Present Poetry

Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Chip Sebastian received a Bachelors in English and Film from the University of Kentucky in 1995, as well as a Masters in Theatre in 2006.

Chip teaches martial arts and dance, acts for stage and screen, and does a great deal of voiceover.

In addition, he has owned and operated Sebastian's Mobile Massage since 1995.

Through these varied activities, Chip has always written. With over 150 articles, Chip has written for Health & Wellness, Living Well 60+, Business Lexington, and Under Main, among others.

The thousands of poems Chip had written since he was a kid were distilled into a 300-page compendium in 2016, Season of the Centaur, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Chip lives with his wife, Astrid, in Lexington.

Learn more about Chip and his works through his website, chipsebastian.com.

Writer and artist Steven Seidenberg is the author of Coda (Omnidawn 2025), Anon (Omnidawn, 2022), plain sight (Roof Books, 2020), Situ (Black Sun Lit, 2018), Null Set (Spooky Actions Books, 2015), and Itch (RAW ArT Press, 2014).

His books have been published in Swedish, Italian, and Portuguese, and his collections of photographs include The Architecture of Silence: Abandoned Lives of the Italian South(Contrasto, 2023), Pipevalve: Berlin (Lodima Press, 2017), and the forthcomingKanazawa Vacancy (Chin Music Press, 2027).

He has had exhibitions of his visual work in various venues across Japan, North America, and Europe.

You can find more of his work through his website (https://www.stevenseidenberg.com/) or his Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/steven.seidenberg/).

Roberta Batorsky is a poet, science journalist and college educator. She is in several online and in-person poetry and fiction writing critique groups and has put a poetry book together called Perihelion, published last November by Prolific Pulse Press.

Her poetry is published in Fine-Lines, Delaware Valley Poets Worksheets, Poets for Science, Prolific Pulse Press poetry compilations (Social Possibilities and Unhoused), NJ Bards, NewVerseNews, Quillkeepers Press, Pure Slush and Heron Clan and she has been a freelance editor/reviewer of Life Sciences textbooks. She co-edits the Heron Clan poetry publication.

She writes on topics as varied as her interests and currently teaches Biology at a NJ youth corrections facility.

Find her on Instagram at RobertaBatorsky_poetry

The Present Poetry Podcast is going on hiatus! Submissions are still open through the form, and we'll be back September 7th!

Adair Heitmann, BFA, is an award-winning poet, storyteller, educator, and artist.

Her poems are published in We are Here; Lost Love by Orenaug Mountain Publishing; Connecticut Bards Poetry Review 2025; and theFourth Volume of Connecticut Poets.

Her personal narrative essays are published in Animals: Personal Encounters with Spirit Animals and Clarity: Stories About the Moment That Changed it All.

Heitmann is Poet-in-Residence in under-resourced schools and teaches creative writing in colleges.

A professional storyteller, she performs inspiring true stories with universal messages to adult audiences. Her artwork is exhibited widely.

She is a graduate of Syracuse University. She lives in Connecticut, US. You can connect with her through her website at adairheitmann.com.

"Land of my Home" was published in "We Are Here" by Orenaug Mountain Publishing, 2024.

"Creation Pilgrimage" was published in "Connecticut Bards Poetry Review 2025".

"Soaked in Love" was published in "Pleasant Pastimes: Poems About the Sports We Love" by Orenaug Mountain Publishing, 2026.

Enas Rashid is a contemporary artist from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

She is a multidisciplinary who grew up with a passion for all forms of art and enjoys illustration, painting, creative writing and sculpting.

She believes in expressing the deepest emotions in various surreal ways that transcend form by blending reality and imagination together to create a new way to communicate and connect to people across all cultures.

Zaha Al-Hmoud is a Jordanian-Canadian poet based in Canada. Born in Jordan, he moved to Canada at six years old.

His first collection, The Ache Is What Moves Me, traces the arc of a psychiatric break and the rebuilding that followed, through running marathons, through writing, through refusing to let the clinical world own the language of what happened.

The poems are grounded in the body, in sky and soil and hands. He writes because he needs a crutch, a lifeline of some sort.

Loralee Clark has a fourth chapbook forthcoming: Neolithic Imaginings: Mythical Explorations of the Unknown (Kelsay Press, 2026).

Clark has been nominated for three 2026 Pushcart Prizes.

She resides in Virginia; her website is sites.google.com/view/loraleeclark.

Her Substack, which focuses on the process of creativity, is nosuchthingasfailure.substack.com.
Her poems Artistry, The Path: Ways to Help a Creative, and Capitalism Sayswere all nominated for the 2026 Pushcart Prize.

Clint Frakes is a poet, writer, teacher, and ceremonialist living in Sedona, AZ and the Verde Valley since 1992. His poetry, prose and narrative non-fiction has appeared in nearly 200 journals, magazines and anthologies in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Argentina since 1987.

He was named one of the Best New Poets of 2008 by former American Poet Laureate, Mark Strand, and received the Josephine Darner Distinguished Poet Prize. Other awards include the James Vaughan Poetry Prize, The Pudding House Chapbook Prize and the Peggy Ferris Memorial Prize for Poetry.

He is a graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, where he studied with Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman. He received his MA at the Northern Arizona University creative writing program, and received his Phd with emphasis in creative writing from the University of Hawaii.

His Publication include: Myths, Beasts & the Ways of Water(Seven Worlds Press, 2025), The Aching Unrest of Spheres (Finishing Line, 2024), and Mystery not Always Unkind (Pudding House Press, 2008).

He is the former Chief Editor of The Hawaii Review, and the Founder of Seven Worlds Press.

Clint lives in Cornville, AZ with his sons, Quanah and Dawson.

Ed Ahern resumed writing after forty odd years in foreign intelligence and international sales.

He’s had over 600 stories and poems published so far, and twelve books.

He works the other side of writing at Bewildering Storieswhere he squats on the review board, and at Scribes Micro, where he’s the idle figurehead.

His book, Peculiar Perspectives, will be published in May 2026 by Prolific Pulse Press

Lindsay Soberano Wilson is a mother, teacher, and author.

"The Japanese Red Maple" from Hoods of Motherhood: A Collection of Poems (Prolific Pulse Press, 2023), a bittersweet reflection on motherhood, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Her second poetry book, Breaking Up with the Cobalt Blues: Poems for Healing (Prolific Pulse Press, 2024), curating artistry from pain, was featured on CBC Radio One's Ontario Morning and CBC Books to Read.

She is a contributing writer to the anthologies Cadence: Life's Poetic Rhythms (2024) and Social Possibilities: Poetic Voices of Hope (2025), which were Finalists in the American Writing Awards.

Casa de mi Corazón: A Travel Journal of Poetry and Memoir (Poetica Publishing, 2021) explores how her Canadian Jewish identity was shaped by travel to Israel, Morocco, and Europe.

Her poetry and non-fiction have been published in Canada, the USA, Australia, the UK, India, and France, in publications like Jewish Women of Words, Silver Birch Press, Spill Words Press, Poetry Super Highway, Fine Lines Literary Journal, and Fevers of the Mind.​

She holds a Master of Arts in English Literature and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing from Concordia University.

