Participating Poets
Highland Park Poetry welcomes all poets - there is no geographic limitation. For more information on how to become a Participating Poet, query info@highlandparkpoetry.org.
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| Participating Poets - Coffee, Tea & Other Beverages |
Jocelyn Ajami is a painter/filmmaker and founder of Gypsy Heart Productions. She turned to writing poetry in 2014 as a way of connecting more intimately with issues of cultural awareness and social justice. Cappuccino is a favorite drink.
Emma Alexandra Kowalenko is strategist, environmental planner, and change management implementer for Kowalenko Consulting Group since 1988. Of eastern European heritage, born in Casablanca, Morocco, Emma emigrated to the U.S. with her parents at age 11. Fluent in six languages, small business advocate, oral historian, poet, and mixed media visual artist, she is passionate about giving visibility and voice to the unseen and the unheard. She appreciates tea as a favorite beverage because its cultivation and traditions span centuries and continents.
Andrew Antonio Allen was drafted in the Army during the Vietnam War and served two years in Germany as a Cook. His Sergeant gave him the nickname, Bop Daddy. Since then, he has worked as a handy man and interior designer. He studied creative writing at Columbia College in Chicago. In addition to writing poetry, he is writing a history of Stepping in America. He drinks coffee.
Mary Jo Balistreri discovered haiku almost three years ago. Haibun followed. Japanese forms helped her to zoom in on the overlooked, the simple everyday things she'd taken for granted. That awareness opened a whole new range of experience that also became an asset in writing free verse. She has a new book of poems, STILL, due out this September from Future Cycle Press. Please visit her at maryjobalistreripoet.com. Mary Jo says she most looks forward to New Orleans French Roast in the morning and then somewhat later as a pick-me-up.
Lois Baer Barr is a literacy tutor at the Waukegan Public Library and an emerita professor of Spanish at Lake Forest College. Her publications include two chapbooks, Biopoesis and Lope de Vega’s Daughter (forthcoming), poetry, fiction, essays and literary criticism. She drinks gin martinis and water with lots of ice.
Judith Bernstein tells us, “Coffee is my life. My best friend is my coffee pot. I get up every morning and make a beeline to my mug. Other than drinking coffee I go spelunking, hunt squirrels in Sunset Park and steal candy from babies on Central Avenue. I live a very full life.” Editor’s Note: You decide which statements are true and which are the caffeine talking.
Mary Beth Bretzlauf writes fiction and poetry while drinking iced tea. Living and working in Lake County, Illinois, she finds that the world around her and her family is a cornucopia of inspiration for writing. A member of two writing groups, she thrives in the support and challenges they give her.
Michael H. Brownstein has been widely published throughout the small and literary presses including American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review, Highland Park Poetry, Poetrysuperhighway.com and others. In addition, he has nine poetry chapbooks including A Period of Trees (Snark Press, 2004), What Stone Is (Fractal Edge Press, 2005) and The Katy Trail, Mid-Missouri, 100 Degrees Outside and Other Poems (Kind of Hurricane Press, 2013). Michael enjoys plant protein milk with a splash of vanilla and almond.
Madeline Canmann is a coffee hobbyist fully invested in finding, brewing, and sharing the freshest beans possible. To her, the subtle thrill of trying new varieties and blends is an art as well as a service to others. Coffee is not just a beverage, it is a way of life. Her favorite drink: double shot of espresso.
Joseph Kuhn Carey is the author of “Postcards From Poland,” an award-winning book of travel poems about Poland, which is available at Amazon.com and Chicagopoetry.com . His favorite beverages are raspberry or lemon-flavored iced teas and crisp cold bottles of cherry Coke.
William Carey is a real estate investor, writer, and musician, whose home and business are in the Chicago area. His poems have won prizes in various competitions and been published in several periodicals. He loves to drink water and Guinness.
Sylvia Cavanaugh has an M.S. in Urban Planning and teaches high school cultural studies. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her recent chapbook, Angular Embrace, was published by Kelsay Books. Her mother taught her the joys of tea and Moby Dick.
J.H. Cooper received her BS in Chemistry from Georgia State University and her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. She now resides with her husband in Vernon Hills, Illinois. With respect to her preference for coffee or tea, she loves them equally.
Albert DeGenova is an award-winning poet, editor, and bourbon-drinking blues saxophonist. He is the author of three books of poetry and three chapbooks. In June 2000 DeGenova launched the literary/arts journal After Hours where he continues as publisher and editor.
"I'm thankful that I've never been this desperately alone in my life," says Gail Denham. "But writers observe folks. I see many who need a smile or encouragement. I hope I can always encourage, each day. " For over 40 years, Denham's poems, stories, essays, news articles and photos have been published widely, showing her tendency to write simple and real. Belonging to over a dozen state poetry societies, she wins some prizes and is published in anthologies. Denham enjoys coffee first thing in the morning, but not after noon.
Charlotte Digregorio is the author of Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All, and five other books. She has won forty-seven literary awards, and recently received an Official Commendation from Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner for her thirty-eight years of achievement in the literary arts. Pina coladas and cocktails are not Charlotte’s favorite beverage – coffee is.
Jennifer Dotson starts each morning with a large mug of Earl Grey tea and a splash of milk. She founded www.HighlandParkPoetry.org in 2007. Her collection, Clever Gretel, received the first Journal of Modern Poetry Book Award and was published by Chicago Poetry Press in 2013.
Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois, Idella Edwards and her husband, Jack, have lived in eight different states. They have five children, twelve grandchildren and were recently blessed with their first great-grandchild. Her favorite pastimes are writing books, working jigsaw puzzles, bird watching, photography and drinking hot, black coffee.
Michael Escoubas is the definition of a late-bloomer. He began writing poetry for publication at age 66. In a five-year period his poems have appeared in a range of venues over 200 times. Michael's favorite beverage is coffee because coffee, journal and pen are a poet's best friends.
Dan Fitzgerald lives quietly in Pontiac, Illinois, tending to home and garden. He likes his coffee in the morning, tea at night and has given up most other beverages.
Michelle LM Gale author of her first book Still I Try lives in Wiltshire England while working on her second as yet untitled volume. Her new poetry has elements of thought provoking ecologically concerns mixed with humour. Her favourite tea is black decaf or a spicy chai.
Dominique Galiano is a native Chicagoan with a diverse background, including zookeeper. Currently, she works for Township High School District 113 in Highland Park and has seasonally worked for Ravinia the last fifteen years. Her favorite beverage in warm weather is Ice Mocha Cappuccino. In cold weather, give her a Hot Mocha Cappuccino.
Cynthia Gallaher is author of four full poetry collections, including the forthcoming Epicurean Ecstasy: More Poems About Food, Drink, Herbs and Spices (The Poetry Box, Portland, 2019), and three chapbooks, including the forthcoming Drenched: Poems About Liquids, Pools, Sewers, Saunas, Waterfalls & Floods (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Charlotte, N.C., 2018). Her nonfiction memoir and reference Frugal Poets' Guide to Life: How to Live a Poetic Life, Even If You Aren't a Poet won a 2017 National Indie Excellence Award. Her favorite thirst quencher is San Pellegrino Sparkling Mineral Water.
