Quintessential Poetry: A Global Poetry & Spoken Word Poetry Podcast

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Lynne Spigelmire Viti was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a lecturer emerita in the Writing Program at Wellesley College. A graduate of Mercy High School in Baltimore, she attended the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and received her B.A.cum laude in English Literature from Barnard College. After teaching high school English for several years in Stamford, Connecticut and Brookline, Massachusetts, she earned her Ph.D. and J.D. from Boston College.Viti has authored numerous academic articles on legal topics, composition theory and, literature and media. Her first chapbook, Baltimore Girls, was published in March, 2017, and her second collection, The Glamorganshire Bible, in 2018 (both from Finishing Line Press). She is also the author of a poetry microchapbook, (Origami Poems Project 2017). Her poetry, nonfiction and fiction has appeared in over a hundred online and print journals and anthologies, including The Wire: Urban Decay and American Television (2009),The Baltimore Sun,Amuse-Bouche, The Paterson Review, The Little Patuxent Review, Drunk Monkeys, Cultured Vultures, Incandescent Mind and Right Hand Pointing. She won Honorable Mentions in the 2015 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest, the 2017 Joe Gouveia Poetry Contest,and the 2015 Glimmer Train Short Fiction Contest.

She has read her work at Gallery 55 (Natick), MA; Mass. Poetry Festival; Bird-in-Hand /Ivy Bookshop Baltimore, MD; Little Patuxent Review; Book Culture Bookstore, NY, NY; Boston Public Library; Westwood, MA Public Library; Wellfleet, MA Public Library; Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT; Mercy High School, Baltimore, MD; Enoch Pratt Library, Baltimore, MD; Dover, MA Public Library; New England Mobile Book Fair, Newton, MA; Wellesley College; Old Frog Pond Farm Plein Air Poetry, Harvard, MA; Charlestown Retirement Community (Catonsville, MD); Louisburg Cottages, CountyMayo, Ireland.

She blogs at

stillinschool.wordpress.com

.

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Bill Cushing lived in various states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico before moving to California. As an undergrad, he was called the “blue collar” poet by classmates at the University of Central Florida because of his years in the Navy and later as an electrician on oil tankers, fishing boats, and other naval vessels before returning to college at 37. Earning an MFA in writing from Goddard College in Vermont, he now teaches at East Los Angeles and Mt. San Antonio colleges.

Bill has been published in various literary journals, magazines, and newspapers, including The San Juan Star and the Florida Times-Union. His short stories have appeared in Borfski Press, Newtown Literary Journal and Sediments. Bill’s poetry has been in numerous journals, both in print and online, including Avocet, Brownstone Review, Glomag, Mayo Review, Penumbra, Poetry Nook, Spectrum, The Song Is. . ., and West Trade Review. He had poems (one a Pushcart Prize nominee) in both volumes of the award-winning Stories of Music. In 2017, Bill was named as one of the Top Ten Poets of L.A., and this year Spectrum Publishing named him as one of the “ten poets to watch” in Los Angeles.

When not teaching or writing, Bill facilitates a writing workshop in Eagle Rock, California (part of the 9 Bridges Writing Community). He also performs with a musician in a project called “Notes and Letters,” a project that is available online through both Facebook and youtube. He is now in the pre-publication stages for a full-length volume of poems with Finishing Line Press, scheduled for release in mid-2019. That book is tentatively titled A Former Life

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A.S. Coomer is a writer and musician. His work has appeared in over fifty literary magazine, journals, & the like. Novels include Rush's Deal, The Fetishists, Shining the Light, & The Devil's Gospel (forthcoming). He runs Lost, Long Gone, Forgotten Records, a "record label" for poetry. He co-edits Cocklebur Press, an independent micro-press for poetry. Five of his original compositions, as recorded live with cellist Sara Gibson, are featured in the Museum of Americana's American Songbook. His poem, I'm not sure how I feel about the sound, won the 2016/17 Thelma Prize, which was judged by Catfish McDaris. He's been nominated for a Pushcart Prize three times. www.ascoomer.com

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Marianne Szlyk is a professor of English and Reading at Montgomery College and was a member of the DC Poetry Project.  She also edits The Song Is... a blog-zine for poetry and prose inspired by music (especially jazz), and she belongs to the DC Poetry Spot and the DC Poetry Magic Theater.  This summer she and her husband started It Takes A Community! Poetry Workshop at Montgomery College Rockville.  Her first chapbook, Listening to Electric Cambodia, Looking up at Trees of Heaven, is available online at Kind of a Hurricane Press.  Her second chapbook, I Dream of Empathy, is available on Amazon.  Her poems have appeared in Scarlet Leaf Review, of/with, bird's thumb, Cactifur, Mad Swirl, Setu, Solidago, Red Bird Chapbook's Weekly Read, and Resurrection of a Sunflower, an anthology of work responding to Vincent Van Gogh's art.  Her full-length book, On the Other Side of the Window, is now available from Pski's Porch and Amazon.  She invites you to stop by her blog-zine and perhaps even submit some poems:  http://thesongis.blogspot.com

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The mission of the Quintessential Listening: Poetry (QL: P) Blogtalk Radio Show is to provide a forum for poets and spoken word artists opportunities to showcase their work or the work of others. Poems of all different types, genres, as well as themes are welcome. The live episode will be beamed to an international audience.  If you would like to be a guest on QL: P, please email Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram (host) at [email protected] or call (202)-540-0327 for more information. The podcast of the show will also air on other streaming networks.

