Author Biographies from The Poet's Word Poems About Writing

  B.Z. Niditch is a poet, playwright, fiction writer and teacher.  His work is widely published in journal and magazines throughout the world,

including: Columbia: A Magazine of Poetry and Art, The Literary Review; Denver Quarterly, Hawaii Review; Le Guepard (France), Kadmos (France),

Prism International, Jejune (Czech Republic), Leopold Bloom (Budapest),  Antioch Review, and Prairie Schooner, among others. He lives in

Brookline, Massachusetts.

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​Malaika Favorite is a visual artist and writer. Her poetry, fiction, and articles appear in numerous anthologies and journals, including: you say.

say, Hell Strung and Crooked (Uphook Press), Pen International, Hurricane Blues, Drum voices review, Uncommon Place, Xavier Review,

The Maple Leaf Rag, Visions International, Louisiana Literature, Louisiana English Journal, Big Muddy, and Art Papers. Favorite is also the

author of, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT, published by New Orleans Poetry Journal Press in 1991.

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pk potts is the author of the children’s book, “Army the Armadillo,” and a graduate of The Institute of Children’s Literature. A freelance writer

and photographer, her work has appeared in Germany, Texas, Oregon and South Carolina.  Although a native Texan, she currently resides

by her beloved sea in Charleston, South Carolina with a neurotic cat, named Molly.

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Robert Weston has various degrees and lots of life experience. He has been married for 42 years (to the same woman) and has six children

and three grandchildren. Weston retired after a career in human resources for high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley, Australia and Japan.

He lives and writes in Florida and Southern France.

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Emily Strauss is a poet who lives in California. She is a retired teacher and has written her whole life. Strauss has had over 60 poems appear

in many venues. She usually writes of the natural world of the American West where she often travels and camps alone, observing nature

and writing about it. Her poems reflect the intersection of human emotions with the impersonal backdrop that surrounds us all. Recently

her work has appeared in: About Place Journal, Red Sky, Brevity Poetry Review, You Are  Here, and Earthborne Magazine.

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Michael Linehan is a 2011 graduate of the University of Massachusetts – Lowell where he studied English and Philosophy. He has been an

avid reader and writer for several years, whether he’s writing blogs, poetry, or stories. Inspired by slam poets like Anis Mojgani and Andrea

Gibson, Linehan seeks to capture the inner struggle of the human soul in his poems, the constant competition between darkness and light,

fear and hope. Linehan currently lives and works in southern New Hampshire.

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Montreal writer and poet, Gina Roitman is the author of “Tell Me a Story, Tell Me the Truth,” a collection of nine linked stories published by

Second Story Press (Toronto). She is also the subject and co-producer of the documentary, “My Mother, the Nazi Midwife, and Me” about

returning to the German town where she was born as a displaced person to learn how her mother saved her life. The documentary was

scheduled for release in November 2012. Her writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Montreal Review of Books, the anthology, “Living Legacies,” roverarts.com, Quills Poetry magazine, PoetryQuebec.com and carte-blanche. Roitman has also aired two radio documentaries nationally on

CBC Radio.

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Stephanie Giguere is a young Massachusetts writer and avid rock climber. She is taking the year off from school to apply to MFA programs

all around the country. She has been published in L’Esprit, Route 2, Hot Summer Nights, The Fortunates and now, the Poet’s Word.  Stephanie

was also a finalist in both the 2011 and 2012 WCPA Annual Student Poetry Contest and won an Honorable Mention both times.

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Thomas Griffin is an accomplished writer, actor, director and teacher, Thomas has an MFA in playwriting and is the recipient of an award

​from The Academy of American Poets. He was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His poetry has appeared in Pudding Magazine,

The Pitkin Review, This Wood Sang Out anthology, Pivot anthology, Lotus.zine, Holly Rose Review, The Aurorean, Penduline Press and others.

His new play, Darling Daughter had its world premiere at n.u.f.a.n ensemble’s “Ritalin Fest” in Chicago. He currently teaches theatre in an

after-school program for Middle School students who would otherwise have no arts education opportunities.

