Quintessential Poetry: YouTube

Kenneth C. Steven grew up in Highland Perthshire in the heart of Scotland, and now lives in Argyll on the country’s west coast; it’s these landscapes that have inspired the lion’s share of both his poetry and prose.He is best-known as a poet. Fourteen of his collections have been published over the years, and individual poems have appeared in top literary journals across the globe. Much of his poetry is inspired by the wildscape of his native Highland Scotland; much has resulted from his love of the Celtic Christian story whose deepest roots are for him found in the island of Iona off Scotland’s west coast.He and his partner Kristina and lead Celtic Christian retreats each October on the island of Iona seeking to offer a gentle path through the Celtic Christian story. More about them can be found on the website of the Argyll Hotel on Iona.

Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh, BA Honours, LLCM, FRSA, was born in London, England. She has written three volumes of short stories, three volumes of poetry, a play, a children's book, film scripts, song lyrics and two educational textbooks. Three of her short stories were broadcast on the radio. Her poetry has been published in numerous anthologies. She received an award from The Poetry Society, England, for some of her poetry. She received commended and honours certificates for some of her poems at The Richmond Music Festival, England. Her poem, 'Stagnation,' was shortlisted in The National Anthology Poetry Competition' in 2005. Her poem, 'Wishful Thinking,' was printed in 'The Poems In The Waiting Room' pamphlet in 2010. These pamphlets are distributed to hundreds of doctors' surgeries in Britain. Sarah was The Featured Poet in 'Bareback Lit Magazine' in October 2012. She was awarded a commended certificate for her song, 'I Wish,' from The United Kingdom Songwriting Competition in 2016. She …

Bio: The Write Blend is a unique, culturally diverse poetry ensemble of six poets whose poetry is published in a new collection of poems, entitled “The Write Blend.” The poetry ensemble has most recently been featured on Poets vs Pandemic sponsored by Café Muse and Word Works Organizations. The Write Blend has read at the Library of Congress for the Maryland State Poet Laureate, Grace Cavalieri’s, “The Poet and The Poem.” The Write Blend has also performed for a Black History Poetry Festival, sponsored by the William Joseph Seymour Foundation in Oxon Hill United Methodist Church.Hist: Founded July 2018. Diane Wilbon Parks is the Founder of The Write Blend and invited each poet in The Write Blend to become a part of the circle of six. Because many poetry events/readings did not have a culturally diverse representation in the audiences and or featured poets, Diane believe it was critical to recruit well established, culturally diverse poets who could offer a broader landscape of po…

To read the bios of Ken Allan Dronsfield and Michael Lee Johnson, please visit QLPOR - Dronsfield and Johnson.docxThe mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio is to provide a live format for emerging, mid-career, and established 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. If you would like to be a guest on QL: POR, please contact the host Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram at maingram@gmx.com. 

Erin Carlyle is a poet whose roots are in the American South. Her poetry often explores the connections between poverty, place, and girlhood, and can be found in journals such as New South, Tupelo Quarterly, Bateau Press, and Prairie Schooner. Her Chapbook You Spit Hills and My Body was published on Dancing Girl Press in 2015, and Her debut full-length collection, Magnolia Canopy Otherworld, won the annual Driftwood Press Poetry Manuscript Contest and was published in December of 2020.

Lynne Viti, a lecturer emerita in the Writing Program at Wellesley College, was born and raised in Baltimore and now lives in Massachusetts. She is the author of Dancing at Lake Montebello: Poems (Apprentice House Press), and two chapbooks from Finishing Line: Baltimore Girls  and The Glamorganshire Bible, as well as a short story collection, Going Too Fast (Finishing Line 2020) Her work has appeared in over 100 journals and anthologies, including The Wire: Urban Decay and American Television, The Baltimore Sun, Welcome to the Neighborhood, Bad Hombres & Nasty Women, and Incandescent Minds. She blogs at lynneviti.wordpress.com.Dancing at Lake Montebello is available from Apprentice House Press, Bookshop.org, and many other online booksellers.

