Barbara Southard grew up on a canal on the south shore of Long Island and has traveled widely since.In her early years, she was a painter, printmaker, atelier manager and commercial graphic artist. After leaving the graphic arts field, she worked with children at risk at Pedersen Krag Clinic where she created a poetry celebration for children and their families at the Conklin Museum in Huntington, New York. After, she planned and conducted poetry workshops at Walt Whitman Historic Site and Interpretive Center for students. From 2019-2021, she served as Suffolk County Poet Laureate, much of the time during the Covid epidemic. In an effort to bring poets together, she worked with the board of the Long Island Poetry Collective to start Zoom workshops to give poets the opportunity to workshop their poems when no in-person workshops were possible. The Zoom workshops continue to this day.
Currently, she serves on the board of the Long Island Poetry & Literature Repository, and The Long Island Poetrey Collective. Her books are titled Remember, Time & Space and her most recent, Long Island Poems.
Kim D. Brandon is a Poet/Artist/Activist/Storyteller. Her work has been included in stage performances, anthologies, and journals. Kim is a featured performer/poet at community engagements and fundraisers. She has been commissioned to write and perform poetry to celebrate the visions/missions for major groups and gatherings. In 2026 her work is included in the upcoming, We the 92% anthology. Her work appeared in Baby Suggs and A Purple Butterfly, Boundaries and Borders: A Literary Exploration of Global Voices, Winter in America (Again 2025,
Brownstone Poet’s 2025 and 2024 and the CAPS 25th Anniversary collection and many others. She founded the Wild Honey Writers Collective in 2007 to provide space for poets and writers to build their craft in community. She is the host of writing workshops for women and people of color. This year her work centers on the revolutionary power of Black love. A Joe for Annie Mae, her upcoming novel highlights the transformative power of love, in the face of trauma. She is hoping to publish her first poetry collection Red Honey this year.
Douglas G. Swezey is a prominent Long Island poet, editor, and literary organizer active in the regional arts scene since high school. A 2004 Stony Brook University graduate (B.A., English/Art History), he authored Stony Brook University: Off the Record (2005) and served as Managing Editor of Government Food Services Magazine. His background includes work at the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and Interpretive Center and experience as a journalist for several newspapers.
As a central figure in the Long Island poetry community, Mr. Swezey serves on the Board of Directors for the Bards Initiative and the Long Island Poetry Collective at large. He was a co-founder of the Long Island Chapter of Poets for Darfur and co-creator of Super Poem Sunday. His editorial contributions are vast, including serving as Associate Editor of PoetryBay and co-editor of major anthologies like Xanadu (2007, 2012) and What Unites Us: Prose, Poetry and the Constitution, Democracy, Rule of Law (2025).
Mr. Swezey’s poetry has been published consistently for over two decades in journals like the PPA Literary Review and Long Island Quarterly. He was runner-up in the Farmingdale Group Poetry Contest (2009) and was featured in The New York Times, CBS 2 News, and The Scene: An Open Mic Magazine. Notably, his work was selected for the Northport Art Coalition’s inaugural Poetry Path.
A veteran curator, he hosted the Long Island Poetry Collective’s Reading Series at Barnes & Noble (2009–2012), welcoming poets like Terese Svoboda, Molly Peacock and Mark Doty. He currently hosts the First Fridays Reading Series at the Dog-Eared Bard's Book Shop, featuring Nicole Cooley and celebrating its five-year anniversary in October. He has performed at over 50 venues and appeared on programs like WUSB 90.1FM, WRHU’s Calliope's Corner, and Cablevision’s Art Forum.
He will be featured at the Molloy University and published in the Suffolk County Poetry Review 2026 and Remember When... in the coming months, but can be found sitting in the back row of nearly any reading across Long Island. His first poem published was in the Pulaski Road Elementary School Arts and Literary Magazine when in the Second Grade.
Takudzwa Chikepe famously known as VaChikepe: The Poet is a globally recognized voice at the intersection of poetry, theology, and prophetic imagination. Originally from Zimbabwe, VaChikepe is also a preacher, mystic, and creative visionary whose work transcends borders and disciplines. VaChikepe blends African wisdom, Christian spirituality, and contemporary thought into performances that are both deeply reflective and powerfully transformative. His voice carries the rhythm of history, the fire of revelation, and the urgency of the present moment.
A graduate of Duke Divinity School and currently pursuing an MBA, he embodies a rare fusion of intellect, artistry, and spiritual insight. He is the founder of The Sailors Review and the visionary behind Business Mysticism-a movement redefining creativity, leadership, and purpose in the 21st century. Whether on stage or in print, VaChikepe: The Poet invites audiences into a journey of awakening, identity, and divine encounter, with steps of victory.
Joanne Fay Brown was born into a family of Old Leftists in Baltimore during the 1950s scourge of the “McCarthy Era” blacklists; her father was blacklisted the year of her birth. She came of age amid civil rights and countercultural movements, political assassinations and anti-war protests.