She is writing about being a third-generation Holocaust Survivor in "Be A Somebody: A 3G Memoir." Her essay "Bubby Was Right" was featured in Zibby's On Being Jewish Now.

Maria Tosti was born in 1965 in Perugia, Italy, and lives in a small Umbrian town crossed by the river Tiber. She writes poems since she was a teenager. She participated at several national and international poetry awards along the years, getting many appreciations.

Her poetry is a path of reflections and considerations on the human existence and the life experiences. Creating is a breath of art for her, and setting the emotions on the paper is to give voice to the inspiration that comes from inside with insistence. She is convinced that Poetry doesn’t belong only to the intellectuals, but it belongs to everybody because it is a universal message destined to touch the strings of the sensitivity of each individual, permeating the nuances of his feeling.

She likes writing poetry in other languages too, such as English, Spanish and French. She is also passionate about short poems, in the Japanese style, such as haiku, senryu, tanka. One of her haiku was set to music by master Paolo Scatena.

Her literary debut was with the multilingual poetry book "Voci ai confini dell’anima” – “Voices to the Boundaries of the Soul” - published by Thoth Editions/Mario Vallone in the year 2014 both in paper and eBook format. The book includes poems in Italian, English, French and Spanish.

Her artistic works also include visual poems, like Hagia and Shahai, thanks to her passion for Photography and Drawing.

Many of her literary and artistic works have appeared in various national and international literary journals, magazines, blogs, websites and anthologies around the world.

She has also written the text of some songs in Italian, looking for a new way of expression and a new artistic technique. Two of her texts have been set to music, one by the Italian composer Pasqualino Moscatelli, and the other by the master Daniel Cianelli.

For more info, please check out her Website.

Eddie D. Wilcoxen is a retired radio broadcaster who worked in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, and Ohio before settling in for a thirty year career in Altus, Oklahoma.

Selected by Governor Brad Henry as Oklahoma Poet Laureate for 2011 and 2012, Eddie traveled the state and made more than one hundred appearances during his term, sharing his love of poetry and promoting support of the arts. In his original stories, he weaves historical facts, personal experiences, humor and vivid imagery to promote understanding and respect. His ability to craft tales that not only enchant audiences, but also carry invaluable lessons about human nature have garnered him widespread acclaim. The humor and subtle grace that infuse Wilcoxen’s work enable his broad and modern appeal, and ensures that people of all ages will be entertained and heartened by his performance.

Eddie grew up south of Dodge City, Kansas, one of six boys of Kenneth and Ruby Wilcoxen. After his father drowned trying to rescue cattle in a flash flood, Kenneth ran the family farming operation from the time he was only thirteen, graduating high school at sixteen. Eddie had a difficult childhood on the farm because he had polio, severe asthma, and other undetermined illnesses that resulted in numerous surgeries. By the time he was ten years old, he had lived half his life in hospitals, (more than five years.)

After graduating from Dodge City Community College in 1969 Eddie briefly attended Kansas University before transferring to the Radio Engineering Institute of Kansas City, where he earned his First Phone Engineering License from the FCC and began his radio career. Never one to be held back by limitations, despite partial paralysis caused by polio, he went on to study and become a Master Instructor of the Martial Arts. Eddie became a three time National Karate Champion, and was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch on its journey to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics.

At the same time Eddie was active in the community and throughout southwest Oklahoma and North Texas. He appeared at dozens of schools and civic clubs promoting the value of “following your dream” and the importance of education. Eddie served as President of the Altus Kiwanis Club, and was responsible for establishing the world’s largest youth club associated with Kiwanis International. He was President of the local United Way Campaign, and chosen as Grand Marshal for the local Christmas Parade.

Through all of this Eddie was writing poetry, continuing a practice that had started in his early teens. His love of poetry dates back to those early hospital years when his mother would read poetry to him almost every day. Eddie has written a collection of poems for each of the last two Oklahoma Chautauquas, and he has published twelve books of poetry, including “Oklahoma Proud,” “Reflections of a Wandering Mind” and “Faith, Hope and Poetry.” He has also started a YouTube channel, “eddiestuff” featuring videos of his original poetry. His books are available on line through Amazon.com.

Eddie and his wife Joan served as Co-Presidents of the Poetry Society of Oklahoma for 2014 and 2015. The PSO was established in 1934 as the foremost Oklahoma organization to strengthen and expand the place of poetry in society at large, versus strictly academic settings.

Hafiz Muhammad Qasim has a unique taste and talent for writing poetry. He has written more than 100 poems on multitudinous issues ranging from love, Adolescent, Mother Nature, etc.

Phillip is a disabled Veteran who lives in Western Colorado with his family. When not at his blue collar job, he enjoys birthing creativity into this world through his writing.

Phillip has been published by Black Coffee Creative, The Light Within, and currently in contract with HellBound Books.

I am 32 years young I love, fashion makeup, deep, love, spirituality, my family, children, and spirit to earth and we have a really deep passion for writing. It just comes to. I have a way with words.

Iustin Floroiu, 25, is a teacher, scientist, poet, music producer and published philosophy writer from Bucharest, Romania, looking to help through his creative endeavors.

Poems in this episode are:

I see the ceiling... (from the volume "From Daylight to Nighttime and Beyond All Over Again")

I cried your tears (from the volume "Less)

I touched his sight (from the volume "The Empty Space Between Two Ribs, Part 1: Transgression")

How long does longing last? (from the volume "The Empty Space Between Two Ribs, Part 1: Transgression")

Now I regress (from the volume "Regression, Transgression")

Michael is a husband, father and grandfather. He is also a veteran of the Northern Irish troubles.

When writing, he takes inspiration from his surroundings and his life experience.

Angela Fields is a poet and storyteller, writing with emotional depth about love, loss, memory, and heartache. She is drawn to the spaces between life and its echoes, to the human experience at its most intimate and raw.

With a deep love for history and the voices of those who came before, she weaves these elements alongside the supernatural in her work.

She is currently at work on her first novel.

Native New Yorker LindaAnn LoSchiavo, an award-winning member of British Fantasy Society, HWA, SFPA, and The Dramatists Guild.

She released three titles in 2024: "Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems" (Wild Ink), "Apprenticed to the Night" (UniVerse Press), and "Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide" (Ukiyoto).

Next: "Cancer Courts My Mother" (Prolific Pulse Press, 2025) and "Vampire Verses" (Twisted Dreams Press, 2025).Book accolades include the Elgin Award, Chrysalis BREW Project Awards, The World’s Best Magazine’s Book of Excellence Award, and Spotlyts Story Award.

Her craft essays on poetry have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Authors Publish Magazine, Behind the Pages, Roi Faineant, and elsewhere.

Mimi Bordeaux is a published writer for Medium.com with 3K followers. She also makes photogenic imagery.

LEE PENNINGTON is the author of 23 books including I Knew a Woman (1977) Thigmotropism (1993) and Appalachian Newground (2016)–each nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in poetry. His book, Daughters of Leda (2017) was selected as a finalist for “Best Book of Poetry published in 2017” by the American Book Fest. His Songs of Bloody Harlan was reprinted and re-released in 2019. His most recent book (2019) is Segovia’s Fingernail.