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Australian born poet, John Grey works as a financial systems analyst. He was recently published in Poem, Spindrift, Prism International and

the horror anthology, “What Fears Become.” His upcoming works are due to appear in the Potomac Review, Hurricane Review and Pinyon.

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E. Shaun Russell is a musician and poet, currently living in Virginia. Over the past few years, his poetry, mostly formal in

nature, has been published in around thirty publications, including Rattle,Writer's Journal, Ellery Queen

and Asheville Review among others. This publication marks his third anthology.

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Amanda Gayle Oliver was First published at sixteen in the Birmingham News. Recently she was published in the Boston Literary Magazine,

Lamplighter Review, Barefoot Review, and Emerge Literary Magazine. Oliver's play, "Elevator Music" was produced at the University of

Alabama at Birmingham in March, 2012. Now thirty, Oliver conducts motivational speeches that focus on healing from self-destructive

behaviors. She currently resides sin Nashville, TN.

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Kerri MacLaury is a beekeeper, a librarian, and a wordsmith from a tiny village called Weston in rural Southern Vermont. She has written poetry,

fiction, and non-fiction her entire life. She is most enthusiastic about writing fiction that explores post-apocalyptic America, as well as poetry

that explores the everyday trials and humors of life. Her only wishes are to live genuinely, to get over herself, to help other beings in the spirit

of service, and to feel and convey pure love. And, perhaps, have you smile slyly with her through words.
 

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Zachary Bissett is a writer of fiction and poetry from the Boston area. He graduated with a degree in Creative Writing from Roger

Williams University, where he served as an editor of fiction on the literary magazine “Roger.” and won several poetry prizes. Zachary

is currently working on his first novel, “American Radio” and running Zach Bissett.wordpress.com.”

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Amber Koneval is a twenty year old Colorado native. She currently attends Regis University, and double majors in English and

Religious Studies. She has been published in The Apogee and Farsighted, Time of Singing, The Storyteller, and Crack the Spine,.

Koneval also has pieces scheduled for The Radix, The Wayfarer, Devozine  MOLT, Exterminating Angel and The Atticus Review.

Read more about Koneval on her blog at amberkoneval.wordpress.com.

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Allie Marini Batts is a Creative Writing MFA Student at Antioch University Los Angeles, meaning she can explain deconstructionism,

but cannot perform simple math. She is a 2012 nominee for Sundress Publications' "Best of the Net" award, was a 2012 finalist in the

Casey Shay Press Mary Ballard Award, and her fiction was recognized as a "Story of Distinction" in Writecorner Press's 2012 E.M. Koeppel

Short Fiction Award. She lives in Tallahassee, FL with her husband, where she is desperately trying to befriend the opossums who live under

her porch. Links to Allie's published work are available at: http://www.kiddeternity.wordpress.com, and her book reviews are available here: http://www.bookshelfbombshells.com.

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Melissa Slayton graduated with a degree in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College. She has had work published with Apalachee Review,

Comstock Review, and TINGE magazine, and she is the recipient of the Poetry Society of South Carolina's Lyric Poem Prize.

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Caroline M. Rogers is a lover of words, crafty things, and nature. In addition to writing poetry, she has been a teacher for over ten years.

She is an avid reader, and finds herself drawn to pieces that explore the edge such as the work of e. e. cummings and pieces from the Beat era.

A New Hampshire native, she is the lucky inhabitant of a sweet relationship and a simple home in the pines.

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K.R. (Joe) Massingham was born in the UK but has lived the second half of his life in Australia. He has been employed as a Navy officer,

university student from first degree to PhD, tutor, and lecturer. He has run his own writing and editing business, but because of cancer and

heart problems, he now spends time waiting to see medical practitioners, writing poetry and prose and smelling the roses. He has had work

published in Australia, NZ, Canada, Eire, India, Nepal, UK, and USA.

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Michael Lee Johnson is from Itasca, Illinois. He lived 10 years in Canada during the Vietnam era and is published in 25 countries. 

He runs seven poetry sites, and publishedworks are available at http://poetryman.mysite.com, 

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/promomanusa, Amazon.com, Barnes& Noble, and iUniverse.

