Present Poetry

Reagan Westerly is a gothic fiction writer and poet whose work explores the strange ways memory, desire, and survival reshape us.

Drawn to forgotten places, bodily transformations, and the uneasy space between beauty and ruin, she writes stories and poems where memory and desire become tangible, and the familiar rarely stays familiar for long.

Her work has appeared in Fluorescent Magazine, Apricus Literary Magazine, The Literature Garden, and The White Rabbit Magazine.

She is currently working on her debut collection of gothic short fiction.

Find her work at reaganwesterly.com

Anjetta (Anjie) Williams-Brown, is a Tennessee State University retiree after 22 years of service.

She self-published her first poetry book in 2022 and hosts three (3) open mic poetry programs, one (1) author/artist spotlight program, and one (1) talk show.

She has poems in anthologies and magazines.

Tom Formaro is a writer, drummer, and dad.

His debut poetry collection, Advice and Other Absurdities for My Daughter, was released by Bridge House Publishing in September 2026.

His work has appeared in several journals and websites including Janus Head, Indefinite Space, and Exacting Clam, and is forthcoming in BlazeVOX and Chewers by Masticadores.

He has also published a novel, The Broken Heart Diet, and a children's story (co-authored with his wife, Rachel Formaro), Alfonso the Christmas Pumpkin.

You can find him online at tformaro.com

Artemis Craig is a multidisciplinary author, poet, and screenwriter operating at the intersection of leadership, visual design, and narrative storytelling. A graduate of the University of Southern California with a B.F.A. in Screenwriting, Artemis masterfully blends cinematic pacing with the deep, evocative emotion of verse.Artemis is the author of the poetry collection Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst and the high-stakes thriller novel Value of Blood: The Price of Truth, both available on Amazon. Demonstrating a unique ability to bridge mediums, Artemis co-wrote the feature film Plus Size, adaptively translating one of their original poems into a central, standout scene.Deeply committed to fostering a creative community, Artemis serves as a co-host with her cousin Anjie Williams-Brown for the Inspired Poetry Corner, a vibrant open-mic platform where creatives gather to share their voices. Artemis runs an independent publishing platform and is currently crafting a second novel, the gripping thriller The Echo Protocol.

Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris lives in Southport, NC, with her WolfDog, Tala and Pomsky, Koda.

She is a published poet in Cameron Art Museum’s Writers Respond to Art Program.

She is a published author in Whisper’s & Echoes, 50 Give or Take by Vine Leaves Press for five stories, and in Visual Verse with her poem Mother Earth.

Gypsie-Ami is a current contributing author to Spillwords. Her short story, Conversations With My Neighbor is published in Trouble, by Daniel Boone Publishing.

Ami received Honorable Mention in Tales from the Moonlit Path 2021 their Halloween Issue for her short story, Abandoned Memories. More recently, her chapbook, “Reflection’s of a Woman’s Life,” was published by Prolific Pulse Press April 30, 2026.

Gypsie-Ami is a member of NCWN (North Carolina Writer’s Network), WWFN (Women Writer’s Fiction Network), CWWG (Coastal Women’s Writer’s Group), Living Poetry, Paul’s Poetry Playground and The Bards National/International Community.

William "Bill" Waldorf's love affair with poetry began with strict forms like sonnets. Currently he is focused on poems from daily life. He loves to show history has not changed us.

Waldorf’s latest book, 101 Stories of Love, invites his readers to explore myriad forms of love—from whispered intimacy to the poignant ache of absence, from shared laughter in a café to the isolation of being ignored.

The poet juggles poetic forms like sonnets, villanelles, and free verse transforming ordinary into a memorable experience

His previous book, Sonnets and More, explores various themes of love’s relationships. He continues to show many sides of love with his previous book, Ways of Love, Published by Prolific Pulse Press. His Draw of love was published by Ravens Quote Press, and he continues to appear in several other anthologies- recently appearing in New Jersey book of Bards.

His books are available where books are sold, i.e., Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

Bill resides in Hillsborough, New Jersey along with his wife

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 forthcoming Kanazawa 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!