He has had over 1300 poem published in more than 300 magazines in America and abroad. He has had nine plays produced, wrote the script for The Moonshine War (MGM, 1970, starring Alan Alda, Richard Widmark, etc.), and has published thousands of poems, articles and short stories in everything from Playgirl to Mountain Life and Work. His novel, Moment of the Butterfly, is scheduled to be released by Hydra Publications in the near future.

Beginning in 1990, through his video production company, JoLe Productions (joleproductions.com), Lee, along with his late wife, Joy, produced 21 documentaries including In Search of the Mudmen (1990), Wales: History in Bondage (1995), and Secret of the Stones (1998), Eyes that Look at the Sky: The Mystery of Easter Island (2001), The Mound Builders (2001), The Serpent Fort: Solving the Mystery of Fort Mountain, Georgia (2005), Let Me Not Drown on the Waters: Fred Rydholm, Michigan’s “Mr. Copper.”

After Joy’s death, Lee has produced five more documentaries for a total of 26 : Some Days You Clean, Some Days You Litter: The Amazing Warner Sizemore, 2012; Room To Fly: Anne Caudill’s Album, 2013; Bosnian Pyramids Hidden History, 2015; Seafaring Strangers: Vikings in America, Part I, 2016; and Gunung Padang: Monument to Atlantis, 2017.

Lee is a graduate Berea College in KY and the University of Iowa. He holds two Honorary Doctor degrees: Doctor of Literature from World University, and Doctor of Philosophy in Arts from The Academy of Southern Arts and Letters. He taught for nearly 40 years, the last 32 as Professor of English and creative writing at University of Kentucky Jefferson Community College until he retired in 1999.

In 1983, the Kentucky State Legislature named him Poet Laureate, a lifetime appointment.

He has traveled extensively (in all the United States, in all the Canadian Provinces except two, and in 96 foreign countries). For the past fifteen years, he has served as president of the Ancient Kentucke Historical Association, a group dedicated to the study and research of pre-Columbian contact in the Americas, especially Kentucky. He has visited all the continents including his final one, Antarctica in December 2022.

In 2013 the University of Louisville opened the Lee and Joy Pennington Cultural Heritage Gallery, named after Lee and his late wife. The gallery contains U of L’s most valuable works including the likes of first editions of Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton. It will house all of Lee’s writings, films, and many artifacts he’s collected traveling around the world.

Three films are presently in the works about Lee: one, a documentary on his life, and, two, a movie about his Harlan County, KY teaching experience where he was run out of town and had contracts taking out on his head–all because of a book of poetry his students published in 1967. The third film is a series called The Story Behind the Story of Lee Pennington had its premiere at the University of Louisville in June, and won Runner Up Award for Best Documentary at the Imaginarium Indy Film Festival. In 2022 a press focused on publishing only poetry was named after him—Pennington Press, a division of Hydra Publications. His most recent honor was being Knighted and inducted into the Order of the Red Dragon.

He presently lives in Kratz House, a designated historic home, in Middletown, KY with his lady, Jill Baker, an artist who has illustrated several of his books.

Sara Patricia Kelly is a children’s poet and primary school teacher. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. Born in Australia, she now lives in Thailand with her family. Her favourite pastimes include singing nursery rhymes, smelling fresh herbs, and making pancakes for breakfast.

Tiriq Rashad is a spoken word artist who states that his work is "where poetry lives in rhythm, and rhythm lives in truth."Recently, he unveiled the music video for the album's lead single “No Regrets,” a deeply personal song that sets the tone for Kiss My Art (out 10/17).Opening with the line “Grief hits like a ton of bricks,” “No Regrets” honors his late mother, who died while helping a stranded motorist. It’s a raw entry point into Kiss My Art, which blends spoken word, jazz, and hip-hop to explore grief, healing, and identity. Tiriq’s lived experience inspires the album: the loss of his mother, his brother with cerebral palsy, and, most recently, the devastating loss of a child during pregnancy.His poignant artistry garnered critical acclaim during his TEDx talk, The Power of Innovation Through Compassion, which moved one viewer to say, “My goodness, this man has such talent." Even acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni has recognized his work, stating that, “Tiriq has vision beyond his years... his poetry is simple but expressed powerfully, and viscerally captures both the universal human experience and the particular struggles of an African American man today”For more information, or to listen to his work, visit his Website, hisBandcamp, or his Instagram.

Hua Ai (also sometimes published as Nikolina Hua, Nikolina Ai) is a London-based writer with an MA in Media & Communications and a BA in English Literature.

Published in Mandarin since fifteen, her English-language poetry has received international recognition and appears across the UK, US, Australia, India, and Uzbekistan.

Her chapbook, Exiles Across Time, moves between myth and lived witness—Lilithic refusals, Sarajevo’s rivers, East China Sea beacons—braiding Mandarin’s suggestive poetics with English’s direct address.

Her work explores spiritual animality, intersectional feminism, mythic sensuality, and sisterhood. She is currently completing a debut literary-fiction novel set amid political unrest and emotional reconstruction.

When not writing, she is either running or finding calm by the lake, alongside parenting five rescue cats.

Barbara Anna Gaiardoni is among the winners of the 7th Basho - an international English Haiku Competition. She has been recognized in The Mainichi’s Haiku in English Best list for 2023 and 2024 and received an Honorable Mention at the Fujisan Tanka Contest 2024.

Her Japanese-style poetry has been published in 260 international magazines and translated into 12 languages.

Drawing, swimming in the sea and walking in nature are her passions. "I can, I must, I want" is her motto.

Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print.

She has fifteen published chapbooks: A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press - June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon - January 2014), If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016), My Wings Were Made to Fly (Flutter Press, September 2017), splintered with terror (Scars Publications, January 2018), More Than Bone Music (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019), the samurai (Yellow Arrowing Publishing, October 2020), Follow the Black Raven (Alien Buddha Publishing, July 2021), Unleashing the Archers (Guerilla Genesis Press, August 2021), Hecate's Child (Alien Buddha Publishing, November 2021) fat & pretty (Dancing Girl Press, June 2022), Searching Stained Glass Windows For An Answer (Alien Buddha Publishing, December 2022), faerie witch queen (Fae Corps Publishing, April 2025), letters to an old friend (Cyberwit Publishing, May 2025), and not your piñata (Alien Buddha Publishing, June 2025).

Linda has four full length poetry collections, a hybrid photography and poetry collection, and a photography collection book.

Linda is also the author of the novellas Mates (Alien Buddha Publishing, March 2022), Managing Magic (Alien Buddha Press, September 2022), and The Queen's Son (Alien Buddha Publishing, December 2023).

Her first short story collection King Quinlin (Alien Buddha Publishing, March 2024) was published last spring. Her debut haiku collection in these ancient veins was published last spring (Alien Buddha Publishing, May 2024).

To learn more, connect with her on Facebook.

Athena Pajer is the founder of Just My Typewriter Poetry, a Central Illinois initiative making poetry more visible through typewriter-crafted verse.

A passionate young writer, she received the Marybeth Drechsler-Sharp Award for Outstanding Journalism, the Conant Society Achievement in English Award, and the Scovill Merit award at Millikin University for her work with the Decaturian Student Newspaper.