Most of Joe Glaser's career was technical management, but near retirement an interest in Liberal Arts blossomed and he began writing poetry in 2008. His poems have been published in Front Porch Review, Muses' Gallery of Highland Park Poetry, Journal of Modern Poetry, East on Central, Distilled Lives, and other journals and anthologies. Candid travel photos too. Joe enjoys the following equally: Coffee, Malbec Red Wine, and Single-malt Scotch (on the rocks of course!).
Marne Glaser was raised in the suburbs of NY and, after several rehearsal moves, found herself living in Chicago some 28 years ago and has stayed ever since. Her training has been in music, psychology, and education, but she was an English major for a few months, and she did win the limerick prize her freshman year of college. Much of her writing falls into the verse and lyrics category—mostly observational, frequently lighthearted, and occasionally deep. She enjoys reading poetry aloud, and performing her own songs in concert with some of Chicago’s finest jazz musicians. Every morning, she drinks Trader Joe's Organic French Roast Coffee, fresh ground, poured through a white porcelain Melitta cone lined with a natural brown paper filter.
Kathleen Gregg has found a literary home within the vibrant writing community of Lexington, Kentucky, where she regularly takes poetry writing classes, belongs to a writing group, and drinks wine – happily and often. She is proud to have graduated from the nine-month-long Author Academy at Carnegie Center, during which time she was mentored by poet Jeff Worley. Her poems have appeared in Avocet, Ghost City Review, Pegasus, and in two anthologies by Workhorse Publishing.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident whose favorite beverage is coffee. Recently published in Examined Life Journal, Evening Street Review and Columbia Review with work upcoming in Harpur Palate, Poetry East and Midwest Quarterly.
Gay Guard-Chamberlin lives in the wonderfully diverse Devon neighborhood and recently returned from her first visit to Ireland where she drank quite a lot of Irish tea. Her prize possession is her authentic Brown Betty English teapot.
Apple Rhodes Gunther is a perpetual student at the College of Lake County where she pursues degrees in too many disciplines to detail here. Copious amounts of iced coffee keep her focused and moving forward.
Cynthia T. Hahn is a Professor of French at Lake Forest College where she has been teaching French language, literature, culture, translation and creative writing since 1990. Author of two books of poetry, Outside-In-Sideout (Finishing Line Press, 2011) and Coïncidences (with French artist Monique Loubet, alfAbarre Press, 2014), Cynthia is an avid musician and enjoys her daily skim latte.
Colleen McManus Hein is writer from Riverwoods, Illinois whose favorite beverage is tea, hot or iced.
Julie Isaacson loves teaching kids of all ages. Among her other passions are writing, storytelling and baking. Her day includes a 3 mile walk with her collie-chow, Murphy. They both love drinking water. Julie’s favorite coffee is flavored with hazelnut.
Annie Jenkin has written poetry since 2014 and explores the rich images of Devon countryside and coastline in her writing - often with a cup of tea in hand! Through her writing, Annie has poetry friends in the USA, particularly Illinois.
David Jibson is retired from a long career as a social worker, most recently with a hospice agency. Golf just wasn't enough so now he's up every morning at six to report to his favorite roastery to sip coffee, people watch and edit Third Wednesday, a literary and visual arts quarterly.
Caroline Johnson’s favorite drink is coffee and she is proud of the fact that she worked as a barista at Starbucks for one year. She has two poetry chapbooks, Where the Street Ends and My Mother’s Artwork. Her full-length poetry collection, The Caregiver, is now available in bookstores or online from Holy Cow! Press and Amazon. Read more about Caroline at www.caroline-johnson.com.
Poet and memoirist Judith MK Kaufman is Editor-In-Chief of East On Central, a Journal of Arts and Letters from Highland Park, Illinois. Judith’s work has been published in Poetica, Collage, Cram 9 and the Journal of Modern Poetry, and online at Pirene’s Fountain and Highland Park Poetry. Judith recently published a memoir of her parents entitled Caught Laughing: the Esther and Bernie Story.
Trudy Kleckner is the author of Paper Airplanes and she is working on a second poetry collection. A writer for twenty-five years, Trudy is a mother of two, grandmother of two and recently a great grandmother. Trudy lives in Barrington, Illinois and loves to participate in poetry readings. Trudy loves both coffee and merlot but if she has to choose only one, she’s going for a nice glass of merlot.
Candace Kubinec writes and dreams from a comfy chair in Western Pennsylvania, usually sipping a steamy mug of chai latte. Oh, she has had some poems and short stories published here and there, but the joy, for her, is in the writing. Her poetry can be found at http://rhymeswithbug.com.
Nancy LaChance a retired teacher of English, Journalism and drama, a former adjunct instructor at Missouri Baptist University holds an undergraduate degree from Southeast Missouri State University and Master’s degree from SUI-Edwardsville. She is a past president of Missouri State Poetry Society and current president of Lebanon Poets Society. She likes experimenting with different forms. Her favorite drink would be coffee before breakfast with caramel macchiato flavoring.
Ann Lamas, writer and fun-seeker, lives and works in Chicago. “I like writing in form because there is structure, a path to follow.” Her favorite beverage is a skinny cuppa joe.
Jill Angel Langlois, a resident of Yorkville, Illinois, began writing poetry at the age of 5 and short stories at the age of 8. She has several poems published in various literary journals and on the Highland Park and the Illinois State Poetry Society websites. Her favorite beverage is Louis XIII Cognac, however, she's been known to relax and contemplate with a hot, steaming cup of chamomile tea.
Kerry Leaf is a passionate writer and poet who loves Highland Park's sculptures, ravines, beaches, music, artwork, and imagination. When she is not working at her day job (for a major North American nonprofit organization), you can see Kerry walking with her best dog, Louie, both of them looking for good conversation. Kerry has lived in Highland Park since 1987, with her husband and children, where she has long delighted in working for community organizations like YEA! Highland Park that support youth, education, the arts and social services. Her favorite daytime beverage is unsweetened ice tea or for evening with friends, a glass of Malbec.
Terry Loncaric is a poet, journalist, teacher, and truth seeker. Her poems have appeared on storefronts, in magazines, anthologies, and journals. She is the author of Crashing in Velvet. She enjoys a good French roast with just a hint of vanilla.
Barbara Boothe Loyd graduated from the University of Maryland with a BFA in art history and literature in 1974. This tea drinker taught art to students in grades 1-12 during her career. Barbara lives in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband and three pets. She has exhibited her art internationally, nationally and locally; her poetry and memoirs have been published in several anthologies.
Lennart Lundh is a poet, short-fictionist, historian, and photographer. His work has appeared internationally since 1965. He prefers diet soda or decaf coffee.
Emily Ruth Mace’s poetry or prose has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Mama, Chronicle Vitae, Killing the Buddha, Religion Dispatches, and elsewhere. She holds a Ph.D. in American religious history from Princeton University and is the author of several articles and book chapters on religious liberalism in America. She works as an academic administrator and lives in Highland Park with her husband and two daughters. Her favorite beverage changes with the seasons. Follow her on Twitter @lemilym or visit her at emilyrmace.com.
