSE @ Neir's, Jack Jack's, Flash Mob Poetry and Poetry in the Port. Vincent writes and posts a new poem every day on Raven Wire Poetry Prompts on Facebook continuously since 08/01/22 based off on the daily poetry prompt. Vincent is proud to be part of the writing collective atwww.brateragency.com.      

Wayne David Hubbard is an author of poetry, essays, and short stories. His literary works explore – both directly and abstractly – aspects of science, philosophy, history, and culture across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Synopsis: In his debut poetry collection, Death Throes of the Broken Clockwork Universe, Wayne David Hubbard illustrates journeys through physical space and abstract worlds of emotion. Combining choreological precision with playfulness, readers enter the mind’s eye of a poet standing along the shoreline of powerful forces that shape all lives: time, place, and love.  Written over a ten-year period, the collection calls to mind the poetry of Lorine Niedecker, Rae Armantrout, Larry Eigner, and Carl Phillips. Importantly, these poems resist thick, impenetrable themes, instead celebrating ordinal wonders of life that are hidden in open view. This spare book offers strong, memorable imagery and questions that will delight thoughtful readers.  https://waynedavidhubbard.com/

Simon Constam is a Toronto poet and aphorist. His first book of poetry, BROUGHT DOWN, was published in January 2022, by Wipf and Stock Publishers.  Its early reviews have been exceptional! Kevin John Hart, Anglo-Australian theologian, philosopher, and poet, “Some of the poems remind me, in the best way, of poems by Yehuda Amichai and Nelly Sachs. . . . From time to time, I also was reminded of some of the later poems of R. S. Thomas.”  He has published poetry in a number of magazines, among them The Jewish Literary Journal, long con magazine, the Dark Poets Club, and Poetica Magazine. Since late 2018, he has been publishing, under the moniker Daily Ferocity, an original aphorism every day on Instagram and for an email subscriber base. In early 2023, Simon’s first two books of aphorisms, The Love Aphorisms and The Book of Dark Ideas, will be published.   See Simon at simonconstam.com Brought Down: Constam, Simon: 9781666790115: Amazon.com: Books

After working in education for thirty years as a professor, mentor, public-school teacher, and librarian, Kim now spends as much time as possible on the reading, writing, and sharing of poetry. Terrapin Books recently published her first collection, The Mayapple Forest. Her poems appear in many journals and anthologies, in print and online, recently including SWWIM Every Day, Poetry Ireland Review, Artemis, and Not the Time to be Silent: Collected Works. Kim volunteers weekly for the international group, Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry, creating graphic designs and assisting with programming because she believes in the poetic community. She loves to garden, walk, and connect with nature, next door to Shenandoah National Park, where she lives with her husband, Doug, her hound dog Sadie, and her calico, Miss Daisy. https://www.kimportsparsons.com/ The Mayapple Forest: Parsons, Kim Ports: 9781947896598: Amazon.com: Books

Indran Amirthanayagam produced a “world record” in 2020 publishing three poetry collections written in three different languages. He writes in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Haitian Creole. He has published twenty two poetry books, including Isleño (R.I.L. Editores),  Blue Window (translated by Jennifer Rathbun) (Diálogos Books), Ten Thousand Steps Against the Tyrant (BroadstoneBooks.com), The Migrant States, Coconuts on Mars, The Elephants of Reckoning (winner 1994 Paterson Poetry Prize), Uncivil War and The Splintered Face: Tsunami Poems. In music, he recorded Rankont Dout. He edits the Beltway Poetry Quarterly (www.beltwaypoetry.com); writes https://indranamirthanayagam.blogspot.com; writes a weekly poem for Haiti en Marche and El Acento; has received fellowships from the Foundation for the Contemporary Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, The US/Mexico Fund for Culture and the Macdowell Colony. He is the IFLAC Word Poeta Mundial 2022. In 2021 he won an Emergent Seed grant. His poem “ Free

ash good is a nonbinary queer poet & designer living, playing & working in Portland, Oregon. They are the author of five books & chapbooks—including most recently "us clumsy gods" from What Books press—as well as co-founding editor at First Matter Press (a 501c3 nonprofit), guide to Set Your Stories Free (a weekly generative workshop), curator of High Priestesses of Poetry & a reader for Frontier Poetry. Their poetry has been nominated for Best of the Net & appears in Faultline Journal of Arts & Letters, Cimarron Review, 45th Parallel, Chautauqua, Bird Coat Quarterly & others. http://www.ashgood.com us clumsy gods by Ash Good, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com) https://www.instagram.com/justlightgrow/      

Author, poet, and minister Michelle Carter-Douglass is a graduate of Struthers High School (1991), Mahoning County Joint Vocational School (1991), and Youngstown State University (2014). Among her accomplishments, she is the mother of, authors Patrick M. Douglass, Arlessa R. Douglass, Kailah Mychelle Douglass, and Brialan Douglass. She is a survivor of domestic abuse and homelessness. Minister Carter-Douglass is dedicated to serving God and helping those in our communities. https://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Carter-Douglass/e/B0762TYHF7?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1668017664&sr=8-1