The poems in her first collection, "Independence Day," released by Main Street Rag Publishing Company, reflects her early experiences as a "Red Diaper Baby” — a child of activist parents during the "McCarthy Era,” — when her parents faced harassment by the federal government due to their political views. These poems reflect those challenging times and show a through-line to our political climate today. Other poems show her growing beyond personal and national trauma through travel to Mexico, recovery from breast cancer, the "Write to Heal" writing workshops she offers for cancer patients and survivors, and finding true love in her late-life marriage to Rod Guinn.
Randy Fowler is a Soul Poet whose work is rooted in vulnerability, compassion, and a commitment to the oppressed. Active in the open mic scene since April 2024, he has been published in Fresh Words, Haikuinverse, Bard’s Poetica, the Saving Ourselves anthology, Wyldside Press’ To Be Completely Honest, and the Long Island Quarterly. He was also a finalist in the 2025 Babylon Arts Council Poetry Contest.
Randy focused his first year in the open mic scene on personally vulnerable poetry and now in his second year is focusing outwardly on social justice issues.
A double-major undergraduate with two master’s degrees and a doctorate, Randy now lives in West Islip with his wife, Coleen.
Mary Seymour is a creative arts activist who believes in the power of our individual narratives. She is a theatre artist, historian, and an alumna of Stony Brook University and Suffolk County Community College. Seymour's acting and directing credits include Broadway Production of the musical "HAiR, The Musical," a co-starring role in "Raisin the Musical. In 2025, as an adjunct theatre arts professor at Suffolk County Community College, she directed "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."
Brooklyn born and educated, Howard Beach, Queens raised, Lora René Tuckerhas been featured throughout the New York Metropolitan area since 1992. Also known as the “Therapeutic Poet,” she published her first book of poetry: Writes of Passage, blogged for Harlem World and POZ online magazines, performed readings of her work, and facilitated antiracism and cultural empowerment seminars. She presently is facilitating therapeutic writing workshops for Southampton Hospital’s Wellness Center and her editorials can be found in the East Hampton Star’s “GuestWords.” She is also studying for her MFA in Creative Writing at Stonybrook University, twice receiving awards for returning to academia after years and to research her father’s military history for her thesis. Her past “nine to fives” were a corporate interior designer, graduate professor, and licensed social worker and psychotherapist. She is a writer until further notice.
Chip Williford 2025-2027 Suffolk County Poet Laureate, Director and Co-host of Poetry Street,
Long Island Poetry & Literature Repository board member, also a member of Northport Arts
Coalition and a Northport Arts Poetry Path Exhibit Sponsor, Ambassador for the poetry division
of fuwimu.com (Fund With Music)
Chip is a prose, poetry, and short story writer. He is a passionate equal rights advocate,
filmmaker, documentarian, family historian, good listener, and relatable storyteller. ”His prose
and poetry has been published in numerous publications and anthologies.
“I write from my heart. I write about my childhood. I write about people I don’t even know. I
think poetry is a way to communicate when you can’t really say the words or tell the whole truth
of what is happening. When you can’t talk about abuse or can’t talk about mistreatment, poetry
helps to get those feelings out.
chipwilliford.com
Kris Janvier is an author and poet residing in Baldwin, NY. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Hempstead, NY. He graduated from Hempstead High School in 2013. He studied in SUNY Old Westbury majoring in Media and Communications and later changed to Visual Arts. He has performed in local open mics and festivals around Long Island and New York City since 2017. In 2025, he was featured in 4 festivals including the New York City Poetry Festival. His poems have been published in numerous anthologies (Maintenant 19, Benzo Logic, Nassau County Voices in Verse, etc.). He has self-published his own books titled "Drift" , "Drift 1.5" and "Drift 2" which are available now on Amazon. He is currently a promoter for The Scene Magazine.
George Wallace is writer in residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, author of 45 chapbooks of poetry, and winner of the 2025 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award. A New York City native, he travels internationally to share his work and in 2024 was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Spain (CIESART).
Jen Senft holds an MFA in Writing from Southampton College and has been a writing instructor for over 15 years: she teaches English and Humanities at SUNY Suffolk, leads writing seminars and workshops, and works with individual clients as a writing coach. She also tutors high school and college students. Jen is an occasional understudy host of Poetry Street! She has been writing since age seven and views being an artist as both a gift and…its opposite. When not writing or working, Jen can be found meditating, birding, reading, drinking ginger tea, or nursing a migraine. She also holds a Master’s degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Film, both from NYU. Her poetry, stories, and essays have been widely published.
Sarah Goodman is the Suffolk County Teen Poet Laureate from 2024-2026, Teen Ambassador for the Northport Arts Coalition, and a junior at Commack High School. Her mission is to introduce and encourage a love and respect for the literary arts in the Suffolk County youth. Since assuming the title, she has worked toward this by organizing and running programming for teens an children at various libraries across Suffolk County, speaking at Suffolk County schools, and hosting and featuring at various poetry open mics. Sarah has also organized and judged the first Suffolk Youth Poetry Competition. She has been published in various anthologies and magazines. She has also participated at local events and book fairs. Sarah has a long-standing passion for philanthropy, including clothing and book drives for at-risk youth, and is an active supporter for cancer foundations.