Bonnie Manion has published several hundred poems in some 60 venues. Check out her poetry website at www.BonnieManion.com. Her favorite beverage is iced tea with lemon. William Marr, a former president of the Illinois State Poetry Society, has published 24 collections of poetry including Autumn Window, Between Heaven and Earth, and a recently released eBook: The Selected Chinese/English Poems of William Marr. His favorite beverages are tea and Coca Cola which in China is transliterated as Tasty & Enjoyable.
Wilda W. Morris, whose poetry is widely published on-line and print journals and anthologies, often sips hazelnut coffee as she writes. Sometimes, though, she opts for tea. Her blog, at wildamorris.blogspot.com provides a monthly contest for other poets.
Lakshmy Menon Nair is a poet, nature photographer and a scientist, who lives in the north suburb of Chicago. Apart from writing poetry, she has authored numerous scientific articles. A regular contributor to www.allpoetry.com, she writes under the pen name Aami. She is the author of the book, A Lament, a collection poems which is available on Amazon. Her favorite beverage is coffee.
David Nekimken is a senior citizen who lives in a housing co-op in Hyde Park, with 3 wonderful grandchildren living in Oak Park. He is an accomplished poet, with poems in the Journal of Ordinary Thought and the Journal of Modern Poetry and a book of poems, Anything and Everything Goes.
Ellen Pickus, who enjoys coffee in the morning and tea in the evening, resides on Long Island with her family. A retired English teacher, she now does volunteer work with children at a local elementary school and with seniors at a creative writing workshop. Money from her books of poetry is donated to research for Alzheimer's disease, which affected her mother.
Donna Pucciani has published poetry worldwide in such diverse journals as Shi Chao Poetry, Italian Americana, Acumen, Poetry Salzburg, and Istanbul Literary Review. Her most recent book of poems is EDGES. Despite the fact that her poem is about tea, her favorite beverage is espresso.
Hannah Radeke is a poet, picture-taker, piano-player, and poem-while-you-waiter. They were born outside of Chicago, study art history and creative writing at DePaul, and their favorite beverage is chocolate milk.
Jenene Ravesloot has written five books of poetry. She has published in After Hours Press, Caravel Literary Arts Journal, Connotation Press, Packingtown Review, The Miscreant, and other online journals, print journals, chapbooks, and anthologies.
Dorothy Marie Rice is a poet, self-taught visual artist and a retired educator. Her daughter, 2 granddaughters and 1 great granddaughter reside in her multi-generational home. Her favorite beverage is tea, but coffee is a close second.
Marjorie Rissman began writing poetry seven years ago and has been a loyal HP Poetry contributor to contests and events. She has been published in East on Central, Distilled Lives anthology of ISPS, Journal of Modern Poetry, many chapbooks and on line as well. She claims that she writes best when sipping her favorite beverage, Prosecco, but no one knows for sure. She is currently a member of ISPS, Poets and Patrons, Highland Park Poetry and Deerfield Library Poets, all non-alcoholic poetry groups.
Rie Sheridan Rose's poetry has appeared in Dreams and Nightmares, Illumen, and Penumbra, as well as numerous anthologies. She has authored ten novels, six poetry chapbooks, and lyrics for dozens of songs. More info can be found on www.riewriter.com, and she tweets as @RieSheridanRose.
R. Craig Sautter is author, coauthor, and editor of ten books, including Expressways Through The Inevitable City (poems). He was the 47th president of the Society of Midland Authors and served as a "poet-in-residence" for the Illinois Arts Council in several Highland Park schools. He teaches creative writing and other subjects at DePaul University and he prefers tea over coffee.
Irfanulla Shariff lives and writes poetry in South Elgin, Illinois while enjoying sweet basil tea.
Joseph Solberg was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He moved downstate to Bloomington with his wife, Patty, in 1982. He taught at Illinois State University for twenty-eight years and is currently teaching at Illinois Wesleyan University. Joe and Patty have five children and seven grandchildren. Joe's favorite beverage is coffee.
Max Sparber is a poet and an author from Minneapolis. His poetry has appeared in such diverse publications as Modern Drunkard Magazine, Cowboy Poetry Press, and VisualVerse.org. His favorite beverage is the Manhattan.
Beth Staas holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in English. Her poetry has won or placed in numerous contests, anthologies and websites and seen in North American Review, Art Times, Iconoclast, Encore and Prairie Light Review. She is past president and current treasurer of Poets and Patrons and member of ISPS and Poets Club of Chicago. Her favorite drink is Barista Prima Coffeehouse, the stronger, the better.
Bekah Steimel is a poet whose work has been published globally. Recent poems have appeared in Impossible Archetype, Paper and Ink Zine, and Memoryhouse Magazine. She lives in St. Louis and can be found online at bekahsteimel.com and followed on Twitter and Instagram @BekahSteimel. Her favorite beverage is a McDonald's fountain Coke.
David Subacchi lives in Wales (UK) where he was born of Italian roots. He has four published collections of his poetry in English and one in Welsh. You can find out more about David and his work simply by searching on line under DAVID SUBACCHI. His favourite drink is a double espresso with a shot of Amaretto.
Henry Torres was raised in the Lower East Side of New York City and moved to the Bronx at age 17. Writing poetry since his teens, Henry became a Social Studies teacher and taught 7th grade in one Intermediate school in the South Bronx for his whole career. Many of his poems reflect his Puerto Rican heritage which is also the reason why his favorite libation is rum - besides a good old rum & coke a mojito with its natural mint is such a delight.
Merle Tovian is an educator and writer with publications online, in East on Central and now in Highland Park Poetry. Born in Chicago, she migrated north with her husband Steven and their children, and has now lived half her life in Highland Park, Illinois. Her favorite beverage is mint tea steeped from the mint in her garden.
Robert West’s publications include a chapbook of his own poems, Convalescent (Finishing Line Press, 2011); an anthology of short poems, Succinct, co-edited with Jonathan Greene (Broadstone Books, 2013); and The Complete Poems of A. R. Ammons, in two volumes (W. W. Norton, 2017). He drinks coffee (milk, no sugar) twice a day, mornings and mid-afternoons. Robert states, “I'm an awfully unsophisticated coffee drinker. As long as it's caffeinated warm brown water that I can bear to swallow, I'll take it. Some days it's a matter of survival.”
CJ Wilkens takes her Americano coffee with vanilla syrup. She loves to write about nature, faith, love, pets and silly everyday life. She enjoys nature walks and reading and writing in her free time. She has been writing poetry for over twenty-five years and her first poetry collection will be published later this year.
Michael P. Wright has been a frequent participant in Highland Park Poetry readings and open-mic events since its inception in 2007. His favorite beverage is of the green/zen tea variety. He explains: “I write eclectic poetry and can almost write about anything. It is rather infinite for me.”
