Quintessential Poetry: Online Radio, YouTube and Zoom

Gregory Luce is the author of the chapbooks Signs of Small Grace (Pudding House Publications) and Drinking Weather (Finishing Line Press), the collection Memory and Desire (Sweatshoppe Publications), and the chapbook Tile, (Finishing Line). His poems have appeared in numerous print and online journals, including Kansas Quarterly, Cimarron Review, Innisfree Poetry Review, Northern Virginia Review, Foundling Review, MiPOesias, Little Patuxent Review, Words Dance, Rising Tide Review, Wordgathering, Faircloth Review, Broadkill Review, Bourgeon, Deaf Poets Society, Maryland Poetry Review, Mile Nine, and in the anthologies Living in Storms (Eastern Washington University Press), Bigger Than They Appear (Accents Publishing), and Unrequited: An Anthology of Love Poems about Inanimate Objects. In 2014, he was awarded the Larry Neal Award for adult poetry by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He is retired from the National Geographic Society, volunteers as a writing tutor/mentor for 826DC, and lives in Arlington, VA.

I grew up partly in central California—where I still have family --and partly in Pittsburgh—where I had my first fantastic poetry teacher. I’ve lived in the Washington, DC area, my chosen home, for most of my life. Studying poetry at George Mason University, where I got my MFA around 1990, was a joyful experience of immersion in writing. In 1992, my first book of poetry Only The Raw Hands Are Heaven won the Washington Writers Publishing House competition, bringing me into another writing community. My other books are In Yolo County and She Was a Cathedral, a collection of poems about remarkable women (Finishing Line Press). My poetry, fiction, book reviews, articles, and interviews have been published in Virginia Quarterly Review, Poet Lore, Colorado Review, Potomac Review, Grist, Sojourners, and many other magazines, and anthologies, and I’m a former poetry editor of Phoebe magazine. I now work as an editor with Educational Leadership magazine.

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. First broadcast on 6/11/2018.

 

The primary mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry is to provide a live format for poets to showcase their work. Whether traditional poetry or spoken word, the show offers an online vehicle for artists to engage in critical dialogue and discussion about poetry. T

 

 

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

Brianna strongly believes that the most effective leadership is through service, getting to know people on a profound level and recognizing humanity in everyone. Poetry for Brianna is a tool to hold a mirror to society, and to herself, to show not what is right or wrong, but what is - and let the people determine what they feel are injustices. Poetry is also a medicine for whenever her soul hurts and needs to heal, or whenever she wishes to heal others. Currently, she works at IH as a creative data analyst, primarily working in Python to automate the data infrastructure. She volunteers as a Python Lead for Women Who Code DC to empower women in the tech industry, and as a Tech Instructor for Black Girls Code to inspire youth of color to be curious and excited about more inclusive technology. She also teaches modern dance at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop to encourage youth to strengthen their creative movement and expression, and she does open mics to listen to the community, and to keep herself centered and sane.

John Patrick Robbins is the editor of The Rye Whiskey Review, Under The Bleachers and Drinkers Only. He is also the author of three books. Smoking At The Gas Pumps and Once Upon A Nervous Breakdown from Soma Publishing. Sex Drugs & Poetry from Whiskey City Press.

His publications include:

Ariel Chart, Mojave River Review, San Pedro River Review, Red Fez, Piker Press, Punk Noir Magazine, Angry Old Man Magazine, Horror Sleaze Trash, The Dope Fiend Daily, Outlaw Poetry Network, Five Two Poetry, Blue Pepper, Blognostics, Romingos Porch.

He is also a co-host of Guest Haus with Mark Antony Rossi. On the Strength To Be Human Podcast.

His work is always unfiltered.

Aaron R., also known as - Aaron R The Poet - writes poetry and also produces and directs short poem films. Poetry is a way to express real-life situations in a way that all people can relate to using a myriad of topics. Aaron R was the winner of first ever World Food Day poetry competition organized by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Aaron R has also had poems featured in books on social justice. Aaron R also has a book Poetically Correct Volume 1 available on Amazon.com and iTunes. Aaron can be reached at aaronRpoems.com.

J.Swann aka Blackswann and is a Rap Artist/Poet from Baltimore MD. He's been doing music for years, performing out of state in different cities. Not too long ago, he won a Caribbean open mic contest in Philadelphia. And right now he is working on his BlackSwann album which will be available in early April.