While serving as Editor in Chief at the paper, she championed storytelling that connected campus and community. Now exploring poetry through haiku and poetry collections, Pajer brings her editorial precision and love of language to a new form—one keystroke at a time.

When Danita Johnson speaks, the room leans in.

Her poems don’t whisper — they grab you by the skin.

Rooted in radiance, unapologetically Black,

she’s rewriting the stories they tried to hold back.

An educator, a healer, a voice for the unheard,

she turns survival into syllables, pain into word.

Danita writes to build, to awaken, to stay —

not just as a guest, but a force here to stay.

Richard Stimac has published a poetry book (Bricolage from Spartan Press), two poetry chapbooks, and one flash fiction chapbook.

In his work, Richard explores time and memory through the landscape and humanscape of the St. Louis region.

He invites you to follow his poetry Facebook page: “Richard Stimac poet”.

I'm an author poet who writes different kinds of poems including Christian, inspirational and motivational poems. One of my poem (title: Freshwaves Of Spring) has been published on online magazine, The Discourse Literary journal Under May Issue Spring 2024. I've compiled my poems into a poetry anthology book entitled " Sea Waters published by Eye MVP Publishers costing $15 and is available for pre-order.

Souad Zakarani is a poet, writer & Literature-translator from Morocco.

Her works have appeared in many Anthologies worldwide.

Her poems ,short stories, Essays & Articles can be read in a variety of international publications, including WELL READ Magazine, Hooliganstreetpoetry, Revista Sofón, RESEARCH PLANET Journal & others.

In 2025, her poem “Weiß” is shortlisted for Ulrich Grasnick Lyrikpreis.

HAMANT SINGH is a Singaporean writer who is inspired by the Sublime in horror, different cultures and the occult."Of Spice and Stone" (2025) is his sixth release after "SHADOWS" (2025), "Andromeda Dreams" (2024), "The Sibyl" (2002), "CHAOS: RRR" (2023), "NÁUSEA | CONFESIÓN" (2023) and "VALTOHA" (2024).After a poem was nominated for the 2022 Rhysling Award by the Science Fiction Poetry Association, "The Sibyl" was listed on the preliminary ballot for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards (Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection). In 2023, "The Sibyl" was also nominated for the Elgin Award.Hamant currently resides in Guadalajara, Mexico where he is currently working on several different projects.

SP Singh, an army veteran, is a novelist, short story writer and painter.

His debut novel, ‘Parrot under the Pine Tree’ was shortlisted for the Best Fiction Award at the Gurgaon Literary Festival and nominated at the Valley of Words Literary Festival in 2018.

His short story, ‘Palak Dil,’ won the South Asian Award for Micro Fiction in 2019.

He is the Best of the Net nominee. His writings have been featured in Penguin Random House SEA, Adelaide Magazine, Austur, The Brussels Review, Freshwater Journal, The Seagulls Post, Lit eZine, Aksolotl, EgoPHobia, Phoenix, Delyon World, Rio Grande Poetry Festival, Embark, Shine Anthology, Ultramarine Review, Compassiviste and MacKenzie Publishing.

Pat Raia is a journalist who has covered international business, crime and politics in Chicago, Welfare, litigation and legislation in the equine industry and various topics for national print magazines.

She has been writing poetry since childhood.

**TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of female circumcision***

Iwuagwu Ikechukwu is an African poet, Essayist, Screenwriter, and Dramatist.

A native of Umunkwo in Imo state, Nigeria, His reviews and short stories have appeared in several literary magazines across the world both online and in print.

He was a recipient of an honourable mention in the IHRAF Creators of Justice award in New York - 2020 & 2022 editions respectively, and was also shortlisted for the 2022 Alpine Fellowship Visual Arts Prize in London, as well as the ANTOA essay prize in Africa.

When he is not writing, he can be found researching, teaching, or reading the works of Christopher Okigbo, Isidore Diala, Soyinka, Adichie, Buchi Emecheta & Ifesinachi Nwadike.

His publications "The Baptism (A Collection of Three Short Stories)", " After Dusk Comes Dawn", "See History" & "Shakespeare Speaks Pidgin" are available on Amazon.

Ava Yang is a teenage self-published poet with a deep passion for expressing the complexities of emotion through verse.

Ever since she first discovered poetry, she has been captivated by its power to give voice to what often goes unspoken.

Her writing explores themes of anxiety, depression, love, insecurities, and hope—capturing both the heaviness and the light that come with being human.

As she embarks on her journey as a poet, Ava hopes her words will help others feel seen, understood, and less alone.

BERNARD PEARSON: His work appears in over one hundred and thirty publications worldwide, including; Aesthetica Magazine , The Edinburgh Review, Crossways, and The York Literary Review.

In addition he is the author of three published novels. In 2017 a selection of his poetry ‘In Free Fall’ was published by Leaf by Leaf Press. In 2019 he won second prize in The Aurora Prize for Writing for his poem Manor Farm.

San Lin Tun is a poet, writer, lyricist, literary translator, literary guide, writing coach and editor. He was a former short story instructor and literary translator of Hidden Words/Hidden Worlds short story project and a former coordinator-translator of My Yangon My Home Art and Heritage Festival and a former translator of Goethe Institute Yangon web page.

His writings appeared in local and international publications such as Asia Literary Review, Borderless, Countercurrent, Global Poemic, Kitaab, Litehouse, Litterateur, Mad in Asia Pacific, Mekong Review, Myanmar Times, My Yangon Magazine, Myanmore, New Asian Writing Anthology (NAW), PIX, Ponder Savant, Pure Haiku, South East of Now, Strukturriss, Trouvaille and several others.

He was an editorial member of Beyond Words issue 5, a guest fiction editor of Ambrosial Literary Garland online magazine, a guest editor of Open Leaf Press Review and a reader at Prism International.

His academic qualifications are a certificate in AmPox.3, a certificate in Start Writing Fiction, B.E (Metallurgy) and M.A (BDh). He is the first prize winner of poetry of Wales National Day in 2015. His other keen interests are photography, playing guitar and drawing cartoons.

His debut novel “An English Writer” is at Goodnovel and he is now working on his second novel titled “A Classroom for Mr K.T”.

He lives in Yangon with his wife and two sons.

Blog – www.writersanlintun.blogspot.com

Edward Vidaurre is the author of ten collections of poetry.

He is the 2018-2019 City of McAllen, TX Poet Laureate and publisher of FlowerSong Press.

His book, Jazzhouse, won the Award of Merit 2020 by The Philosophical Society of Texas for Best Book of Poetry by a Texas Author.

His book Pandemia & Other Poems was a finalist for the Writers' League of Texas Book Awards.

AXTON N.O. Mitchell is an AFAB transgender poet stuck in the hell known as Ohio.

His work covers gender identity, political issues, nature, and mental health. He has a passion for cultivating change to promote a future where equal rights for all and basic human needs are recognized as rights, not privileges.

He connects with the world around him through poetry and other works of literature.

Hiking, camping, and losing track of the day exploring with his dog are some of the ways he spends time when he’s not working—trying to make the starving artist gig less hungry.

Emily Newman is an 18-year-old high school graduate who loves to write and weight lift and hopes to empower people with her writing.