The program is sponsored by Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Washington, DC Chapter. Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio is a popular BlogtalkRadio podcast. It is also available on ITunes and Sound Cloud. Please visit www.blogtalkradio.com/ql_p for more details.NAMI DC is the local chapter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the District of Columbia, providing education, support, and advocacy for individuals and their families with mental illness.DonateThe organization strives to fight stigma, provide support, and advocate for individuals with mental illness and their families. Your contribution will help strengthen the movement. Please click the link below to make your donation today.  If you would like to donate in honor or memory of someone(s), please give us the name(s) the way you want it listed in the comment box provided at checkout. http://www.namidc.org/donateMembership Join thousands o…

Robert Garnham has been performing comedy poetry around the UK for ten years at various fringes and festivals, and has had two collections published by Burning Eye. He has made a few short TV adverts for a certain bank, and a joke from one of his shows was listed as one of the funniest of the Edinburgh Fringe. He was recently an answer on the TV quiz show Pointless. Lately he has been writing short stories for magazines and a humorous column in the Herald Express newspaper. In 2020 he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Chuka Susan Chesney is an artist and a poet. Her poems, art, and/or flash fiction have been published in Peacock Journal, Inklette, New England Review, Compose, Picaroon, and Lummox. Chesney’s paintings and collages have been in exhibitions and galleries across the United States.The mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio is to provide a live format for emerging, mid-career, and established 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. If you would like to be a guest on QL: POR, please contact the host Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram at maingram@gmx.com. 

BYPO PHOENIX is a DC native dedicated to destigmatizing the manic depressive spectrum. He advances politics of collective liberation through his poetry and street art. He is the creator of two zines of poetry and has an online presence at byporevolution.com.

Juneteenth or Emancipation Day is a holiday commemorating the release of those held in bondage during slavery. It started in Galveston, Texas, and is now celebrated every year on June 19 across the United States. Noted poets Brian Donnell James and Jackie Oldham will co-host the event. A found poem by Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram, (2021)In 1941, Laura Smalley, a former slave in Texas, told a WPA worker about the day she heard of her freedom.“I remember. We all got up that morning and went to the big house to see ole’ master. I thought ole’ master was dead, I didn’t know he had gone to war, He was back. All the slaves gathered around to see ole’ master.He didn’t tell us we were free. He worked us for six more months and turned us loose on the 19th of June. That is why we colored folks celebrate that day,                                                                                                                       celebrate th…

Bio: A native of Los Angeles, California and Warren, ArkansasProudly representing Laredo, Texas.  PROUD DAD (DEFENDER (OF) ALL DISCIPLES), Certified Anti Human Trafficking Ambassador, Traveler, Spell-Casting Poet, Holistic Healer. Your light, have as much reason to shine as the next soul. Why should I condemn you to eternal darkness? In a world where we resonate light?Primary Motive: To utilze full advantage of our physical abilities, communication and empathy to bring a successful end to Rape Culture and Child Slavery.

Celia Drill is a native Californian currently living in Wisconsin. She has published two volumes of poetry, Body of Crimson Leaves, with Backwater’s Press, and Awake Through Dreams with Little Red Tree Press. She has just completed her third manuscript entitled Mystic Traveler. Celia has her MFA from San Francisco State University, has taught creative writing at several universities, and currently runs her own business.

Arthur Cole joined the South Wales Police at the age of nineteen.As a career detective he has dealt with all manner of major crime, including murder, robbery, and serious sexual offences. Arthur retired from the service in 1997Arthur is married to Caroline, and they have two grown up children. Christopherr, and Karen.Arthur was born in a small mining village situated at the top of the Llynfi Valley Maesteg. The majority of Arthur’s relatives were themselves miners. In February 2016, he started on his literary journey, when he collaborated with his now co-author Nigel Williams, writing their first Terry McGuire crime thriller ‘UNETHICAL CONDUCT’They have since written a further eight books in the series, Arthur has also written three books of poetry, POEMS FOR A LOST GENERATION-First World War. AN INDUSTRY NOW LOST-Coalmining, and 50 FAMOUS PEOPLE The very first poem that Arthur wrote was titled ‘ABERFAN’ in January 2016. This poem describes a soil tip disaster in South Wales that clai…

He goes by the name "Propaganda." He's an activist, poet, educator and the son of a Black Panther. In his debut collection of essays and poetry - "TERRAFORM: Building a Better World" - this trailblazing rapper and poet puts his teachings into his prose - conjuring verses and visions for creating a new and more equitable world.In this thoughtful book, Propaganda looks at the ways in which our world is broken. Using the metaphor of terraforming - creating a livable world out of an inhospitable one - he shows how we can begin to reshape our homes, friendships, communities, and politics.

Robert Garnham has been performing comedy poetry around the UK for ten years at various fringes and festivals, and has had two collections published by Burning Eye. He has made a few short TV adverts for a certain bank, and a joke from one of his shows was listed as one of the funniest of the Edinburgh Fringe. He was recently an answer on the TV quiz show Pointless. Lately he has been writing short stories for magazines and a humorous column in the Herald Express newspaper. In 2020 he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

I began writing as a way to express intense emotions. I tend to write more when I have negative emotions. At first, the only people I shared my poetry with were my therapist and my mom. I actually did not even know I was writing poetry. I was just putting down on paper how I felt. I took a creative writing poetry class in the fall of 2020 to learn how to improve my abilities. Through that class, I was able to learn about different styles of poetry and practice them. The class helped me to find my voice. My mother use to read poetry to me as a child from great poets such as Langston Hughes, Sterling Brown and Lucile Clifton amongst others. She has supported my writing throughout my life.

