Quintessential Poetry: YouTube

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,…

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

Gordon Ferris was born and raised in Finglas, a North West suburb of Dublin. In the early eighties, he moved to Donegal where he has lived ever since. He started writing in 2014 and has had many short stories and poems in publications including Hidden Channel, A New Ulster, The Galway Review, Impspired Magazine, and Lothlorien Poetry Journal. He has also won prizes in the summer 2020  HITA Creative Writing Competition for his poem 'Mother,' and won the winter competition for his poem 'The Silence.' Gordon was awarded a Poetry Town Bursary by Poetry Ireland. Early in 2023, Echoes, his first book of short stories, will be released January 15, 2023.Special Guests - Simon Ferris and Rebecca Kennedy 

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. He…

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…

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 no…

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: Bookshttps://www.donnasmetz.com/https://www.instagram.com/donnasmetz/https://twitter.com/DSMPoethttps://www.facebook.com/Donnasmetz/

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 bes…

The Washington, DC-based ensemble of poets known for its messages of inspiration, empowerment, and social consciousness has performed locally and abroad. Collective Voices' international debut was in London, England, in 1998. Founded in 1995, the group’s current members include Sylvia Dianne "Ladi Di" Beverly, Andre "Brenardo" Taylor, and the group’s founder, J. Joy "Sistah Joy" Matthews Alford, who was appointed as Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County, MD, in 2018. In addition to performing their original poetry, the group presents poetry workshops and coordinates arts-oriented activities throughout the Washington Metropolitan region. Of note, the group presented an annual arts-based tribute, Poetry Extravaganza, for 20 years, honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The event was presented annually at the downtown Washington, DC-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, which was attended by hundreds each year. Collective Voices has self-published 2 …

Alexandra was born in the year of the horse of fire, in Greece, where she spent many years living in the wild mountains of the island of Hydra. Later, she attended St. Mary's in Wiltshire and studied European Thought & Literature at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge. She lived in Paris and New York, before returning to Greece to settle. Her father was a renowned poet and author and had a successful publishing company in Greece. Her mother was a ballet dancer as well as president of the Dance Union in Greece. Her family social circles, ever since a little girl, were rich with artists, writers, and academics. She lives with her husband, a classical guitar soloist and four children near the Temple of Poseidon, Sounio, by the sea and publishes her own visual poems on Amazon. Each of Alexandra's books is a symphony composed of a long poem accompanied by her graphic illustrations that convey “The Flying”.alexandrabooks.info

March 8 is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also brings attention to the women's rights movement, gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.In honor of the occasion, Quntessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio presents four renowned Canadian women poets sharing their poetry. These poets are Clara Blackwood, Brenda Clews, Jennifer Hosein, and Archna Sahni. Hope you enjoy!The bios of these poets can be found at: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67559328/international-womens-day-2023

From Whence We Came: Women in Poetry is presented by Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio (www.qlpor.com) in honor of National Women's History Month. This event will feature readings by Valeri Beers, Linda Imbler, Gerry Leonard LaGuardia, and Linda Ohlson Graham and a discussion of the role of women in poetry.The From Whence We Came phrase is from remarks made by John F. Kennedy at the Dinner for America's Cup Crews on September 14 1962.    Biographieshttps://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67595793/qlpor-presents-from-whence-we-came-women-in-poetry

ANASTASIA LINDSEY is a timeless soul and author who participates in inter-dimensional traveling and building beautiful poems to capture the hearts of souls around the world in the most loving and supportive ways possible. Sensitive in nature and sweet in soul – she brings a powerful sense of calmness to her work, and most importantly to her words. She has spent most of her life traveling the endless twists and turns of her imagination to create beautiful poems. Anastasia has been writing since grade school and has always used empathy, pain, and—most importantly—love as her muse to write poems that help others heal. She specializes in highlighting one’s broken pieces to make something unique and comforting within oneself – and most importantly helps others to view themselves as a work of art.This humble writer was born and raised in a small town of Illinois where she currently resides in a beautiful, cozy little house on a patch of land with the love of her life, Dakota. Although an …

Words from Chayyim Eliezer Ben Israel:Born in Austin Tx. Raised in Los Angeles California, I had the taste to entertain at a very young age. Obtained writing and theatrical passion following my mother Elsie Katie Spruill. Began writing poetry in my early teens. Found a perfect match with poetry and music.https://amazon.com/hebruisehttps://instagram.com/clearmentalhttps://facebook.com/clearmentalmusic

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 Internati…

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. Fare…

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

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 destine…

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

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: Bookshttps://www.instagram.com/poetrywyattwelch/

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=1-4https://www.facebook.com/N.Chamchounhttps://twitter.com/NChamchounhttps://www.instagram.com/n.chamchoun/

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.

Regina YC Garcia is a Poet, Language Artist, and English Professor from Greenville, NC. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill (BA) and East Carolina University (MAEd) with a Graduate Certificate in Multicultural and Transnational Literature, her work has appeared in a variety of journals,reviews,and anthologies, to include The AutoEthnographer, the South Florida Poetry Journal, Up the Staircase Quarterly, New Note Poetry, The Amistad, The Main Street Rag, The Book of Black, Black and…, and numerous others. Her work has also been featured in a Mid-South Emmy Award winning episode of PBS' Muse featuring "The Black Light Project" (UNC TV), as well as the Sacred Nine Project of Tulane University. She is the author of The Firetalker's Daughter published by Finishing Line Press in March 2023.Firetalker's Daughter https://a.co/d/9SoA1E9https://www.profesoragina.comhttps://twitter.com/profesoragina?t=7YMF2ZnGrCjmDr7Q2taAMA&s=09https://www.facebook.com/regina.y.garcia?mibextid=ZbWKwLhttps:…

A non-binary poet, Karen Poppy’s debut full-length poetry collection, Diving at the Lip of the Water, is forthcoming in 2023 with Beltway Editions. Her chapbooks Crack Open / Emergency (2020) and Our Own Beautiful Brutality (2021) are both published by Finishing Line Press. Her chapbook, Every Possible Thing, is published by Homestead Lighthouse Press (2020). An attorney licensed in California and Texas, Karen Poppy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.https://karenpoppy.com/https://m.facebook.com/KarenPoppyPage/https://www.amazon.com/Diving-Lip-Water-Karen-Poppy/dp/1957372036