Shannon lives outside of Cleveland, Ohio, where she homeschools her two children.

Since she was young, she has loved running off into the woods to write stories and poems, look for spaceships, and dance fairy rings.

Her work can be found at CoffeeHouseWriters.com.

C.J. ANDERSON-WU (吳介禎) is a Taiwanese writer who has published fiction collections about Taiwan's military dictatorship (1949–1987), known as White Terror: Impossible to Swallow (2017) and The Surveillance (2021). Her third book Endangered Youth—Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ukraine has been launched in April 2025.

Her works have been shortlisted for a number of international literary awards, including the International Human Rights Art Festival and the 2024 Flying Island Poetry Manuscript Competition.

She also won the Strands Lit International Flash Fiction Competition, the Invisible City Blurred Genre Literature Competition, and the Wordweavers Literature Contest.

Author's Note about Undelivered:The mass grave of Liuzhangli, Taipei City, was where more than two hundred political dissidents were found executed and buried during the early 1950s. At that time, the names of the executed were posted on billboards at the Taipei Main Station, and their families had only three days to reclaim their bodies. Due to fear or poverty, many of the victims' families were unable to claim them, so they were hastily buried by the authorities. It wasn't until the 1990s, following the abolition of Martial Law, that this mass grave became known to society.

Author's Note about For a Lady Pursued:After pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow(b. 1996) left for Canada and expressed her regret that she might not return to the city throughout her lifetime, the chief executive of Hong Kong John Lee vowed that authorities will hound her for as long as she lives. Agnes Chow was arrested and incarcerated several times, due to her participation in the Umbrella Movement and Anti-Extradition Protest, among other pro-democracy activism. In Hong Kong, there are still tens of hundreds of political dissidents imprisoned, and a lot more under surveillance.

Just Jessy writing some wrongs.

Garnett Rogers Sr. is a luminary in the world of poetry, renowned for his evocative verses that illuminate the human condition.

Born in Sacramento California humble beginnings, Garnett's journey from a small city to literary prominence is as captivating as his words.

His poetry, deeply rooted in personal experiences and observations, resonates with authenticity and raw emotion.

Through his mastery of language and keen insight, Garnett Rogers explores themes of identity, resilience, and the universal quest for meaning.

His work serves as a beacon of inspiration, inviting readers to contemplate life's complexities with compassion and clarity.You can connect with him through his YouTube channel, or Buy his Book through Amazon and Lulu.

In the world of many, I am Riyanka Paul. I have previously written a poetry book called "Narratives unseen".

What fascinates me the most is the profound emotions and the beauty that can be found in mundane things. I am captured by wordless emotions, mingled joy and sorrow, and even transitory moments. Writing connects me to something immense, whether it's nature, a soft whisper within me, or future readers of my work.

Before I can truly comprehend their inspiration, I try my poetry and it enchants me. It's as if the inspiration has begun to materialize, and I am merely a follower, as the words seem to already have a destination in mind.

Keith Gaboury earned a MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College.

Kelsay Books published The Cosmos is Alive in 2023, and Falkenberg Press published Still Human in 2025.

Keith lives in Oakland, California. Learn more at keithgaboury.com and keithgaboury.me.

Ean Teng Lim is a vegan lyricist from Malaysia who likes to use poetry to bring awareness to the cause.

Andrew Horace Glenn is a Minnesotan and a veteran.

His poems have appeared in "Peace is Our Profession: an anthology of Vietnam era veterans, which won a Pulitzer.

He was first published by Temple University in a volume called "The Road to Epidaurus" in 1991.

German is his second language, and his volume of German expressionist poems is slated to be published next year. It is called "Twilight Gardens."

Other than writing, he has had a career as a singer of recitals of classical songs.

Liam McAlpin is senior at Northeastern State University majoring in Cherokee Language Education and minoring in creative writing. He likes writing short fiction and poetry, and one day hopes to finish his novel.
The poem "Bluejay in the Cedar" was originally written in Cherokee. Here is the original text:

ᏜᏱᎦ, ᏜᏱᎦᎢᏟᎦ ᎡᎯ,ᏙᎨ, ᏙᎨᏝ ᏱᏗᎧᏃᎩ?ᏜᏱᎦ, ᏜᏱᎦᎠᏥᏂ ᎡᎯ, ᏙᎨ, ᏙᎨ Ꮭ ᏱᎯᏃᎯᎵ?ᏜᏱᎦ, ᏜᏱᎦᎢᏟᎦ ᎡᎯ,ᎭᏢ, ᎭᏢᏔᎵ ᏣᏪᏥ?ᏜᏱᎦ, ᏜᏱᎦᎠᏥᏂ ᎡᎲ,ᎦᏙ, ᎦᏙᎦᏙ ᏣᏲᎱᏒ?

Christine Vopel was born and raised on Salt Spring Island and has been writing poems since grade three.

She graduated from the University of Vitoria with a major in Creative Writing and loves travelling the world and experiencing new things.

Poetry for her is "an attempt to capture the beauty of the moment- like holding a fire fly in your hands."

Pat Raia is a journalist who has covered crime and politics for the Chicago Tribune, international business for International Business magazine, legal and welfare issues in the equine industry for Horse Illustrated magazine a variety of topics for Rock & Gem magazine.

She has been writing poetry since childhood and has published a pair of collections, including Basic Italian and Unvarnished Truths.

Saurin Desai is a creative writer, published author, award-winning podcaster, and creative writing & thinking coach.

He's always been drawn to the big questions of existence. He writes science fiction & fantasy stories, poetry, comedy sketches, and comics.

His works include Beyond the Looking Glass, a collection of thought-provoking fantasy stories, and Solitude and Other Obsessions, a poetry anthology exploring identity and purpose.

He's also inspired over 5,000 individuals through workshops and coaching, not to mention his award-winning podcast, Bhagavad Gita for the Creative Soul, where he applies timeless teachings to modern challenges like creative burnout and impostor syndrome.

Native New Yorker and Elgin Award winner, LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a member of the British Fantasy Society, HWA, SFPA, and The Dramatists Guild - - and a spooky Scorpio who loves Hallowe'en.

Current books:

“Messengers of the Macabre: Hallowe'en Poems,”

“Vampire Ventures,”

“Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems” [Wild Ink, October 1, 2024],

“Apprenticed to the Night” [UniVerse Press, 2024],

and “Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide” [Ukiyoto Publishing, 2024].

Tristan Buttigieg is a passionate poet, musician, singer-songwriter, and artist. His debut poetry collection, Have Nine Lives, explored the complexities of the human experience. In his follow-up collection, Pearlesque, Buttigieg delves deeper into themes of love, hope, loss, resilience, transformation, and self-discovery. With lyrical verses that blend beauty and raw emotion, Pearlesque invites readers on a journey of reflection and healing.As a multifaceted artist, Buttigieg’s work spans poetry, music, and visual art, reflecting his belief in the transformative power of creative expression. Central to his vision is the idea that art is open to interpretation, encouraging readers to bring their unique perspectives to his work.Tristan has been interviewed and mentioned in various media outlets, including the Bucks County Herald, 89.7 WDVR, and numerous podcasts, where his work has been celebrated for its emotional depth and creative authenticity. He has also performed his music and poetry across the Doylestown, New Hope, and Philadelphia areas, captivating audiences with his distinctive blend of genres and heartfelt performances.Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Patreon!