Rita Yager is a nurse who has worked in many specialty areas, taught medical students and written and published medical research. She has also teaches life skills classes for special needs students. She is a Wife, Mother and Grandmother and has been writing poetry and short stories for over 50 years. Rita's favorite beverage is sweet tea.
Ed Zifkin has hung around coffeehouses and diners for most of his adult life. He was a partner at Caffé Pergolesi for two years in the late ‘70s. Most mornings he can be found at Arrive Dolce in Highland Park drinking coffee. His preferred beverage is a double espresso.
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| Participating Poets - Highland Park Poetry |
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Emma Alexandra, poet, historian, avid walker and hiker, celebrates her immigrant’s journey from Morocco to Chicago’s Humboldt Park Neighborhood in the early 1960’s to Highland Park, Illinois in 2000 with her poetry collection “It’s Long way from Casablanca to the Shores of Highland Park.” She has collaborated with several Highland Park visual artists such as Sumner Garte, Yelena Klairmont, and Howard Jacobs creating poetry for their work and the artists creating visual art for her poetry. She believes that collaboration between visual artist, musician, performance artist, and poet liberates the human mind’s intriguingly complex Musescape. Most recently she has embarked on a photographic journey, documenting Highland Park’s natural environment from its tiniest inhabitants to those of huge, centuries-old proportions, butterflies to trees. She will assemble these images, into collemblages (collage and assemblage), thereby painting Highland Park’s unique land, city, and people scapes. Poetry will accompany her collemblages. She is dedicated to promoting the artistic and practical preservation of the natural environment whose inspiration is essential to creative health.
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Wendy Anderson is a published poet and longtime professional writer who has taught in the graduate journalism school at Northwestern University. Her most recent poetry collection, An Ancient Trail to Home, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2014. For five years she has led the Poets Attic writers workshops through the Highland Park Community House. She presents creative writing workshops at the Highland Park and other local libraries. If you are interested in learning more about the Poets Attic writers workshops, contact Wendy Anderson at (847) 432-3271 or email writersattic@comcast.net.
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Susan B. Auld lives in Arlington Heights. Her free verse poetry, haiku and haibun have been published both online and in print journals. She is a member of the Haiku Society of America and the Illinois State Poetry Society. Susan teaches Continuing Education writing classes for Township 214 that encourage new writers and writers who wish to use writing to heal.
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Sherri Lohrum Baker of Belleville, Illinois, is a special procedure technologist who has worked at Memorial Hospital since 1994. Sherri has written poetry intermittently throughout her life “to purge her feelings,” and had pieces published in college, but usually threw her poems away. In recent years, Sherri says, she has experienced much tragedy and finds comfort in her writing that she hopes to share with others. At the insistence of her sister, who also writes poetry, she no longer throws away her poems. Some of her work is also posted online as broadsides.
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Mary Jo Balistreri has two full books of poetry, Joy in the Morning and gathering the harvest (Bellowing Ark Press), and a chapbook, Best Brothers (Tiger's Eye Press). She has recent or forthcoming work in Parabola, Grist, The Hurricane Press, Plainsongs, The Tiger's Eye, Avocet, Crab Creek Review, Quill and Parchment, The Heron's Nest, Acorn, and A Hundred Gourds. Poetrystorehouse has offered videos of two poems. She has six Pushcart nominations, and two Best of the Net. She was a poetry judge for Arizona Writers Association for two years and just recently a judge for Wilda’s blogspot.com. Mary Jo is one of the founders of Grace River Poets, an outreach for women's shelters, churches, and schools. Please visit her at maryjobalistreripoet.com
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Lois Baer Barr - A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Languages and Linguistics, Middlebury College’s Spanish School and the University of Kentucky, Lois is a professor of Spanish at Lake Forest College. Her poems and stories have been published in Persimmon Tree, The Examined Life, Journal of Modern Poetry, Flashquake, Poetica, Phat’itude, East on Central, Ekakshara, The DuPage Review, The New Vilna Review, The Jewish Literary Journal and Mochila. Six anthologies have included her work. She has received Pushcart nominations for poetry and fiction. Her books, articles and reviews on Spanish and Latin American literature, with a special focus on Latin American Jewish Literature, have appeared here and abroad. Her chapbook Biopoesis won Poetica Magazine’s 2013 contest. You can see more about her at https://www.amazon.com/author/loisbaerbarr
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Deerfield resident Herb Berman is a lawyer/labor arbitrator, reader of poems, and sometime-poet. His poems have been published in about 20 literary magazines, and his book of poems will be published in 2014.
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Lorraine Brown lives in Chicago with her husband Greg. She has been writing poetry and short stories since childhood. Her poem Cheaters received 1st place, non-resident in Highland Park Poetry’s 2010 Funny Poetry contest and Looking back at me received 1st place in HPP’s 2011 Rhyme & Time contest. Her poems What my momma said and He won’t eat my soup were included in CRAM 9 and CRAM 10; along with her poem Once in CRAM 11. Lorraine is an actress and voice over talent for television & radio; co-founder of the Chicago Bulls Cheerleaders (The Luv-A-Bulls) and former NFL-Chicago Bears Cheerleader (The Honeybears). She shares some of her interests on her blog, A multi-dimensional life... http://lorrainelorrainelorraine.blogspot.com
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Michael H. Brownstein has been widely published throughout the small and literary presses. His work has appeared in The Café Review, American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Xavier Review, Hotel Amerika, Free Lunch, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review, poetrysuperhighway.com and others. In addition, he has nine chapbooks including The Shooting Gallery (Samsidat Press, 1987), Poems from the Body Bag (ommation Press, 1988), A Period of Trees (Snark Press, 2004), What Stone Is (Fractal Press, 2005), I Was a Teacher Once (Ten Page Press, 2011), Firestorm: A Rendering of Torah (Camel Saloon Press, 2012), The Possibility of Sky and Hell: From My Suicide Book (White Knuckle Press, 2013) and The Katy Trail, Mid-Missouri, 100 Degrees Outside and Other Poems (Kind of Hurricane Press, 2013). He is the editor of First Poems from Viet Nam (2011). He currently resides in Jefferson City, Missouri.
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Joseph Kuhn Carey's collection, Postcards From Poland received the Journal of Modern Poetry Book Award and was published by Chicago Poetry Press in early 2014. [Copies available from PostcardsfromPoland.com, ChicagoPoetry.com and Amazon.com]. Postcards from Poland garnered numerous awards and recognition. His newest (as yet unpublished) collection, Back to the Black Forest: A Poetic Journey Through Germany, has already been awarded 1st Place in both the 2016 Amsterdam Book Festival as well as 2016 Northern California Book Festival. He is a Grammy-voting member of The Recording Academy and recipient of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor award for music-related writing (for articles about jazz composer/musicians Carla Bley, Anthony Braxton, and Charlie Haden). He's published a chapbook of poetry ("Bulk-Rate") and a book on jazz (Big Noise From Notre Dame: A History of the Collegiate Jazz Festival) and has released two Loose Caboose Band CDs of original children's songs with his brother, Bill ("The Caboose is Loose" and "Mighty Big Broom," the latter garnered two first-round Grammy nominations). He earned his B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, and a M.S. in Mass Communication from Boston University. He's interviewed bakers for Bakery Magazine, written about jazz and blues artists for Downbeat, JazzTimes, and The Boston Globe. His poems have been selected in the Writer's Digest 7th Annual Poetry Awards Contest & 80th Annual Writing Competition as well as the Evanston Library's 35th Annual Jo-Anne Hirschfield Memorial Poetry Awards. He's been published by East on Central, the Journal of Modern Poetry, Highland Park Poetry and more. When not scribbling entertaining poems, stories and songs on all available scraps of paper to read to his wife and kids over dinner, he runs a multi-state property management business.