Blupoetres is a Brooklyn native with over two decades of experience as a New York City high school English teacher. After experiencing burnout in 2023, she transitioned from the classroom to a dean's role, seeking to make a broader impact on students. Her educational background includes an Associate in Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, a Master of Science in Education, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
In 2008, she founded her own business, Blupoetres Creations. This is a passion-driven brand dedicated to celebrating the richness of the Black and Brown experience through custom, handmade t-shirts. Each piece is designed to empower, inspire, and connect, featuring Afrocentric themes and positive messages that resonate deeply with our community. Her brand, Blupoetres Creations, believes in the power of wearable art to tell stories and express identity. Blupoetres believes in celebrating culture, creativity, and individuality not just with her words but with her products.
Blupoetres’ passion lies in crafting poetry that highlights the experiences of marginalized communities and sparks meaningful dialogue. She recently published a heroic crown of sonnets, Call Her Woman and Bend the Knee, which was a three-year labor of love that reflects a piece of her soul on every page. Blupoetres has already self-published a journal and a poetry collection. Encouraging students to pursue their dreams has been a cornerstone of her career, and now, she’s excited to finally chase her own.
Robert Savino (born Jamaica, NY) is a native Long Island poet, Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2015-2017, Bards Laureate 2019-2021, Board Member at the Walt Whitman Birthplace and at the Long Island Poetry & Literature Repository Center. He is the winner of the 2008 Oberon Poetry Prize, Association of Italian American Educators - Cristoforo Colombo Award for Literary Leadership (2019), and Town of Islip Italian American Heritage Award for Visual & Performing Arts - in Literature (2019).
Robert is co-editor of two bilingual collections of Italian Americans Poets, No Distance Between Us. His books include fireballs of an illuminated scarecrow, Inside a Turtle Shell and I’m Not the Only One Here.
William Edward Graham III, also known as Will Succeed The Artist (The Will To Succeed of the Bronx NYC), is a talented poet and songwriter who is dedicated to uplifting and inspiring fellow artists. He draws inspiration from his peers in the underground scene and is passionate about creating a supportive community. Will discovered his own unique voice by humming tunes to accompany his writings, and he went on to excel in poetry slams, winning Top 5 every time as his life is a testament to the power of living poetry. Will has organized numerous open mic events throughout New York City, including the popular "Too Much and Extra" series, where he and his team, foster a spirit of appreciation and encouragement by giving roses to the audience to show their admiration for their favorite performers of the night.
In addition to hosting his own open mic events, Will actively participates in Squad 301 of "The Harlem Bomb Shelter", a cultural literary initiative that unites creatives. Unity is all that matters to Will
Author of the collection Tomorrow Smells Invisible (Words With Wings Press, 2020) and the soon to be released Don’t Take The Laughter (Words With Wings Press, 2025),
Brooklyn native Dd. Spungin taught special needs children in the New York City school system. Writing was her quiet place. Once retired, that quiet place expanded into the poetry world, especially on Long Island where she hosts poetry events for Performance Poets Association.
An award winning poet, her work has appeared in many anthologies, and in journals, both online and print.
Several of her poems have been set to music by NY composer, Julie Mandel.
Spungin lives on Long Island with her very supportive husband, Neil.
She lives for love, prays for peace and writes for her sanity.
Heru Smith’s journey with words began at the age of thirteen, when he first started expressing his unsettled feelings through writing. It was his eighth-grade poetry teacher, however, who encouraged him to channel those emotions into poetry, pushing him to explore the power of words. By the time he turned 25, Heru was grappling with the complexities of living with a disability and the emotional weight of feeling “different.” His writing became an essential outlet for navigating these challenges.
In 2021, he began performing his poetry, and in December 2023, he published his debut poetry collection, Thru Shai’s Eyes, available on Amazon. Heru has shared his work at numerous venues, including The Rose Garden, TroubleMAkers, Karma Comes Before, TriMic, House of Khaos, and One Love One Mic. Beyond performing, he serves as the Safe Space Manager at kcbthemagazine.com
Rosalind Benner is an artist who creates paintings, poetry, collage and stained
glass in her East Hampton studio. She shows prolifically and works on commissions as
well. Her glass is installed in synagogues, churches and homes and her paintings are
collected in many beautiful venues. She has a joint MFA in visual art and poetry and has
many publications in journals, as well as four poetry books published by small, respected
poetry presses.
Rosalind uses color passionately, calling on the viewer to travel her art, capturing
attention with a figure nearly obscured but present, a passage of landscape, and uplifting
movement, to beckon us further into the depth of the work.
Her abstractions reveal alphabets and recognizable objects. Her latest work is
figurative abstraction and expressionistic. She loves to paint female figures in joyful
dance. She uses color to further the illusion of entering a world that she sees and one
which she wishes her viewer to share.
Rosalind's work is a fusion of the traditional and the purely imaginative. She
paints her spirit, her vision of beauty. Her stained-glass background is evident in her use
of color, line and shape. Her works are in oil, acrylie, watercolor, monotype.
Hers is a subjective emotional expression of her thoughts, memories of place,
reaction to events, love of life, emerging on paper or canvas through the act of making
art.