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QL:P Special Guest: Avis D. Matthews 

The constant themes of my life have been family, music, and words.

I am the second of four children and part of two pretty large, close-knit families who are several generations deep in the African-American communities of Prince George’s County, Maryland. My early exposure to, and love of, poetry came partly through songs – the hymns I heard in church; the popular songs played on the radio; as well as the collection of jazz, sacred, R&B, and musical theater recordings my parents had in our home.

There were always books at home, including old textbooks, the World Book encyclopedia, some African-American biographies, and -- the one that stands out in my memory -- the Book of American Negro Poetry, which was edited by James Weldon Johnson and first published in 1922. I had learned about some of these poets during Negro History Week in school, so the book had an aura of importance to it. I imagined it contained not only the thought of great black writers but also the history that was important to our people. That book also gave me the notion that poetry was a serious thing.

I took a poetry class in high school and probably wrote my first poem in college. After college, I began a career in public libraries, and, surrounded by books, book-loving people, and writers, I was motivated to write more often, although still mostly in my head, but also on napkins, receipts, or wherever there was a scrap of paper. Even today, I write more poetry in my head than anything else. Although I've yet to develop the discipline or courage to write and share my poems more regularly and widely, I'm happy to have published a few poems on my blog -- http://write-sing-laugh.blogspot.com. My poems also have been featured on "The Song Is," a poetry blogzine published by poet and teacher Marianne Szylk. Two of my poems have been contest winners on this blog.

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The mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry is to provide a forum to examine topical events and contemporary issues through the power of poetry. The live format offers poets and spoken word artists opportunities to showcase their own poetry and/or the works of others. The program also serves as a safe space for artists, to give voice as well as bear witness to the social, cultural, racial, political, health, global, gender, economic and environmental issues that affect all of our lives. Special Guest: Jerry Brunoe. 

Bio:

Jerry Brunoe, a Wasco, was raised on the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. He attended Oregon State University briefly and sporadically. His poetry has appeared in multiple literary magazines. He pretends to know what is doing at Toe Good.

Toe Good:

www.toegood.com

Toe Good publishes artists dedicated to their craft and seeks work from underrepresented artists of all genres.

Music by Kevin MacLeod and Lino Rise

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

The mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry is to provide a forum to examine topical events and contemporary issues through the power of poetry. Hosted by Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram, the live format offers poets and spoken word artists opportunities to showcase their own poetry and/or the works of others, and give voice as well as bear witness to the social, cultural, racial, political, health, global, gender, economic and environmental issues that affect all of our lives. Special guest will be noted poet: Dominique Jones aka Xenameir. 

Dominique Jones is renaissance artist from Rochester, MN who avidly performs in theatre, poetry, dance, and music. He has been writing poetry

for about ten years and in that time has won two local poetry slams and was published in an anthology in 2009. He also has had the opportunity to share

his poems of growth, resilience, and perspective with audiences of both youth and adults alike.

Music by Kevin MacLeod, Lino Rise, Longzihun and Jessica Yip

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

The mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry is to provide a forum to examine topical events and contemporary issues through the power of poetry. Hosted by Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram, the live format offers poets and spoken word artists opportunities to showcase their own poetry and/or the works of others, and give voice as well as bear witness to the social, cultural, racial, political, health, global, gender, economic and environmental issues that affect all of our lives. Special guest will be acclaimed poet and activist Luis Fermin.  

 

Luis was born in Pensacola, FL, March 25, 1987, to a White-American mother and a Dominican father. They divorced when he was 2 years old. Subsequently, he and his mom moved back to the United States. His creative writing actually started in elementary school, where artistic expression was strongly encouraged. There he remembers writing several short stories (generally about himself and his friends having superpowers and fighting bad guys) and developing a comedic comic book series. In middle school, he came up with a few ideas for sci-fi novels but never got past writing the first couple of paragraphs for any of them. From there on, his creative writing pretty much went dormant. It wasn't until he was around 20 years old that he started writing creatively again, this time with the desire to work towards becoming a professional rapper. Luis’ unique performance style is the culmination of all of his experiences. He is unparalleled in terms of memorization, rhythmic technique, and delivery. In fact, his vocal energy is magnetic. As a spoken word artist, Luis Fermin holds nothing back and instead give everything to his audience. He is an active member of the Guerilla Poetry Insurgency (http://www.onecommonunity.org/causes/dc-guerrilla-poetry-insurgency).

Music:

Lino Rise,

Longzihun and Jessica Yip 

Kevin Macleod