Quintessential Poetry: Online Radio, YouTube and Zoom

Poetry has been a means of expressing humanity's spirituality since ancient times. As a non-material and immeasurable concept, spirituality is often considered something beyond our grasp but still offers hope. Countless definitions address its most profound guiding aspects and many forms and styles. Although spirituality is defined differently by each person, reading and writing poems that explore spirituality can enhance both short- and long-term life experiences. For many, understanding life's vicissitudes is not always easy. The world is chockful of good, bad, and ugly things—many of which lead to challenging stressors for women.

Women often have to contend with patriarchal attitudes, gender bias, domestic violence, low salaries, poor educational opportunities, inadequate healthcare, disrespect toward caregivers, and the expectation of balancing career and motherhood. Every day, women face a variety of challenges. Black women's experiences are particularly unique. Racism, discrimination, and oppression are also common issues Black women face. Thus, the intersection of race and gender creates even more significant challenges.

Black gospel music legend Clara Ward (1941) composed and sang "How I Got Over," one of Black gospel music's most iconic songs. Mahalia Jackson (1961) and Aretha Franklin (1972) have also performed versions of the song that have been praised. This song celebrates God's love as a means of victory over earthly struggles and challenges. In this program, four Black women poets will share poetry that addresses "How I Got Over" from their deep spiritual convictions and struggles to succeed and thrive in an often unwelcoming world. Noted poets and authors Minister Michelle Carter- Douglas, Sylvia "Ladi Di" Beverly, Deelynn Leigh, and Elder Latoiya Whipple will read their work.

Skaja Evens is a writer and artist living in Southeast Virginia. She edits It Takes All Kinds, a litzine published by Mōtus Audāx Press. She’s been published in Spillwords Press, The Dope Fiend Daily, The Rye Whiskey Review, Medusa's Kitchen, Synchronized Chaos, Blue Pepper, Ink Pantry, Off The Coast, Black Shamrock, and The Crossroads Lit Magazine. She often listens to music, considers the impossible, and enjoys her cats’ antics.

Nayma Chamchoun is a British Moroccan, a self taught writer and poet. Her writing is influenced by her cultural duality. She is interested in female voices in the diaspora community, the challenges they face within both communities and the taboos around mental health within their ancestral communities.

She is an active member of british & international poetry community. Her published poetry collection  COVID: THE WORDY WILDS OF A MIND UNDER LOCKDOWN is a cultural fusion poetry collection which explores themes of identity, duality, displacement, loss, race, feminism, culture, family, love and the search for inner peace as experienced alongside the effects of mental health, menopause, the pandemic and world events.

https://www.amazon.com/Covid-Wordy-Wilds-Under-Lockdown/dp/1869848314/ref=sr_1_4?qid=1664579796&refinements=p_n_publication_date%3A1250228011&s=books&sr=1-4

https://www.facebook.com/N.Chamchoun

https://twitter.com/NChamchoun

https://www.instagram.com/n.chamchoun/

Wyatt Welch grew up on the Interstates after being kidnapped by their father, a troubled veteran of the Vietnam War. A Floridian and long-time Tucsonan, questioning the boundaries of Self and the State has been the work of their recent poetry, alongside other poetic concerns such as living gay/transgender in the United States.

Welch earned their MA in Linguistics from the University of Florida and has been published in various journals.

Their debut book of poetry, Capitalism Calls Poetry Lazy, was released in 2022 by FlowerSong Press.

https://wyattwelch.org/

Amazon.com: Capitalism Calls Poetry Lazy: 9781953447586: Welch, Wyatt: Books

https://www.instagram.com/poetrywyattwelch/

Bill Cushing lived in various states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico before moving to California where he resides with his wife and their son. Returning to college after serving in the Navy and working on ships, he was called the “blue collar poet” by his peers at the University of Central Florida. He later earned an MFA from Goddard College. Published in journals and anthologies, online and in print, Bill has four complete collections; his first book, A Former Life, was honored by a Kops-Fetherling International Book Award; Music Speaks won Spectrum’s San Gabriel Valley chapbook award in 2019 and a New York City Book Award in 2021. His last chapbook , . . .this just in. . ., combines selected writings with visual art. Bill’s new book, Just a Little Cage of Bone, was released by Southern Arizona Press in February.