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​M.E. Knots is a May, 2012 graduate of the University of Illinois’ Creative Writing Program. She was previously published in the literary journal,

Montage. As an aspiring poet, novelist, musician, photographer, urban explorer and hula-hoop dancer, much of her time is spent juggling

artistic endeavors. Knots lives in Urbana, Illinois, but is setting out to discover the world on her motorcycle this spring. Whether she is

broken down in the Utah desert, running away from the Evangelical church, or barefoot in downtown Austin, one thing is certain –

she is never lost, just out of context.

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Reba Darling is a thirty-something Southern woman who has made her home in Vermont. She believes that most thoughts in life could

be conveyed with fewer words, thus, her appreciation of poetry. She believes that hope and kindness are stronger forces than fear and

domination; and that making a difference starts in your own community. She enjoys coffee, cherry pie, her sweat pants, and Superman.

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Randy Floyd is a retired wildlife biologist who grew up on a cattle ranch in Nebraska, spent most of his adult life working in the woods of

Oregon, and now lives with his wife Elaine in the mountains of New Mexico. His rural upbringing and outdoor career have been major
influences on him intellectually and emotionally. Floyd's inspiration comes from his Nebraska heritage, reverence for Nature, quest for a

spiritual path and observations of the times.

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Christina Pagès grew up in Kent and moved to America in 1970. She received her Ph.D. in English in 1993 at the University of South Carolina.

She received a publication award from the International Society of Poetry in 2004 for her poetry collection, Shadow Words and was the

California State Poetry Society’s 19th Annual Contest Winner in 2005. She has just completed her second poetry collection, Remember

Not to Forget and Other Poems. Pagès  also has published children’s books, including The Mountain Boy and Lucy, The Woodland Girl. 

Pagès presently teaches at Santa  Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, California.

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David R Morgan teaches at Cardinal Newman School, and lives in Bedfordshire England . Morgan has  over 200 hundred poems published in

National and International Poetry Magazines. His books for children include, Blooming Cats which won the Acorn Award and was recently

animated for BBC2's Words and Pictures. Morgan's latest poetry collections include: Beneath The Dreaming Tree, Lightbulbs, In The Sea

and New Man Newman .

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Tina Hacker has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes, was Editor's Choice in two literary journals and a finalist in New Letters and

George F. Wedge poetry competitions. Her chapbook, Cutting It, is available on Amazon. Her poetry has appeared in The Mid-America​

Poetry Review, Imagination & Place, Bellowing Ark,​ Kansas City Voices and Missouri Poets and Show +Tell. Hackman also has edited poetry

for Veterans’ Voices, a magazine of writing by hospitalized veterans. Married at 50, Tina calls herself “the oldest first-time bride” and gives top

editing honors to her husband, Lynn Norton.

 

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Sally Armstrong Gradle is an artist, researcher, and professor of art education. Her most recent poetry has been, or soon will be,

included in English, Alliterati, The Linden Avenue Literary Journal, Grasslimbs, and Bookends Review .

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Jordan Ki, a big fan of experimental and collaborative poetry, has studied and taught creative writing in Los Angeles. She holds an MA

and BA in journalism, and currently works as an editor in Boston. A Seattle native, in her free time she prays that Gary Payton will be

inducted into the basketball hall of fame and that someone will invent calorie-free ice cream that tastes better than the real thing.

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Mark Marony is a high school teacher and free-lance writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and children’s literature. His work has appeared in

Compass Rose, Fiddlehead Loop, SNReview, and has been anthologized in Carved In Granite II. His humor column, "Being Da," can be read

monthly in Parent Express. He lives in Francestown, New Hampshire, with his artist-wife, Jessica, and their four children.

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Amanda Clark is the editor and founder of Steady Moon Press. She has four books of poetry published, Looking at the Moon, Flying Fall,

Beautifully Mixed-Up World, and Through the Blinds. She also was a contributing poet for The Litchfield Literary Review and is due for

publication in Pyrokinection in April 2013. She attended Southern Methodist University where she earned a bachelor's degree in 

Art History and later obtained a Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Vermont. Clark currently teaches English and

Social Studies at an alternative school in Vermont while also publishing poetry. She resides in Woodsville, NH with her partner Joel,

and their two cats, Tango and  Hemingway.