Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?
I think the biggest theme is being present in the now. Feeling connected to the universe, understanding that life can be made of opposing forces, and just being grateful, especially in fleeting moments.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?
I went through some personal things last year. In June, I witnessed four sun showers alone. One at my parents’ house and three at mine. I made it a point to take photos and just appreciate being able to witness them. It’s easy to get caught up in life’s daily routines/distractions. I’ve seen them before but never really stopped to enjoy them. Seeing so many in one month alone felt like a message from the universe. They felt like small breaks from whatever I was going through. Just prior to 2025 coming around, I felt as if my creativity was starting to return. I’ve written things that deal with heartbreak, grief, etc. but I also wanted to write something positive, something that captures the little things we often take for granted.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?
2010 was the year I finally wrote a poem I was truly satisfied with. I tried my hand at it previously but nothing I wrote ever came out the way I wanted it to. Crazy to think that particular poem took 13 years to find a home.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?
Since I answered with Jorge Luis Borges last time, let’s go with Anthony Bourdain this time.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?
I read my poetry out loud during the creative process and after I’ve finished but it’s nice to hear the final product being read from someone else’s perspective. I’ve tried those free to use text-to-speech websites but they’re pretty awful. It just made sense to me to have a professional read it. Besides, I think it’s a neat idea and it seemed like a good way to gain more exposure.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?
I’ve written some short stories and a few one-act plays. I’ll continue writing poems but this year I’d like to revisit the plays I already wrote and see how I can polish them up so they can be sent out again. I also want to start working on the ones I’ve been brainstorming for some time now. In terms of possibilities, I’m excited to see what 2025 has in store.

7) What is your passion in life?
Nowadays? Creating my own happiness, doing things that make me feel fulfilled. Life can beat you down if you’re not careful. Self-love and self-care is important!

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of my poem is that sometimes we are so busy trying to get where we are going we forget to enjoy the moment

2. What motivated you to write this poem?

I am always inspired by natures, mountains, and climbing.

3. How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since high school.

4. If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?

I would love to have dinner with Shakespeare, one of the most famous playrights and authors. His work is still studied, and made into various plays and movies to this day. He gave us some common phrases we still use and famous quotes. To be or not to be? Boil, bubble, toil and trouble. It would be fun to see and hear him in person and find out where his inspiration and ideas come from.

5. What influenced you to submit your poetry to be a read by a professional?

Poetry is meant to be read and listened to. I am wanted to share my poem with others in the way it was meant to be, to encourage listeners and others with my words.

6. Do you write other works?

Yes, I have a middle school fantasy series the Dream Walker land Of Mystica Series along with short stories, poetry however is my passion.

7. What is your passion?

Writing, crafts, and spending time with my family and outdoors are my passions.

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?
Insanity! I wanted to convey that feeling when you’re in bed at night and your mind is playing tricks on you because you’ve just watched the scariest movie you’ve ever seen in your life.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?
I thought this festival was a really fun opportunity to write horror poetry, which is not a genre you see requested very often.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?
About five years.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?
Ooh, good question! Probably Mary Shelley. Frankenstein is my favorite book.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?
I could hear it in my head as I wrote it, which does make me sound a little crazy, I know. But I thought it would translate really well to audio format.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?
I do! I write short stories, screenplays and plays, and I’m working on a novel now. Mostly I write in the horror genre.

7) What is your passion in life?
Writing

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of my poem is mortality

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

Turning fifty and realizing that most of my life is over motivated me to write this poem

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry on and off for thirty years however over the last two years I have been more prolific as I didn’t write much during the period of my life when my children were younger as I had less time to devote to writing.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

If I could have dinner with one person it would be Axl Rose the lead singer of the rock band Guns N Roses as I have been a huge fan of his work since I was about twelve years old and would love the opportunity to learn more about his creative process.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I wanted to have my poem performed by a professional actor because I thought it would be interesting to hear my work performed by someone else and to have it interpreted in a different way other than just on the page.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

Yes I have other works, I have many other poems and a few short stories

7) What is your passion in life?