Rebecca, a Louisiana native, is an educator, photographer, PhD student, and award-winning poet whose writing, performance, and contribution to the poetry community has been recognized in Philadelphia, Baltimore and beyond. Rebecca is the founder and creative director of A DOSE OF DUPAS, an event-based poetry company that houses several live art events as well as national artist development events. In addition to performance, production and commissioned composition, Rebecca has published four CDs and a book of original works entitled "The Exchange". Rebecca has appeared on Centric, Fox 5, and OneMicTV.com. A recent tour included appearances on C- Span & PBS News and in The Washington Post alongside President Clinton. For a longer bio, please visit rebeccadupas.com/bio.

Kim D. Bailey is a 2016 Pushcart Nominee for nonfiction, and 2018 Best of the Net Nominee for poetry. Currently, she works as a paid reviewer for Carpe Librum books and does some freelance work on the side. She is published in several online and print journals and in audio, including but not limited to Firefly Magazine, Tuck Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, The Scarlet Leaf Review, Writer's Digest, Anti Heroine Chic, Sick Lit, The Song Is, Indigent Press, The 52 Men Podcast, and Tupelo Press. Kim was a columnist for Five 2 One Literary Magazine from June 2016 to October 2017, writing to Breaking the Legacy of Silence. She has also held editorial positions with Firefly Magazine and Sick Lit Magazine. At the moment, Kim is taking her creativity a day at a time and is compiling a memoir as well as poems for a chapbook. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two dogs. You can find her work mostly compiled at Kim D. Bailey. www.kimbaileyspradlin.com

Duane Vorhees and his wife and son moved the population of Farmersville, Ohio over the 1,000 mark when they moved there last year. He returned to his hometown after teaching in Korea and Japan. His book "Love's Autobiography" was published by Hawakal last summer and is available on Amazon. He manages a daily arts zine duanespoetree.blogspot.com, featuring contemporary poets from around the world.

The primary mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry is to provide a live format for poets to showcase their work. Whether traditional poetry or spoken word, the show offers an online vehicle for artists to engage in critical dialogue and discussion about the art and craft of poetry.

Valeri Beers is from Bangor, Maine. Her first book of poems titled ...details... published by Thomas Hill Publishing. This is her second poetry book titled "Scratching The Surface", published by Underground Writer's Association.  She has been writing all her life and is inspired to write by listening to music and needing to remember things. Valeri has been published in a number of literary magazines including anthologies by Literature Today, Lit House, The Wicked, Poets of Maine, Qutub Minar Review, Clockwise Rain, Literature Today (Vol. 1-7), Our Day of Passing, Dandelion in a Vase of Roses and Poetry Pasta  She has links to her poems on her own poetry site: wordsoftheval2000.wordpress.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook (Valeri Beers) and Twitter (@theval2000)

She has been a guest poet on the DC Poetry Project's Power of Poetics Blogtalk Radio show, talking all things poetic and reading her own poems. Valeri also helps take poetic care of Poetry Pasta (www.poetrypasta.wordpress.com), an online poetry page that shows off new poets and their words and is also the curator of the Poetry Pasta Facebook page.

Writer's Biography

Pearl Brown holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry, She is a Montessori Certified Middle and High School Teacher. She teaches Math and Science at the Oneness Family School (from 2014 till the present) in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

I first began writing at the young age of 7 or 8. Writing was a way of expressing my love of reading. When I wrote the words came to me effortlessly. I wanted to write a story that reflected the great pleasure that I had when I read stories. I wrote a book about a young girl and her dog surviving a hurricane. I wrote the story, drew the illustrations, designed the book cover and neatly stapled the pages to fit into a book form. The name of the book was, “A Girl, Her Dog, and the Hurricane.” I even read it to my first - grade class. My next bout of writing occurred during my teenage years. My writing reflected the annoyance of my interfering and confused parents’ as they attempted to parent their rebellious daughter. I also wrote of puppy love and the devastation of my first break-up.

Then I got married, had children and began the process of pouring my life and love into their hearts. It was during this time that I began to write again. My “Eros” poems reflected my ownership of the joy I found in my intimate relationships. As my sons got older, I wrote, “A Mother’s Reflection: Aset of poems dedicated to the growth/challenges I had in the relationships with my sons.” As life got busier and busier, I stopped writing and put away my poetry. Last year, on a challenge, to redirect my life so that it reflected my first joy, I dusted off and unearthed my poems and for the first time, I began to read them to my friends and on the stage of Bossa. I love the energy and the joy that reading my poetry gives me. I plan to continue writing and speaking my work.