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Jill Charles lives in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago and works in a Montessori school office. She performs her poetry at open mic nights at The Heartland Café and the Green Mill in Chicago. Read her jazz age novel Marlene's Piano from Booklocker.com.
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Tricia Marcella Cimera is a Midwestern poet with a worldview. Her work appears in many diverse places — from the Buddhist Poetry Review to the Origami Poems Project. Her poem The Stag won first place honors in College of DuPage’s 2017 Writers Read: Emerging Voices contest. Tricia lives with her husband and family of animals in Illinois / in a town called St. Charles / by a river named Fox / with a Poetry Box in her front yard. Visit The Fox Poetry Box on Facebook!
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Kathy Lohrum Cotton of Anna, Illinois, is a poet and collage artist whose work has been published in literary journals, magazines and anthologies and as posters and greeting cards. Cotton is the author of three poetry collections; including the 2012 illustrated volume, Deluxe Box of Crayons. She supports poets and poetry by editing/designing poetry books and by serving on the board of directors of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies as Encore editor, and the Illinois State Poetry Society as facilitator of the Southern Chapter and ISPS newsletter editor. Samples of her illustrated poetry are available at: www.minddances.yolasite.com
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Gail Denham’s short stories, essays, news articles, poetry and photos have been published in a wide variety of publications nationally and internationally. Denham leads photo and writing workshops at various Pacific Northwest conferences. Her photography is meant to have the meaning of “story”. In all her work, humor plays a big part, plus family closeness. Denham and her husband have four sons and 14 grandchildren, plus a few greats. They live near Sunriver, in Central Oregon where photo opportunities of the great outdoors surround them. Her poem, "Save That Smile" was selected for the 2015 Poetry That Moves Contest. Gail says she is thankful for the outlets for poetry such as Highland Park Poetry. "I take advantage of submissions to this contest, that anthology, on-line possibilities. Especially enjoy the story contests -- those that say "narrative" or "story". Perhaps that's because I began life (almost) as a story teller and most of my previous writing career has been stories. Often I start with the first line, try to figure out a name that fits the idea and I'm off, never imaginging where that poem will lead. The greatest satisfaction is to breathe a big sigh, laugh, or say "ahhhh" at the ending."
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Charlotte Digregorio writes eleven poetic forms, has won forty-sixliterary awards, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Poetry. Her sixth book, Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All, was recently published. She writes papers for academic publications on Japanese poetry. Her poems have been translated into six languages, and her traveling poetry/art show is featured at libraries and corporate centers, among several venues. Her books are sold in forty-six countries, and four have been adopted as supplemental texts and have also been featured selections of book clubs. She has given workshops at writer's conferences throughout the U.S.; is a writer-in-residence at universities; and speaks regularly at libraries and chain bookstores. Charlotte hosted a radio poetry program on public broadcasting, and was formerly an executive officer of the Haiku Society of America.
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| Photo by Martha Abelson Photography |
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Jennifer Dotson studied acting on the East Coast when the siren song of Chicago's storefront theater scene lured her to the Midwest. Along the way she stumbled into writing, first with plays and later poetry. Her poems have appeared in After Hours, Caravel Literary Journal, DuPage Valley Review, East On Central, Exact Change Only, Poetry Cram/J.O.M.P., Her Mark 2005 and Willow Review. She has poems included in several anthologies including A Midnight Snack, from Poetic License Press. Her debut collection, Clever Gretel, was published by Chicago Poetry Press in April 2013 and is available through www.clevergretel.net or www.amazon.com. She teaches creative writing and memoir through "Library U" at Highland Park Library and leads workshops such as "Performance Skills for Poets," "Poetry for the Apocalypse," and "How-To Poems: From the Functional to the Fantastic." Jennifer is thrilled that what started as a small idea to recognize local poets in the community has grown and bloomed into Highland Park Poetry. She hopes that HPP will continue to flourish and inspire.
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Robert Klein Engler lives in Oak Park, Illinois and sometimes New Orleans. He is the current president of NewTown Writers in Chicago. Many of Robert’s poems and stories are set in the Crescent City. "Justin the Pirate," is available in the Harrington Gay Men's Fiction Quarterly, "Red Beans and Rice," is online at the Drunken Boat, and "The Approach to Pilottown," is at Blithe House Quarterly. His long poem, The Accomplishment of Metaphor and the Necessity of Suffering, set partially in New Orleans, is published by Headwaters Press, Medusa, New York, 2004. He has received an Illinois Arts Council award for his "Three Poems for Kabbalah." Robert's poetry is available for purchase from www.lulu.com - simply search for his name when you visit the Web site.
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Michael Escoubas - Michael began writing poetry for publication in August of 2013. Early in life his mother said, You have a gift for words; I hope you do something with that gift. Michael writes poetry, in part, because of his mother’s encouraging words and because he believes poetry brings people together. Michael has published one chapbook, Light Comes Softly, which is available by contacting the author.
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Edilson Afonso Ferreira - Mr. Ferreira, 73, is a Brazilian poet who writes in English rather than Portuguese, having been published in venues like Right Hand Pointing, The Lake, The Stare’s Nest, The Provo Canyon, Red Wolf Journal, Whispers, Every Day Poems, Indiana Voice Journal, Synesthesia, Algebra of Owls and some others. Ferreira lives in a small town (Formiga (MG) with wife, three sons and a granddaughter and is trying to publish his first Poetry Collection, with about 70 poems, in 2017. Has been recently nominated for The Pushcart Prize by his poem “Eating Pain”.
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Mary Jane Gabrielsen began writing poetry in the winter of 2003, noticing an ice-covered window in the office of their late 50’s Colonial. She lives in Deerfield with her husband, Gary, and two sons, Kevin and Brian. With a B.S. degree in Administration of Parks and Recreation from Eastern Illinois University, and graduate studies at DePaul University, she has a keen interest in the influence nature plays in our daily lives, and a fascination with the interplay of familiar characters and their effects upon our perceptions in a fast-paced landscape of visual commonality. Her work has been published in recent editions of East on Central, A Journal of Arts and Letters. She has been a student member of Poet's Attic, Highland Park, since 2003 and enjoys participating in open mic poetry readings at Highland Park Library.