Alatishe Kolawole' Poet and Friend of Civilization is an award-winning author, singer of hope, and the convener of the world Anthem. His work serves to change society. It unites talent, courage, and commitment for peace and equality. Reading Alatishe's collection 'Immerse your feet in this river of hope.' Alatishe Kolawole won the Gold medal at the prestigious international poetry award 'Frate Ilaro del Corvo' and has been recognized with several international honors, including a European commission commendation and Kanoni's important official certificate of recognition in Kampala preparatory school, Uganda, for poetry and civil commitment. Alatishe Kolawole is a poet who sings about the tragedy of oppressed people crushed by conflict, indifference, and poverty. Still, he is also a poet whose voice  helps to work for a better society characterized by peace, equality, and progress. His new book is Human Togetherness ... Evolving Towards a New Frontier HUMAN TOGETHERNESS: Evolving Towards a New Frontier: Ko

Martina Reisz Newberry is the author of 7 books of poetry. Her most recent book is Glyphs, available now from Deerbrook Editions. She is also the author of  Blues for French Roast with Chicory, available from Deerbrook Editions, the author of  Never Completely Awake ( from Deerbrook Editions), Where It Goes (Deerbrook Editions), Learning by Rote (Deerbrook Editions), Running Like a Woman with Her Hair on Fire (Red Hen Press), and Take the Long Way Home (Unsolicited Press).  Newberry has been included in The Cenacle, Cog, Blue Nib, Braided Way, Roanoak Review, THAT Literary Review, Mortar Magazine, and many other literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad. Her work is included in the anthologies Marin Poetry Center Anthology, Moontide Press Horror Anthology,  A Decade of Sundays: L.A.'s Second Sunday Poetry Series-The First Ten Years, and many others. She has been awarded residencies at Yaddo Colony for the Arts, Djerassi Colony for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Disciplinary Arts. Passionate in her love f

Sara Moore Wagner is the winner of the 2021 Cider Press Review Editors Prize for her book Swan Wife (2022), and the 2020 Driftwood Press Manuscript Prize for Hillbilly Madonna (2022), and the author of two chapbooks, Tumbling After (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2022) and Hooked Through (2017). She is also a 2022 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award recipient, a 2021 National Poetry Series Finalist, and the recipient of a 2019 Sustainable Arts Foundation award. Her poetry has appeared in many journals and anthologies including Sixth Finch, Waxwing, Nimrod, Rhino, Beloit Poetry Journal, and The Cincinnati Review, among others. Find her at https://www.saramoorewagner.com/ https://www.facebook.com/saralizmoore https://twitter.com/SaraMooreWagne1 https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Madonna-Sara-Moore-Wagner/dp/1949065227 https://www.driftwoodpress.com/product-page/hillbilly-madonna

Margaret R. Sáraco is a writer, activist, and retired educator. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in many anthologies and journals. Margaret was a semi-finalist in the inaugural Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Contest in 2022. She received Honorable Mention in the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest in 2020 for her poem “The Unlocked Door.” The New Jersey Covid-19 Storytelling Project selected two of her poems as part of a historical record of artwork across the state. A Writing the Land poet, she helps to raise awareness of the importance of land conservation through her poetry. " If There Is No Wind," her first full-length poetry collection, was published this fall.  Amazon.com: If There Is No Wind: 9781948521116: Sáraco, Margaret R.: Books  

Justin Johnson is a NYC-born, New Jersey-raised author, spoken word, and music artist currently living outside of Newark. Justin self-published his first book of poems, Scattered, in January 2021 as well as, had his poetry published in multiple magazines and presses in the US and UK (Genre Urban Arts, Cousins Magazine, Apricot Press). Outside of writing, Justin has also made his name in the spoken word open mic scene as Johnson Soldout! Johnson has headlined a myriad of open mics in the NJ/NYC, most notable being the Bowery Poetry Club and the Nuyorican. In early 2022 Johnson even headlined Woodland Pattern Book Center’s 28th annual poetry marathon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Justin is currently working on his second collection of poetry as well as, putting his poetic stylings over instrumentals. When he’s not writing poems, you can catch Johnson at the gym, playing a board game or loafing around in a park or beach. Scattered https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SV28L11/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_PRFW1TBCKXJRP3MEYD92

Alison Palmer is the author of the poetry chapbook, Everything Is Normal Here (Broadstone Books, 2022), the full-length poetry collection, Bargaining with the Fall (Broadstone Books, January 2023), and the poetry chapbook, The Need for Hiding (Dancing Girl Press, 2018). To read an interview, visit www.thepoetsbillow.org. Alison’s work appears widely in journals such as FIELD, The Cincinnati Review, River Styx, Columbia Review, The Journal, Rogue Agent, Crazyhorse, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a 2022 Independent Artist Award (IAA) grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC). Alison received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, and she was awarded the Emma Howell Memorial Poetry Prize from Oberlin College. She writes outside Washington, D.C.—find her on the web at: alisonpalmer.org. https://www.broadstonebooks.com/shop/p/everything-is-normal-here-a-poetry-chapbook-by-alison-palmer https://www.facebook.com/alison.palmer.5015 https://www.instagram.com/alipalmpoet/