Rita S. Spalding has had poems published in 16 Calliope anthologies, National Library of Poetry, AX-POW Magazine, The Heartland Review, Kentucky Monthly Magazine, Keeping the Flame Alive, and her first book, Abstract Ribbons. Poetry will be featured in the 2024 Fallen anthology. A second book, The Eighth, is being published by Hydra Publishing, Pennington Press Division. She is currently working on a third book of poetry and a memoir.

She had poetry exhibited at the Main Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, and in a joint venture with the Kentucky Derby Museum, received awards for poetry from Jefferson Community and Technical College, Elizabethtown Community College, National Library of Poetry, and Kentucky Monthly Magazine.

She was a member of Women Who Write from 1995 through 2011 and served consecutively as secretary then director. During those years she taught poetry workshops, gave poetry performances, and mentored writers and poets. She also served as panelist for the Dorothy Clay Norton Fellowships at the Mary Anderson Center, assisted Carridder Jones with creating the first Kentucky Women’s Book Festival in 2006 and was on a Kentucky Poet Laureate nominating committee for poet laureate Maureen Morehead.

In 2023 Rita was a featured poet at the Calloway County Public Library Kentucky Author Celebration, and interviewed in podcast episodes #84 and #85 of the Never Too Late Cafe Bloom Where You are Planted series, where she talks about her poetry, and what motivates her in this amazing life. In 2024, Rita’s poem “Heart Food” was published in the February 2024 issue of Kentucky Monthly Magazine. She was a presenter at the Kentucky Writers Celebration in Danville and Historic Penn’s General Store in Gravel Switch, Kentucky, and gives poetry readings regionally on a regular basis.

Rita can be reached through Instagram as poet.ritaspalding.1 or on Facebook under the name Rita Spalding.

M.E Bayelsa is a writer, author and prolific public speaker with topnotch oratorial skills. He is a graduate with a First Class Hons in Biochemistry from the University of Africa, Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State in South-South, Nigeria.

Alshaad Kara is a Mauritian poet who writes from his heart.

He won first place for the Boney Cultural Center Valentine's Day Poetry Competition 2024 and was also a winner of the Flapper Press Poetry Café Valentine's 2024 Juliet Poetry Contest.

His latest poems were published in "Stygian Lepus", "Poetry for Mental Health", "The erozine", "100subtexts magazine" and "Missives".

He made his Flash Fiction debut in Stygian Lepus Edition 14.

Terje Theiss is the author of four books, exploring various facets of conflict resolution and prose.

In "Scenario Training," he imparts his wisdom on crafting effective teaching that caters to individual student needs, rooted in self-defense principles. "Kombatan Self Defense Training" offers a practical guide to conflict resolution within the martial arts world, specifically drawing from the Filipino martial art Kombatan. "Change" invites readers to reflect on the significance of small transformations the poepms that have small variations, while "Drops from the Night’s Gown" leads readers into the twilight's grey zones—"The clarity of unyielding mercy allows the night's luminous shadow to reveal both the fleeting nature of joy and the depths of sorrow."

Terje's work is marked by his profound commitment to aiding others. He is an inspiring leader and an invaluable resource for all who wish to master the art of conflict resolution.

*SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING for traumatic birth experiences and premature babies in NICU*

Whitnee Coy, from Lexington, Kentucky, now resides in South Dakota with her family and enjoys doing stick-poke tattoos with her husband.

An MFA graduate from the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University, she is pursuing an Ed.D in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership.

Whitnee is an award-winning poet & children's book author with three published poetry chapbooks (SD State Poetry Society, Finishing Line Press, & Alien Buddha Press) and one forthcoming (Finishing Line Press) in 2025.

She also published in 2024 her award-winning children’s book, "Elsie's Adventures to Brainy Cove," a social-emotional learning tale.

She is a professor at Oglala Lakota College, a tribal college on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

We're reading poems from "This deep, wide, dark world" and "A Limb Outgrowing a Weathered Tree"

Michael is a poet, writer and photographer from Magna, Utah where he lives with his wife and son and enjoys looking out on the Great Salt Lake every day.

He is the author ofRocky Mountain Reflections andGrasshoppers in the Field.

His writing has appeared in Blue Lake Review, The High Window, Seashores Haiku Journal, The Penwood Review and in anthologies at Pure Slush and Echoes of the Wild.

One of his poems is on the shortlist for The Letter Review Prize for Poetry and in the anthology of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival.

H.L. Dowless has been a writer for more than 30 years. He also enjoys traveling, writing, and living life on the edge.

"My name is Jacob Phillips. I am thirty three years old. I’m born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. I enjoy fishing, thrift stores, estate sales, vintage clothing and antiques. I love old items because I myself am an old soul. My friends call me papaw. I’ve been writing for about fifteen years now. I have never been published. It’s always been such a good outlet for me. I struggle with bi polar disorder. Writing is a great coping mechanism for me. I have recently just started to look into getting published. "

Ant Mac has been a poet/writer for over thirty years. He writes for both adults and children.

He has been published in a number of poetry magazines, journals and anthologies, including: The Coffee People, The Pavement magazine, Eclipse Lit, ANU, Open Door, The Wise Owl and The Space Cadet Review.

He has written two children's books: The Tale of Little Beakand Toby and Ben. He has also published two poetry collections: When Nature Calls: Sea, Air and Landand more recently, Down the Hatch: A Rhyming History of Drinks.

J. Matthew Giles (or Gillespie) is a Canadian/American author, artist and musician.

He has a BS in Language Arts and MS in Education, and he started his career with crayons and worked his way up to arts editor for the early midwestern literary newspapers: Sound and End Process.

When not teaching, he enjoys spending long evening in his studio with family and friends. He currently resides in Little Canada; or as most know it, St. Paul, MN.

Faiza Anum is a poet and occasional translator from Lahore, Pakistan.

Her work has appeared in RAFT Magazine, The Pinch Journal (US), Transnational Literature (Australia), Stoneboat Literary Journal (US), The Stonecoast Review (US), Essential Voices: A Covid-19 Anthology (West Virginia University Press), The Ghazal Page, Eastern Structures, and elsewhere.

Her poem “Travelling Tales” was a finalist for Open Road Review Poetry Prize 2015.

Tom Ward (often credited as Thomas Ward) is a writer living in Atlanta, GA in the Kirkwood neighborhood.

A major theme of his work is the deconstruction of faith, breaking free of evangelicalism, and mental health.

He wrote the screenplay for the independent film INTERNATIONAL FALLS starring Rachael Harris and Rob Huebel.

His first self-published collection of poetry, BICENTENNIAL BABY is available online at Barnes and Noble.

Tamer Said Mostafa (he/him/his) is a therapist, poet, and storyteller from Stockton, California.

His work has appeared in literary journals and magazines such as Guernica, Confrontation, Prairie Schooner, and Freezeray, among others.

Tamer is a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee, and a graduate of the Creative Writing program at University of California, Davis.

