Quintessential Poetry: A Global Poetry & Spoken Word Poetry Podcast

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Lydia Brown was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. When she was younger, she dreamed of becoming a singer. She grew up with humble beginnings on the southside with her mom and dad. Tragically, at the age of eleven, her father died of leukemia. Her mother was left alone to care for her. They had their ups and downs and struggles, but they loved each other.

As a teenager, she reached a point where she wanted to explore her surroundings and get away from the stresses of life. She ran away from home as a coping mechanism to deal with these issues. She found herself downtown, on the streets of Chicago. Over time, she began to like the area and slowly felt comfortable; this is where she indeed grew up a second time and learned to love herself.​

She panhandled to survive and met people from all walks of life. They looked out for her and tried to get her off the streets by providing a hotel room to sleep in, where she could be safe. She met many people that cared and truly wanted the best for her; her dreams were encouraged. Those people still have a special place in her heart, and she will always have fond memories of them for being there when she needed help.

She started writing at the age of 26. At first, she wrote for fun but soon discovered writing was therapeutic and provided an escape, carrying her away from everyday worries. She began to take writing more seriously, so she wrote more and saved her work.

https://awritersmind21.wixsite.com/my-site

https://www.instagram.com/authorlydiabrown/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087518989529

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Kwame Sound Daniels is a black trans, disabled fiber and traditional artist based out of Maryland, USA. Xe are currently pursuing an MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Xir first book, Light Spun, is out with Perennial Press as of August of last year. the pause and the breath was released with Atmosphere Press January 25th of this year. Xe like to learn plant medicine and learn digital art in xir spare time.

https://www.kwamesounddaniels.com/

https://www.instagram.com/the.okra.winfrey/

https://atmospherepress.com/books/the-pause-and-the-breath-by-kwame-sound-daniels/

https://www.amazon.sg/pause-breath-Kwame-Sound-Daniels/dp/1639884122

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Poetic Hummingbird (Pam Hasan) is a passionate, inspirational poet. Writing poetry gives her a sense of self and freedom. Expressing her thoughts through poetry allows her to bleed her emotions on paper and heal from the darkest places that life can take you. Poetic Hummingbird (Pam Hasan) poetically weaves words together to encourage her readers to pause and reflect on their experiences with love, grief, abuse, self-worth, and pain. Poetic Hummingbird hopes her poetry inspires others and gives them a second chance at changing the narrative and understanding new perspectives. She believes, "If you don't know who you are, other people's opinions of you will leave you scarred."

Poetic Hummingbird (Pam Hasan) holds a master's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources Management. Poetic Hummingbird (Pam Hasan) is a creative spirit. She uses innovative thinking to create unique businesses that solve everyday problems. With a  passion for entrepreneurship, she is the founder of Widows Closets, Sisterhood In Solidarity, and Agape Inspires. With poetry being her 1st language, she also incorporates it into business. When Poetic Hummingbird (Pam Hasan) is not busy reading or writing poetry, she can be found watching beautiful sunsets with her fiance.'

Are you in need of a daily jolt of positivity? Follow Poetic Hummingbird on Facebook or Instagram, where she spreads messages about self-love and positivity through poetry. Follow Poetic Hummingbird and connect with her through poetry.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poetichummingbirdpoetry

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poetichummingbirdpoetry

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@poetichummingbirdpoetry

Website: http://www.poetichummingbirdpoetry.com

"When the pain cuts deep, I bleed my emotions through poetry."

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Donna Spruijt-Metz is a poet, a psychology professor, and a recent MacDowell Fellow. Her first career was as a classical flutist. She lived in the Netherlands for 22 years and translates Dutch poetry to English. Her poetry and translations appear in Copper Nickel, RHINO, Poetry Northwest, the Tahoma Literary Review, the Inflectionist Review, and elsewhere. Her chapbooks are ‘Slippery Surfaces’ (Finishing Line Press) and ‘And Haunt the World’ (a collaboration with Flower Conroy, Ghost City Press). Her full length ‘General Release from the Beginning of the World’ is forthcoming (January 2023, Free Verse Editions). [Author photo credit Alexis Rhone Fancher]

Amazon.com: General Release from the Beginning of the World: 9781643173511: Spruijt-Metz, Donna: Books

https://www.donnasmetz.com/

https://www.instagram.com/donnasmetz/

https://twitter.com/DSMPoet

https://www.facebook.com/Donnasmetz/

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Christy Sawyer is an educator and a writer, who lives in Maryland. She was a shy girl who discovered she could

use her pen to give voice to her thoughts. As she began to answer the call to pick up the mic, she gathered the

strength to tell her story and the stories of the unvoiced.

She is excited to publish her first book in 2023: A Delicate Rose with Thorns. A book about the mundane, magnificent, and all things in between shared in six word stories, haikus and free verse. Ms. Sawyer is a winner of The Haiku Guys’ 2019 National Poetry Month Contest and a member of a myriad of poetry groups, including the Quintessential Listening Poetry Group.