My passion in life is writing

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of this poem is youth and future and combining that to become more of a melancholy look into that idea of youth and the future fading away. Not only that, it’s seeing that youth has kept them away from seeing the truth of things and these truths are evident in the poem. It’s also about fear of the future but eventually having to move on from this fear and go through it.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

What motivated me was how I am looking forward to the future and maybe how other people look towards it too. The future is vast and sometimes I have this fear of the future that grates on me. I was also looking at the idea of youth and the climate of the culture of today and what we have inherited as the youth of this time.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since I was 14 and I was in high school at the time. Langston Hughes inspired me but I wasn’t always someone who liked writing.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

This is a hard one but I think it is someone who has also influenced me tremendously and that is Zora Neale Hurston, who was an anthropologist but also one of the writers featured within the Harlem Renaissance and that is an era full of artists, writers, musicians I would love to meet. Ms Hurston seemed to be an interesting woman based on what she knew as both an anthropologist and writer.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I thought it would get more traction but also that my voice as of right now isn’t the best at vocalizing what I want to say sometimes and this was the way to go as of now.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I do indeed write short stories and I want to eventually go on to create novels. It’s hard to sit down and focus on short stories sometimes because I have multiple WIP’s (work in progress) and because my attention span is like that of a goldfish.

7) What is your passion in life?

My passion in life is to influence the world in a more positive way. That means helping the children in my family and having them also read literature but to help the cycle of trauma to stop. That means to put out works that inspire others to be and do more positive things and change the world by using kindness, empathy and being gentle towards those around them. That means having black women and girls see themselves as a main character they can relate to and be heard by and hopefully influence them to become a writer and write about their feelings and experiences.

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?
I think the biggest theme overall is the sense of loss, whether it be identity, purpose, or direction. And then you have the self-reflection and self-doubt that comes with it.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?
When I initially wrote Crisis of the Self, I was in a weird place. Long story short, I fell into that trap where I was comparing myself to others. Everyone seemed to have life figured out except me. Nothing seemed to be going right in mine. I felt lost and disillusioned. I was questioning pretty much everything. Myself, life, etc. With it being a new year, I decided to revisit this poem and see what could be improved upon. Even though I don’t feel like this anymore, I felt it deserved to be shared because I figured there are people out there who’ve felt similar at one point or another. And if anything, it serves as a reminder of how far I’ve come since then.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?
2010 was the year I finally wrote a poem I was truly satisfied with. I tried my hand at it previously but nothing I wrote ever came out the way I wanted it to. Crazy to think that particular poem took 13 years to find a home.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?
Jorge Luis Borges. I’d love to talk to him in-depth about the short stories he wrote.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?
I read my poetry out loud during the creative process and after I’ve finished but it’s nice to hear the final product being read from someone else’s perspective. I’ve tried those free to use text-to-speech websites but they’re pretty awful. It just made sense to me to have a professional read it. Besides, I think it’s a neat idea and it seemed like a good way to gain more exposure.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?
I’ve written some short stories and a few one-act plays. I’ll continue writing poems but this year I’d like to revisit the plays I already wrote and see how I can polish them up so they can be sent out again. I also want to start working on the ones I’ve been brainstorming for some time now. In terms of possibilities, I’m excited to see what 2025 has in store.

7) What is your passion in life?
Nowadays? Creating my own happiness, doing things that make me feel fulfilled. Life can beat you down if you’re not careful. Self-love and self-care is important!

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The ways in which my body has betrayed me (through autoimmune disease) and how I have betrayed it by not protecting it.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I was asked to write a poem of my body as a protest and all I could think
was how my body never protested anything. Betrayal was the only sense I had in terms of my feelings towards my body. I imagined that it was equally as mad at me, hence attacking itself.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since the 4th grade, but I never shared a single
poem with anyone until I entered my MFA program. Sharing my innermost
feelings aloud was both powerful and nerve-wracking,

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

My partner. I know this question intends for a more profound answer, but
he’s the only person I want to sit across from. I’d choose him every time.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I wanted to hear how someone else hears my words.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I write memoir (which I don’t publish) and social justice articles (which I
do)

7) What is your passion in life?

To be a voice for those whose voices aren’t heard. I’m loud.