Present Poetry

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, his Bandcamp , 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.