Come hear some poetry from this year's edition of the Talon Literary Journal! Read by members of the publication team. Poems read in this episode:

"Infested" by Lily Miller

"Trapped in My Bed" by Eleanor Manning

"What is Fear" by Alayna Nightingale

"Skin and Bones" by Maddie Barnes

"Unvisited Mentors" by Laurence Foshee

"Advanced Composition: by Kathleen Garrison

"In Cedar" by Liam McAlpin

"Gadu" by Paden Weavel

"From the Dirt" by Natalie Parker

Born and residing in Greece, she holds a degree in English Literature, has completed postgraduate studies in Ethics, and earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Her literary work includes poetry, prose, and theatrical plays that explore deep existential themes.

A.S. Coomer is a writer & musician. He was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel for his social & creative work. Books include BIRTH OF A MONSTER, THE FETISHISTS, SONGS FOR LEAVING, FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, SHINING THE LIGHT, MEMORABILIA, & many others.

He runs Lost, Long Gone, Forgotten Records, a "record label" for poetry.

Follow him at ascoomer.com

We're reading poems from Songs for Leaving, Flirting with Disaster, and Other Poems.

A.J. Brown is a southern-born writer who tells emotionally charged, character driven stories that often delve into the darker parts of the human psyche.  Though he writes mostly darker stories, he does so without unnecessary gore, coarse language, or sex. More than 200 of his stories have been published.

Karen Southall Watts, teaches, consults, and writes in North Carolina. Her works have been featured in multiple online publications as well as the North Carolina Bards Poetry Anthology 2023 and 2024, Gathering 2024, and Letters I’ll Never Send.

Karen is a three-time Pushcart nominee for poetry. Her poetry chapbook, Desire, Dreams and Dust was released in April of 2023.

Jenean McBrearty is a graduate of San Diego State University, who taught Political Science and Sociology, and received her Masters of Fine Art from Eastern Kentucky University in 2021.

Since 2006, her fiction, poetry, book reviews, and photographs have been published in over two-hundred sixty-five print and on-line journals.

She won the EKU Award for Graduate Creative Non-fiction in 2011 for her Creative non-fiction, Mexicali Mamas, and a Silver Pen Award in 2015 for her noir short story Red’s Not Your Color.

Her How-to book: Writing Beyond the Self: How to Write Creative Non-fiction that Gets Published, was published in 2018, and is now availableat Amazon.

Mary McCarthy is a retired Registered Nurse who has always been a writer.

Her work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including "The Ekphrastic World," edited by Lorette Luzajic, "The Plague Papers," edited by Robbi Nester, and recent issues of Gyroscope, 3rd Wednesday, Caustic Frolic, Inscribe, and Verse Virtual.

Her collection "How to Become Invisible," chronicles a bipolar journey and is now available from Kelsay books, amazon, and the author.

For forty years Paul Tait performed both as a band leader and as a singer/songwriter/pianist. He independently released a series of critically acclaimed recordings, including: "Pop Musician", "Television City", "I Still Believe", “Back In Business”, “Angels Of The City”, "Song to the Moon" “1975”, “Frenemies”, and “I Didn’t Quit I Surrendered”. All of his music is available online. As a poet Paul has published multiple volumes including "Stray Lines", "Markings in the Cave", “Pirate Conductor”, “Sand ‘n Ashes”, “Seven Centers”, “Boston Dialect, Volume One”, “Boston Dialect, Volume Two”, and “Pamphlet 2020 (as well as many unpublished volumes). All have been universally acclaimed and are available in the e-pub\Kindle format online. For more go to www.paultaittunes.com

Yichielle Devendra is a teacher. She loves travelling and has lived and worked in Asia and North America. She is constantly inspired by nature and animals. She has her home in Canada with her family and her cats. (Please forgive any mispronunciations)

Pat, a retired Christian teacher and member of SCBWI, has been writing poetry for many years. Her poems are featured in The Agape Review, The Clayjar Review, Pure in Heart Stories, The Way Back to Ourselves, the Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, Words of the Lamb and Vessels of Light. She is also regularly featured in the Southern Arizona Press Anthologies.

Pat is also a published contributor to the books, I Chose You, Rescue Dogs and their Humans, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned From My Dog and When Love Wags a Tale, Inspiring Stories of Love, Loyalty and Laughter. Her personal ministry is mailing weekly cards of encouragement to those going through difficult life struggles.

VIRAL GOR, widely known as VIRUS THE POET, is an award-winning Canadian poet and author of Poetry is Motion: Mind, Body & Soul who travels globally to perform on large stages throughout Toronto, Paris, London, San Francisco, Miami, NYC, and more.

He received a national award for his poem “Home,” which was later published by the Poetry Institute of Canada.

His poetry touches on universal themes of love, loss, and the human experience.

To learn more about this poet, visit his website or connect with him on social media.

To purchase a copy of Poetry Is Motion: Mind, Body & Soul, visit his Amazon Page.

Ean Teng Lim is a vegan lyricist who like to use poetry to bring awareness to the cause.

Donavan Barrier is a poet and writer from Michigan City, Indiana. His work has been published in The Polk Street Review, the Spill the Ink Poetry Zine and Pan-O-Ply Magazine. When not writing creatively, he works as a journalist for the La Porte County Herald-Dispatch.

*SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING FOR MENTIONS OF CHILD LOSS*

Wendy Wisner is the author of two books of poems, Epicenter and Morph and Bloom. Her third book, The New Life, will be published by Cornerstone Press/University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point, in fall 2024.

Wendy’s essays and poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Spoon River Review, The Washington Post, Lilith Magazine, and elsewhere.

To learn more, visit her website at www.wendywisner.com.

Leo Jade is a published author and poet living in Delaware, where she enjoys a fulfilling life with her partner and family.

She is the author of a collection of poetry titledA Bumble in the Trees and she also has a narrative featured in the upcoming book, Goodbye For Now: True Stories of Life, Love, and Loss. Her works often include themes of love, loss, and resilience, resonating deeply with readers.

Beyond writing, Tiffany cherishes traveling and spending time with her adult children and grandchild, finding inspiration and joy in their shared adventures and experiences.

Vibha S. Chauhan is the former Principal of Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. She taught English for over three decades at Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi. She is a translator, writer, critic, and cultural activist working in three languages, English, Hindi, and Bhojpuri. Her novel "Ganga Jamuna Beech" experiments with the Hindi language.

Mukut Borpujari is a graduate of English Literature and a Masters in Computer Application (MCA) degree holder. Based in Guwahati, Assam, INDIA, his has a plethora of poems published in top journals including The Canyon Voices Literary Magazine of the Arizona State University. He was also longlisted in this year's Erbacce-prize for poetry 2024. An active member of the Greenpeace Movement, he has a deep-rooted conviction about nature and the natural world. Apart from being an avid reader, his other hobbies include Computers the internet, and Driving.

Currently, he is working on publishing his first poetry collection.

Amy Black is a reading tutor, substitute teacher, homemaker, mentor, writer, and poet. She has two published works with Guthier publications.

Learn more about this author on her Facebook Page.