As a native of Natchitoches (Na-kuh-tish) Louisiana, Christy‘s writings are often infused with the rich gumbo of the region. Her simple introduction:

I am from Earnest

I am from Sadie

I am from go upside dey head

I am from act like a lady

I am from Daddy’s Girl

I am from Mama’s Baby

I am from Earnest

I am from Sadie

© 2022

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Nicholas Michael Ravnikar put the overt in overthinking. He is the originator of the new, obsessive poetic form called the Polish octave. He has self-published two collections of poetry, "Imaginary Friends" in July 2022 and "Three Dirty Sunsets" on December 1, 2022. He challenged himself to release four free full-length poetry collections during the month of January and hopes to keep up a frenzied pace leading up to the release of a complete book of Polish Octaves in 2023. Moria Press published and mailed a hard copy of his long poem, "Liberal Elite Media Rag. SAD!" to the White House for inclusion in the presidential library. His poems have appeared in venues like Sawbuck, Otoliths, BlazeVox, and more recently in Black Stone on a White Stone and Superpresent. His book reviews have appeared at New Pages.com. In addition, he has also started Paper::Knives poetry projects, the latest incarnation of small press publishing efforts, with the mission of increasing public analysis, interpretation, and critique of poetry. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Poetics and taught for 9 years as a college professor after moonlighting as a video producer and nonprofit arts facilitator until leaving a full-time liberal arts lectureship at a state university in order to repair bathtubs. Living with Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD and Dysthymia-Persistent depression, he has been sober since 2011 and raises two children with his spouse in Racine, WI. Download his books for free at or bio.fm/nicholasmichaelravnikar or submit your work for publication by Paper::Knives at www.paperknives.art

Amazon.com: Imaginary Friends: Poems eBook : Ravnikar, Nicholas : Books

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JULIAN MATTHEWS is a writer expressing himself in the pandemic through poetry, short stories and essays. He is published in The American Journal of Poetry, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, The New Verse News, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Live Encounters, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia. More of his recent work can be found below:

https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews and here https://trinetizen.com/poetry and his Paypal account is [email protected]

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Arshagra is an autodidact raised in his grandfather Arshag’s garden. Arshag, an Armenian genocide survivor, taught him profound attitudes of benevolence: no hate, no enemy, no blame and no vengeance. He spent many years in Boston and Cambridge – urban areas that nourish the voices of emerging poets and encourage free speech as a common language, free of social and cultural dichotomies. His journey of transcendence drew strength from the improvisational movement and healing arts, and constantly renews itself with profound commitment to indivisible love. In more recent years, his writing has been complemented by work on websites that serve free speech and humanitarian goals. Recognized as one of the most dedicated poets on the open microphone circuit, C.C. Arshagra received a Boston award for participating in the most open mikes in 2000. He is the author of Emotional Geography, Poems, Scared Sacred, Death of an Ego, What Manner of Character, and without returning to publishing he has not stopped writing for 20 years, including lyrics, YA and works for children. He founded the poetry art band Funk Physics, and is a veteran of both the improvisational movement arts and improvising live to jazz with the Jeff Robinson Trio with bassist Blake Newman, Ken Field’s Board of Education and Michael Caglianone’s Zen Bastards. His live improvisations include ID Poems, “inkless dialogue” work that exists in sound form only. He also has produced many radio and video shows for broadcast, including Stone Soup Poetry, The I Do Not Know Show and other eclectic A/V art projects. Arshagra walks the walk, speaks soul to soul and is humbled by life as an artist. His canvas of creativity is expansive and his favorite mantra is “Love is not afraid.”

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Fran Abrams’ poems have been published online and in print in Delmarva Review, The American Journal of Poetry, The Raven’s Perch, Gargoyle 74, and other journals, and in over a dozen anthologies. In 2019, she read at Houston (TX) Poetry Fest and at DiVerse Gaithersburg (MD) Poetry Series. In December 2021, she won the Washington Writers Publishing House Winter Poetry Prize. Her autobiographical book of poems titled “I Rode the Second Wave: A Feminist Memoir,” was released in November 2022. Her chapbook, “The Poet Who Loves Pythagoras,” (Finishing Line Press) will be released in March 2023. Please visit franabramspoetry.com.

I Rode the Second Wave: A Feminist Memoir is an autobiographical story told in poetry through the eyes of a woman whose life paralleled the second wave of feminism, a movement that began in the 1960’s and focused on equal opportunities and equal pay for women.

Placing her story in the context of women’s marches and feminist goals, the author tells how she grew up in a world that expected women to become homemakers and how she combined her desire for a professional career with marriage and motherhood at a time when mothers with careers were just starting to be accepted in our culture.

I Rode the Second Wave: A Feminist Memoir: Abrams, Fran: 9781639886548: Amazon.com: Books

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Deelynn Leigh was born in South Boston, Virginia, and grew up with her family in Carson City, Nevada. As a young girl, she engulfed her life with athletics and outdoor activities. For relaxation, she found her gift for writing while creating short stories. In grade school, she wrote her first haiku poem, which ignited her love for poetry and the ability to utilize words and strategic rhythms to express herself. 

Throughout the course of her life, she shared her poetry through spoken word opportunities from private to public stages and published independent works across various poetic volumes. Deelynn attended George Mason University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and English with a concentration in Poetry. Immediately following, she obtained her Master of Arts degree in Religious Education from Liberty University.

Deelynn is very passionate about her faith in God through Jesus Christ and seeks to create poetry that glorifies God and encourages others. Her purpose in life is to spread the Word of God to all, striving to do this effectively through her written words. Her poems are a testimony of God’s love, His mercy, and His grace. One of her most motivated scriptures is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to make you prosper and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.” 

She is published in various magazines and poetic collections. She has written one book, 

Lift Up: Inspirational Poems & Devotions and her new book, Reverence, will be published in January 2023. 

https://instagram.com/deepoeticleigh

https://facebook.com/deelynnleigh