James Coats is a poet, performer, and educator born in Los Angeles and raised in Southern California. With a passion for all things creative, he strives to capture authentic self-expression through his work whether photography, painting or writing. He believes that poetry has the ability to bring diverse groups together, offering a way to connect through shared challenges, achievements and experiences. You can find him attending poetry readings throughout California or follow his poetry via his Instagram @MrLovingWords. Additionally, you can take a poetry workshop with him through his organization Lift Our Voices Education which hosts an award winning workshop monthly called Be The Change: Social Justice Writing Workshop.

Serena Agusto-Cox, a Suffolk University alum and volunteer with the Gaithersburg Book Festival, was one of the first featured readers of the DiVerse Gaithersburg reading series. Poems can be read in The Magnolia Review, MacQueen's Quinterly, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dime Show Review, Dissonance Magazine, Mothers Always Write, Bourgeon, and elsewhere. Work appears in the This Is What America Looks Like anthology, Mom Egg Review’s Pandemic Parenting issue, The Plague Papers digital anthology, H.L. Hix’s Made Priceless, Love_Is_Love: An Anthology for LGBTQIA+ Teens, and Midge Raymond’s Everyday Book Marketing. She operates the book review blog, Savvy Verse & Wit, and Poetic Book Tours. She is currently working on her first chapbook.

Jake St. John spends his nights in a cabin on the edge of the woods. He is the author of several collections of poetry including Night Full of Diamonds (Whiskey City Press, 2021), Snow Moon (Holy & Intoxicated Publications, 2019) and Lost City Highway (A Jabber Publication, 2019). He is the former co-editor of Flying Fish and the former editor of Elephant. He is considered an original member of the “New London School” of poetry. His poems have appeared in print and online journals around the world.

Scott Simmons is the editor in chief of The Dope Fiend Daily and his poetry has appeared at the Anti-heroin chic, Medusa's kitchen, Duane's Poetry, Horror Sleaze Trash, Under The Bleachers, The Black Shamrock Magazine, and The Abyss. His first book The Editor's Manifesto (2021) showcases a mixture of his poetry, humor, and artwork and it is available on Amazon.

Francis DiClemente Biography:Francis DiClemente lives in Syracuse, New York, where he works as a video producer. He is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Outward Arrangements: Poems (2021) and Dreaming of Lemon Trees: Selected Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2019). He is the co-director of the documentary short film The Real Bedford Falls: It’s a Wonderful Life, which explores the connections between the town of Seneca Falls, New York, and Bedford Falls, the setting of the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life. His full-length stage play, Beyond the Glass, inspired by the Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks, was produced by the Las Vegas Little Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2017. He received a bachelor’s degree in communications/journalism from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, and earned a master of arts in film and video from American University in Washington, DC. His blog can be found at https://francisdiclemente.com/. Photo by Shane Johnson. 

Nicole Verrone wrote Nest of Stars over six months, after a twenty-year hiatus to raise four daughters. Born in North Carolina, she spent summers on her grandparents’ dairy farm where the poetry of an uncle lost in a tragic car accident was on display. This formative event instilled the beauty and brevity of life through verse. A writer since adolescence, her first poem was published in the local newspaper in 1986. She earned a BA in English from UNC-Greensboro, taught high school literature, and currently serves on an educational team as accreditation and continuing education consultant in the healthcare industry. Verrone lives vicariously through the accounts of adult daughters studying to become healthcare professionals and providers. Her youngest, a pre-teen, still hangs out in the nest. Verrone has been married for a long time to a fly fishing guru and her best pal. She attempts to embrace intangible gifts, fill time and space with art and music, reading and philosophy, and has…

Maureen Mays is a published author of The Color of Life in the House of Mei, Love Still Smiles on Dark Days, Because She Had Something to Say and Married: It’s Complicated. Writing has been a therapeutic pastime that was discovered in her teenage years. Her love for writing was rekindled after many years of being a closet writer. She now Blogs, speaks, writes, and encourages others to not only embrace their talents, and dreams but more importantly embrace their God given purpose. Maureen served in the United States Army Reserves a military police officer and civil affairs specialist. She is a devoted mother of two children. They both share her love of philanthropy by giving back to their church and community. They also share her love of entrepreneurship as they watch and strategically create, study, and embark on business opportunities. She is a local resident of the DC metro area. She attended Howard University and later graduated from the University of Maryland. She enjoys painting,…