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Joseph ("Joe") Glaser - Originally educated in Engineering Physics and Mathematics at Cornell, CCNY (BS) and NYU (MS), most of Joe's career was spent in technical business management. In retirement, he dove into Liberal Arts, got an MLA from the University of Chicago, and began writing poetry in 2008. His poems have appeared in The Journal, printed by Northwestern University's OLLI program, the online Front Porch Review, Decades Review, Muses’ Gallery of Highland Park Poetry, the printed Journal of Modern Poetry (JOMP-16, 18, 19, winning best modern poem prize and Pushcart nomination in 2013), Distilled Lives 2 and Distilled Lives 3 anthologies printed by the Illinois State Poetry Society, East on Central print Journal of Arts and Letters. Joe also pursues candid photography, especially when traveling, and his photos have been published in some of the same media as his poems.
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Marne Glaser was raised in the suburbs of NY, and after several rehearsal moves, found herself living in Chicago some 27 years ago and has stayed put ever since. Her training has been in music, psychology, and education, but she was an English major for a few months, and she did win the limerick prize her freshman year of college. Much of her writing falls into the verse and lyrics category, often lighthearted, but occasionally deep. She has been known to include songs of her own writing when she performs with some of Chicago's fine jazz musicians. As a new direction, and a bit of a discipline for her errant ways, she's been trying out haiku of late--the real kind, not 5-7-5. Twice she has participated in HPP's Poetry Pentathlon, plus the bus poem contest, and some Madame ZuZu readings. On the side, she's just finished two years as one of the Directors of the Off-Campus Writers Workshop in Winnetka where she continues to contribute as the Facebook czaress.
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Carol L. Gloor is a retired attorney living in Savanna, Illinois, along the Mississippi River, in the far northwest corner of the state. She has been writing, mostly poetry, for more years than she cares to remember. Her work has been published in many hard copy and online journals, most recently in the online journals Helen Presents and Picaroon Poetry. She has upcoming work in Rust Belt Chicago and DuPage Valley Review. She has been a member of the Chicago poetry collective, Egg Money Poets, for a really long time. Her full length collection of poetry, Falling Back, will be published soon by WordTech LLC. She enjoys looking out the window, staying up late, and reading her poetry to whatever group will listen.
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Gail Goepfert is a poet, amateur photographer, and teacher. Currently, she is an associate editor of RHINO Poetry. A Mind on Pain is her first chapbook—publication Finishing Line Press 2015. She is published in a number of anthologies and journals including Avocet, Off Channel, After Hours, Caesura, Florida English, Jet Fuel Review, and Examined Life Journal and online at Emerge Literary Journal, Ardor Literary Magazine, Room Magazine, and Bolts of Silk. She was a Poet of the Month for YourDailyPoem.com. Two of her poems rode PACE buses as part of our Poetry That Moves contest. She’s been a semi-finalist for Journal of Modern Poetry and Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest, and she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2013 and 2014. She has photographs online at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Olentangy Review, 3Elements Review, and in February 2015, one of her photographs will appear on the cover of Rattle, She received a month-long residency at Lake Forest's Ragdale Foundation in April 2014. She spent time in Brockport, New York, studying Gilgamesh and its implications for the classroom thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities. Gail was born and raised in the Midwest states of Illinois and Ohio, from near the Piasa Bird along the bluffs of the Mississippi to the eagle-watch waters of the river near the Quad-Cities, from the Glass City, Toledo, Ohio, to a long and present stay in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. You can find her online at gailgoepfert.com.
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Cynthia Hahn has been a Professor of French at Lake Forest College, teaching language, literature, culture, film, translation and creative writing since 1990. Hahn's first poetry chapbook, Outside-In-Sideout, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2010; it gives voice to the process of grieving. She edits the College's yearly foreign language magazine, Collage. She writes poetry in French and English and has published poems in Tusitala, Matrix, The Christian Science Monitor, and on-line for peuplesmonde.org, and inthemist.org. She also has poems in the volumes, La Cendre des mots and Voyages en cancer. She regularly publishes literary translations (poetry and prose), and has translated Tunisian Hédi Bouraoui, Algerian Noureddine Aba, Lebanese authors Evelyne Accad and Ezza Agha Malak, as well as East African writer Abdourahman Waberi. Her published research is in the areas of Franco-Canadian literature, translation studies, and analyses of Lebanese literature and the Tunisian women's movement. Her poetry ranges from haiku as inner landscape to anecdotes associated with caregiving. Cynthia's second volume of bilingual poetry (French-English), Co-ïncidence(s), was published by alfAbarre Press (Paris) in 2014. It is illustrated by Parisian artist Monique Loubet. This volume meditates on the theme of life as a journey and much of the bird imagery reflects movements of the soul. She presented the book at two Salons du Livre: in Chicago at the Alliance Française and in Gatineau, Quebec in Spring 2015. She plays bass guitar in a local bluegrass and blues band, "Fast and Cheap." Visit Cynthia's web site - www.cynthiathahn.com
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Jacqueline Harris was born and raised in Lake County and currently resides in North Chicago, IL. She is a graduate of Shimer College with a BA in Humanities. She is a writer of poetry and short fiction, as well local spoken word artist. She has published two short stories and is currently working on a poetry CD. Her first collection of poetry is Random Acts of Verse.
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William D. Hicks is a writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois by himself. His poetry has appeared in Outburst Magazine, The Legendary, Horizon Magazine, Breadcrumb Sins, Inwood Indiana Literary Magazine, The Short Humour Site (UK), The Four Cornered Universe, Save the Last Stall for Me and Mosaic. His art appears in The Legendary and as cover art in Anti-Poetry and Sketch.
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Julie Isaacson has lived in Highland Park since 1982, where she also taught Special Education and Early Literacy. Since retiring from North Shore School District 112 in 2013, Julie has enjoyed exploring a variety of passions. She has published works in East on Central and Voices and Visions of Sister Cities. She authored two books, The Angry Chef: Satisfying Recipes Inspired by Unsatisfying Relationships. In addition to writing poetry for Highland Park Poetry, she enjoys writing courses at Lake Forest College and Story Studio in Chicago. While enhancing her craft through her studies, Julie also teaches writing skills to adolescents in her Highland Park home. Another avenue of her interests involves her participation as a storyteller for Short Story Theatre. Julie is grateful for being able to enjoy the best of all worlds, and the new, creative friends she’s met through her endeavors.
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Caroline Johnson has two poetry chapbooks, Where the Street Ends and My Mother’s Artwork, and more than 70 poems in print. A nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of Net, she has won numerous state and national poetry awards, including the 2012 Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Poetry Contest. Her writing has appeared in Lunch Ticket, Rambunctious Review, Origins Journal, The Quotable, Encore, Naugatuck River Review, Blast Furnace, New Scriptor, Prairie Light Review, Kind of a Hurricane Press, among others. She served as president of Poets & Patrons of Chicago for four years and leads poetry workshops for veterans and others in the Chicago area. An English teacher for 20 years, she now works as a community college academic advisor. Her first full length collection of poems, The Caregiver, is forthcoming from Holy Cow! Press in May 2018.