Lexie R. Kunz is a graduate of Utah State University with degrees in English and Communication Disorders. Lexie has been reading and daydreaming stories since she was 5 years old. She enjoys writing poetry and fiction. She has been published in Edify Fiction, Red Fez Magazine, and Peacock Journal.

Victoria Garcia is a creative writer and poet who resides in Panama City Beach, Florida. Her poem "Internal Mechanism of the Otherworldly" was published in Libre. Her poetry pursues the wilds of the conscious and subconscious and contends with the surreal, the existential, and the psychological.

Julie Brandon is a poet, playwright, storyteller, and lyricist. Her new poetry collection, "My Tears, Like Rain" is available on Amazon.

Julie's work has appeared in Bewildering Stories, Corner Bar Magazine, Awakenings Review, Poetica Magazine, Writing of Love During War: Poems anthology, Am Yisrael Chai anthologies vol. 1 and 2, Mini Plays Magazine, Of The Book Literary Journal and Fresh Words.

Several of her short plays and monologues have been produced locally and in Great Britain, and two short plays will be presented on podcasts later this year.

Francis Scott Key was born August 1, 1779, to an affluent family. He grew up on a plantation in what is now Carroll County, Maryland.

He graduated from St. John's College in 1796 and read law under his uncle, Phillip Key. In 1802, Francis Key married Mary Lloyd and had eleven children, which they raised in Georgetown.

In 1814, Francis Key and Colonel John Skinner dined aboard the HMS Tonnant- a British gunship- in hopes of pleading for the release of Dr. William Beanes. Beanes was captured and accused of aiding the detention of British stragglers who were ransacking homes for food.

Francis Key, Colonel Kinner, and Dr. Beanes were allowed to leave upon a truce ship, but they couldn't go ashore because they'd learned about the British plans to attack Baltimore. As a result, they could only watch as the British bombarded the American forces at Fort McHenry. The battle lasted 25 hours, but- on the dawn of September 14th, Francis saw a large American flag waving over the fort.

That inspired him to write a poem about his experiences on the back of a letter. He finished it a few days later in a room at the Indian Queen Hotel. His unsigned manuscript got printed as a broadside the next day under the title "Defence of Fort M'Henry”, with the notation: "Tune – Anacreon in Heaven".

It was then published in newspapers- first in Baltimore, and then across the nation- under the new title The Star-Spangled Banner. It was somewhat difficult to sing, yet it became increasingly popular and was finally adopted as the American national anthem in 1931, more than a century after its initial publication.

Aside from his unexpected fame, Francis Scott Key was a notable lawyer, a founding member and active leader of the American Colonization Society (ACS), and a devout Episcopalian. He is also the distant cousin of F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose full name is Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald.

Key died of lung inflammation- or pleurisy- on January 11, 1843. The Key Monument Association erected a memorial in 1898 and the remains of Francis Scott Key and his wife were placed in a crypt in the base of the monument.

We are reading from Poems of the late Francis S. Key, a collection of his poetry published in 1857.

Francis Barton Gummere was born March 6, 1855, in Burlington, New Jersey to Samuel James Gummere, the first president of the Haverford College- a school founded by his father, John Gummere.

In 1910, Francis Gummere published his translation of Beowulf, a book that is widely regarded as "the most successful attempt to render in modern English something similar to the alliterative pattern of the original"

Francis Gummere passed on May 30, 1919, in Haverford, Pennsylvania at 64. His cause of death is unknown.

During his life, Francis Gummere produced 9 original works and several translations that are still used today. We are reading excerpts from The Beginnings of Poetry, a book published in 1901 and available through the Gutenberg Project.

Patricia Walsh was born and raised in the parish of Mourneabbey, Co Cork, Ireland.  She has previously published a range of poetry in publications across Ireland, the UK, and the US, and one collection of poetry, Continuity Errors,  with Lapwing, and two novels, The Quest For Lost Éire, and In The Days of Ford Cortina, in 2013 and 2021 respectively.  She lives in Cork City. A further novel, Hell for Beginners, is scheduled for release in 2024.

Catherine Sipher is a writer, poet, and remote piano teacher at Blossom Piano Studio.

She is on a mission to empower women on their journeys of self-discovery and transformation by offering poetry and prose that gives voice to their struggles, celebrates their strength, and ignites their belief in their worth.

Outside of writing and teaching, she enjoys nature, practicing yoga, and spending time with her 6 children.

We are reading poems from Barely a Whisper: Poetry From the Heart of Woman Re-becoming.

Dr. Calpernia N. Charles is a native of Belize, Central America, and resides in Conyers, Georgia.

Dr. Charles is the author of seven children's books written in multiple languages, including Bed Time, Julie B and Me, Daddy's Nose and Toes, Sunday with Grandma Mae, Wondering Wanda, Lunch Dates with Lady Jay, and her most recent Todd the Frog.

She hopes that her books will inspire young readers to develop a love for reading and even encourage them to write their own stories.

By offering her books in different languages, she aims to reach young readers from various cultures and assist parents in preserving their language through reading.

Dr. Charles has been involved with Coffee House Writers since 2019 as a writer, editor, and poetry mentor. She contributed to Coffee House Writers' 2020 Anthology: Volumes 1 & 2.

View her profile at https://coffeehousewriters.com/author/calpernia-charles/

Binod Dawadi, author of The Power of Words, holds a Master's degree in English Literature and is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

And, with over a thousand anthology contributions, he hopes to enlighten society through his writing.

Binod is also deeply involved in digital photography and painting. His work has been showcased in prestigious exhibitions, including the International Art Festival in Korea in 2023.

Combining literary excellence with visual artistry, Binod is dedicated to societal transformation through creativity.

Solape Adetutu Adeyemi is a dedicated professional with a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology and a Master's in Environmental Management.

She is a passionate environmental sustainability enthusiast and a talented award-winning creative writer, with her works published in esteemed journals and magazines, including Writenow Literary Journal, TV Metro, Poetry Marathon Anthology, the Guardian newspaper, and the Indiana Review among others.

Beyond her professional life, Solape enjoys watching action movies and immersing herself in whale documentaries. She is a host, presenter, teacher, counsellor, voice-over artiste, script writer, poet, and movie subtitler. Her diverse interests reflect her curiosity about the world and her commitment to learning.

Solape is a member of the American Society of Microbiologists(ASM), the Association of Nigerian Authors, Lagos chapter(ANA), and Poets in Nigeria(PIN).

Currently, Solape serves as the Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors in Lagos, Nigeria, where she continues to contribute to the literary and cultural landscape of her community. Her dedication to both her professional career and her advocacy for environmental sustainability demonstrates her multifaceted talents and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the world.

Emily Farris is a current student at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing.

However, literature is Emily's life-long passion, and she hopes to publish her works someday.

We are reading from an unpublished collection, which she lovingly titled "A Mixtape Of Collected Personal Poetry."

*TRIGGER WARNING FOR MENTIONS OF SUICIDE*

Alshaad Kara is a Mauritian poet who writes from his heart.

He won first place in the Boney Cultural Center Valentine's Day Poetry Competition 2024 and was also a winner of the Flapper Press Poetry Café Valentine's 2024 Juliet Poetry Contest.

His latest poems were published in "Salt Pages", "Inner Child Press" and "Missives".