Present Poetry

*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 titled A 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.