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Edward P. Kaufman, MSW, LCSW, BCD, is the Director of Child & Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. He is in private practice in Chicago and Highland Park, Illinois. Mr. Kaufman has written numerous papers on child and adolescent psychotherapy, psychological development and the emotional aspects of teaching and learning. He has written about films and leads professional study groups on films. He is an editor and contributor to AEmotions and Learning Reconsidered: International Perspectives published by Gardner Press in 1993. Mr. Kaufman is interested in music, scuba diving, photography and poetry.
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Steve Klepetar lives in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where he taught literature and creative writing at Saint Cloud State University. Klepetar’s work has appeared worldwide, in such journals as Boston Literary Magazine, Deep Water, Expound, The Muse: India, Red River Review, Snakeskin, Voices Israel, Ygdrasil, and many others. Several of his poems have been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize (including three in 2017). He has also done several collaborations with composer Richard Lavenda of Rice University in Houston, including a one-act opera, Barricades, for which he wrote the libretto. Klepetar is the author of twelve poetry collections and chapbooks, the most recent of which include Family Reunion (Big Table), A Landscape in Hell (Flutter Press), How Fascism Comes to America (Locofo Chaps) and Why Glass Shatters (One Sentence Chaps).
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Tricia Knoll was born in Highland Park in 1947 during the middle of a heavy snowstorm. Her parents brought property during World War II but couldn't build until after the war. Her father served as President of the School Board when Red Oak School was built and delivered her diploma to her in the first graduating class from Deerfield High School. She now lives in Portland, Oregon but looks back with fondness on the early poems she wrote for her mother and poems she wrote as a teenager. She has degrees in literature from Stanford University and Yale University. Her poetry is widely represented in dozens of journals and anthologies and she had received 7 Pushcart Prize nominations. She has three collections in print - Urban Wild (Finishing Line Press), Ocean's Laughter (Aldirch Press, a tribute to a small town on the northern Oregon coast), and Broadfork Farm (The Poetry Box, poetry about life on a small organic farm in Trout Lake, Washington on the slopes of Mt. Adams). Her book How I Learned to Be White comes out from Antrim House Press in early 2018 and centers on her ancestry, early education, suburban history and experiences growing up. Website: triciaknoll.com
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Candace Kubinec lives in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and is a member of the Ligonier Valley Writers. Her poems and short stories have appeared in The Loyalhanna Review, Highland Park Poetry Muses' Gallery and Kind over Matter. She is a finalist in the 2015 Poetry That Moves competition.
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Joanna Kurowska Ph.D. is the author of seven critically acclaimed volumes of poetry, Intricacies (2016), Stained Glass (2016), The Butterfly's Choice (2015), Inclusions (2014), The Wall & Beyond (2013), Obok:Near (1999) and Sciana:The Wall (1997). At present an independent scholar, writer, and translator widely published in American and international journals, Joanna taught for many years at American universities such as the University of Chicago and Indiana University (Bloomington). She currently lives in Evanston, Illinois, together with her husband John, son Paul, and cat Rufus.
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Jill Angel Langlois grew up in Park Forest where she began writing short stories at the age of eight and poetry at the age of twelve. Her poems and short stories have appeared in literary magazines, anthologies and newspapers in the Chicagoland area as well as nationally. She holds a B.A. in English & American Literature from Governors State University, University Park, IL. Scattered Petals, her first collection of poetry, explores the healing power of nature. Whiskey Nights, her second collection of poetry, is inspired by both whiskey and music. Excerpts from these collections can be found at www.illinoispoets.org Her poetry and short stories also appear on her blog: http://jillangellanglois.wordpress.com The Writing Life. Jill is currently writing a memoir entitled Tell Me The Story, which is about growing up adopted and reuniting with her birth mother. She lives in Yorkville with her husband, Aaron, her birth mother, Sue, and their three cats.
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Pamela Larson lives in Arlington Heights. Her writing has been published in East on Central, the Daily Herald, the Cram series, Jomp series, bottlerockets haiku journal, and online. She has won several Highland Park Poetry contests and helped coordinate The Exquisite Corpse Project in 2012 and The Chain Gang in 2014. She strongly encourages all participating poets to try their hand at cinepoems for Lights / Action / Poetry when it comes around again. Pam enjoys the art of poetry through classical form as well as part of contemporary mixed media. Being published is great but Pam would rather be consumed by poetry than have her poetry consumed. She enjoys coming to Highland Park because she thinks the community does more than others to encourage and share the arts in everyday venues.
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Michael Latza has been published in several literary journals, including, The Solitary Plover, Red River Review, Willow Review, and Bear River Review. He has also published nonfiction on the Prairie Home Companion website. Michael studied poetry under the late James Liddy, in the fall of 2007, in Milwaukee. Michael was born in Chicago. After a career as a mailman for 25 years, he teaches English, composition, literature, and creative writing at the College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL, where he also edits the creative writing journal, Willow Review. Mr. Latza earned his MA in English from Loyola University of Chicago.
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Kathleen A. Lawrence lives in Cortland, New York and has been published in Rattle (Poets Respond), Eye to the Telescope, Scryptic, Silver Birch Press, haikuniverse, Silver Blade Magazine, The Wild Word magazine (Germany), Altered Reality Magazine, Undertow Tanka Review, New Verse News, and Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, among others. She was Poet of the Week at Poetry Super Highway in January 2017. Recently her poem Just Rosie (published in ETTT) was nominated for a 2017 Pushcart Prize.
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An award-winning writer and editor whose work has appeared in East on Central, Elle, North Shore, and other publications, Carol Spielman Lezak holds a B.A. in fine arts from Boston University and an M.A. in medical librarianship from the University of Michigan. She also studied fine bookbinding under the late William Anthony and is a biographee in Marquis Who's Who in America. Her perspective: While a picture may indeed be worth a thousand words, poets use their love of and skills with language and words to paint their own canvases that can be viewed with the inner eye. Lezak developed an appreciation for the art early on via her mother, whose collection of works by poets as diverse, entertaining, and insightful as Dorothy Parker, Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare, and Ogden Nash stirred her daughter's imagination.
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Terry Loncaric is a journalist, poet, and perpetual truth seeker. Her poems have appeared on storefronts, in magazines, and in anthologies. She has lectured on feature writing at Columbia College and Roosevelt University. She contributes entertainment stories to Pioneer Press in the Chicago suburbs. She has won many awards for her feature stories in Indiana and Illinois newspapers. She works as a teaching assistant in the Special Education Department of Hoffman Estates High School. Loncaric loves empowering students with learning disabilities to conquer their fears of writing. Her first chapbook, Crashing in Velvet, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2014.