Just a Little Cage of Bone: Collected Poems: Cushing, Bill, Gilliland, Paul: 9781960038104: Amazon.com: Books

Desiree Batiste is a newly emerging published poet and author. She has been writing poetry since she was 9 years old, when she was first published in a small locally distributed newspaper for children. She had one of her poems published in Poetry.com's "Best Poems and Poets of 2003" compilation. Her goal is to become a full-time author, focusing on the genres of poetry, psychological thriller fiction and the finalization of her autobiography. She also hopes to take a story she wrote when she was a child, and refine it into a children's book that they would be delighted to read. She was inspired to start writing poetry regularly just before a dark time in her life, and continued to write and create poems throughout that time and forward through the last 27 years. She has survived child abuse, a suicide attempt, multiple domestic violence relationships and the passing of her father...and walked away from all of it stronger. She was told by many professors in college that she was destined to be a writer and had the gift of the written word. She graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelors of Science in Technical Management with Criminal Justice specialization in October of 2020. Desiree is a life-long native of Arizona, and currently lives in Buckeye. She lives with her husband, Michael, her daughter Kaylee and their 3 cats. She enjoys writing, and uses it as her primary form of emotional expression. Poetry should be as much of a stress reliever for the reader as it is a stress release for the writer. Desiree also enjoys singing, dancing, playing the drums, keyboard and guitar. Her one hope as she builds her writing career is that she can achieve a true human connection with her readers that profoundly affects them in a positive way. Desiree feels that to uplift, inspire, enlighten and entertain are some of the best things which authors are privileged enough to share with the world.

Stephen Roxborough is a native New Yorker transplanted to the Pacific Northwest via Colombia SA, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, British Columbia, Wisconsin, Ontario, Nevada, Florida, Missouri, and many points in-between. Rox is the author of five full-length poetry collections, a dozen chapbooks, and two CDs. His most recent CD, Poetica Dystopia, released this year, is a collaboration with indie legend musician Karl Blau. Most of the tracks were taken from his 2020 collection entitled I Feel Your Doughnut Pain. He’s a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Canadian and British swimming champion, solo cross-Canada 10-speed bicycle tourist, world traveler, fern whisperer, vegetarian, and meditating optimist who celebrates the Art Life in some way everyday. Currently, Rox is also an Editor and Creative Director for NeoPoiesis Press, an independent small publisher. He lives on an island in Puget Sound in a basement loft surrounded by art, books, music, Afghani carpets, and piles of paper he’ll one day organize or recycle. Please visit:

https://www.stephenroxborough.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6waMyJeQXns&list=RDMM6waMyJeQXns&start_radio=1

https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Your-Doughnut-over-counter/dp/0578663392/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22XNVLLRPN4NK&keywords=stephen+roxborough&qid=1681320504&sprefix=stephen+roxbor%2Caps%2C927&sr=8-1

Catherine Vaughan is a British Poet based in England and the author of the poetry book Bohemian Love. She has performed poetry at The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literary Festival and Brooklyn Poets. Catherine has also read for online poetry events such as Cobalt Poets in LA, New York Public Library, and Lime Square Poets in Ireland. Lovers in Paris, her next poetry book, will be released later this year. Catherine is also working on a novel called Welcome to Wonderland.

https://www.amazon.com/Bohemian-Love-Catherine-Vaughan/dp/0993408923

Fareh Malik is a BIPOC artist from Hamilton, Ontario, as well as a seasoned spoken word poet and established author. Fareh was named the 2022 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award winner. He was also the winner of Hamilton Art’s Shirley Elford Prize, The 2022 October Project Poetry Award, and MH Canada's 2020 Poetry Contest. Fareh's debut book Streams That Lead Somewhere was published in 2022 with Mawenzi House Publishers. Fareh was named a finalist for the 2021 Best of the Net anthology, and was honoured with the 2021 Garden Project grant to explore interdisciplinary work. His individual works have been published by literary presses all around the world. Fareh’s work has been described as critical, yet sanguine; poetry that often explores the intersection of racialization and mental illness, while maintaining a silver lining on its horizon. He loves to tell the story of his struggle, and of his community around him, in the hope that others can find inspiration and companionship in it. Fareh is currently a poet and author, working on his second collection.

https://www.amazon.com/Streams-that-Somewhere-Fareh-Malik/dp/177415076X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1681004313&sr=8-1

David Leo Sirois is a Canadian-American poet published 142 times, in 24 countries. His work has been translated into 12 languages (Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, French, German, Czech, Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Chinese, Turkish, & Doric). He hosts Spoken World Online, the Zoom continuation of SpokenWord Paris. His first collection is called Humbledoves (poems to pigeons & plants). He won Third Prize in Winning Writers' Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. Sirois is a member of the Academy of American Poets, & the Writers International Capital Foundation, & has been honored for his “contribution to world literature” by The Fertile Brains, a renowned literary group in India. His poetry has appeared in journals such as The Bombay Review, The Poetry Village, One Hand Clapping, Indian Periodical, The Sunday Tribune Online, THE BASTILLE, the Madras Courier, & Terre à Cièl (which also published his translations from the French). David is often featured at global events, such as the Panorama International Literature Festival, & 100 Thousand Poets for Change, as well as in many international podcasts & interviews. He is also a singer/songwriter, radio DJ, & a film/TV/theater actor. He is currently submitting 5 finished manuscripts for publication, & writing several more.

https://www.amazon.com/humbledoves-David-Leo-Sirois/dp/1777437911/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1680733828&sr=8-1