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Marjorie Maddox. Sage Graduate Fellow of Cornell University (MFA) and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Marjorie Maddox has published eleven collections of poetry—including True, False, None of the Above (Poiema Poetry Series); Local News from Someplace Else (Wipf and Stock); Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation, (Yellowglen Prize); and Perpendicular As I; the forthcoming Wives’ Tales (Seven Kitchens Press)—the short story collection What She Was Saying (2017 Fomite), and over 450 stories, essays, and poems in journals and anthologies. Co-editor of Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (Penn State Press), she also has published two children’s books with several forthcoming. For more information, please see www.marjoriemaddox.com
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William Marr has published 23 volumes of poetry (two in English and the rest in his native Chinese language), 3 books of essays and several books of translations. His most recent published work, Chicago Serenade, is a trilingual (Chinese/English/French) anothology of poems published in Paris this year. His poetry has been translated into more than ten languages and included in over one hundred anthologies. Some of his poems are used in high school and college textbooks in Taiwan, China, England, and Germany. In addition to writing poetry, he has also engaged in translating Western modern poetry into Chinese and has edited several anthologies of Chinese and Taiwanese modern poetry. He is a former president of the Illinois State Poetry Society and has received numerous awards, including three from Taiwan for his poetry and translations. A PhD recipient and a scientific researcher by profession, he has been in recent years pursuing other artistic interests including painting and sculpting and has held several solo as well as group exhibits in the U.S. and China. His Website, The Art World of William Marr (http://feima.yidian.org/) displays some of his important literary and artistic works.
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Joan McNerney’s poetry has been included in numerous literary zines such as Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze, Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Blueline, Halcyon Days and included in Bright Hills Press, Kind of A Hurricane Press and Poppy Road Review anthologies. She has been nominated four times for Best of the Net.
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Bruce McNutt is a physician who spent 10 years in private practice and the last 22 years in the pharmaceutical industry. He is the proud father of 4 grown children and has three grandchildren. He has been married to his hero, his wife Martha for 37 years and has a friend—a beautiful golden retriever Barkley who is his constant companion. His family and friends have provided him with the impetus for his poetry which he began creating after the birth of his first grandchild in 2004. Bruce believes that each of us is a poet and need only free the feelings and emotions that are at the core of our being in order to share that poetry with others.
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Barbara A. Meier teaches kindergarten in Gold Beach, Oregon, where she is just happy if her students start a sentence with a capital letter and use phonemic writing. She has been published in Metonym, Highland Park Poety's 2017 Summer Gallery (Birds), Nature Writing, Poetry Pacific, The Poeming Pigeon and Cacti Fur. Check out her writing on https://basicallybarbmeier.wordpress.com
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Arlyn Miller teaches poetry to young people in the schools and in the community through Poetic License, Inc., an organization which she founded and directs. A poet herself, her poems have been published in journals such as Calyx, Jewish Women's Literary Annual, and Literary Bohemian. Two of her poems are to be published in May 2009 in the on-line journal, Literary Mama. She lives in Glencoe with her husband and three children. Check out her Web site at www.poeticlicenseinc.net.
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Khalid Mukhtar lives in Bolingbrook, a suburb of Chicago, with his wife and four children. He was born and raised in India and immigrated to the US in 1998. He works as a software engineer in Deerfield. He is an avid enthusiast of traditional poetry styles and that is where most of his poems fall. He contributes regularly to his blog at khamuk.com where he solicits feedback from his gradually growing online readership. In addition to poetry, Khalid is an aspiring novelist and has completed two works of fiction drama over the last two years. He is actively seeking to publish them as he carries out research for his third novel.
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Marilyn Peretti of Glen Ellyn, was delighted to have a poem, Moon Rain, appear on a bus through the Highland Park Poetry program! What fun! She has been writing seriously since she heard a poetry group reading at the Glen Ellyn Library in 1993. Graduate of Purdue University, poetry and writing was far from her mind then, with the major in Child Development-Family Life. She has many poems published in various places including Christian Science Monitor, Kyoto Journal, Prairie Light Review, Fox Cry Review and Journal of Modern Poetry. She has won prizes, and received a nomination for the Pushcart Poetry Prize. Her crane poems have been seen in a California Cancer Society program, and an environmental program in Canada. She has authored: Cranes to Come, Let Wings Take You, To Remember-To Hope, and most recently Lichen-Poems of Nature, the latter two on www.blurb.com. Marilyn's watercolors (and other medium!) are exhibited by the Nature Artists Guild of the Morton Arboretum, Danada Forest Preserve, Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles, DuPage Art League, and other venues. Her art concentrates primarily on nature subjects, and has included pandas and polar bears more recently. Art can be seen on her website www.pagesbyperetti.com A selection of poems can be found at www.perettipoems.wordpress.com
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Patty Dickson Pieczka's second book, Painting the Egret's Echo, won the Library of Poetry Book Award from The Bitter Oleander (2012). Other books are Lacing Through Time (Bellowing Ark Press, 2011) and a chapbook, Word Paintings (Snark, 2002). She won the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest in the Best Sonnet category (2014), first prize in the 2012 Illinois Poetry Society contest as well as the Frances Locke Memorial Award (2010). She graduated in Creative Writing at SIU. Writing has appeared in many journals such as Bluestem, Green Hills Literary Lantern, Versedaily.org, and Willow Review.
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Donna Pucciani, a resident of Wheaton, Illinois, has published poetry globally in such diverse journals as Shi Chao Poetry, Poetry Salzburg, Acumen, Iota and Gradiva. A seven-time Pushcart nominee, her most recent book of poems is EDGES.
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Jenene Ravesloot is a member of The Poets’ Club of Chicago, ISPS, and Poets & Patrons. She is also a member of the Omniphonic Trio, a sounds-of-poetry band. She has written four books of poetry. Her poems have been published in the Caravel Literary Arts Journal, The Poetry Storehouse, Connotation Press, Packingtown Review, The Miscreant, After Hours Press, Exact Change Only Press, and other journals.
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Sylvia Riojas Vaughn is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. She has been selected as a Houston Poetry Fest Juried Poet three times. She belongs to the Dallas Poets Community. Her work has appeared in Red River Review, Tradae, HOUSEBOAT, Diálogo, Beyond the Hill (Lost Tower Publications, 2017), The Muses' Gallery, Desde Hong Kong: Poets in Conversation with Octavio Paz, Bearing the Mask: Southwestern Persona Poems (Dos Gatos Press, 2016), and in anthologies and journals in the U.S. and abroad.
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Marjorie Rissman comes to Illinois via New York, Michigan and Massachusetts. After a long sabbatical from writing and the death of her sister, she has picked up where she left off. Her poems can be found online at HP Poetry's Muse's Gallery, or in the last three issues of East on Central, and the 2014 ISPS anthology. She participates regularly at HP Poetry's open mic events. The 2014 Poetry Pentathlon was her most ambitious competition. In addition to writing, Marjorie is a Highland Park real estate broker, active in local politics, devoted to her four grandchildren and committed to repairing the world.
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Donna Ritter discovered a fondness for written expression through a high school creative writing class. Since 2006 she has been journaling her insight after morning Bible reading and has progressed to writing poetry, biography and memoir, showcasing God's awesome power, strength and love. Donna lives in Highland Park with her husband and cat. She credits her writing ability to her relationship with God, seeking His wisdom in prayer before she writes every day. Her poems have been published in Highland Park Poetry's Muses' Gallery (Fall 2010) and 2012 Poetry Challenge.
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Kathleen Robinson facilitates the Champaign-Urbana chapter of the Illinois State Poetry Society. Following a career of technical and scientific editing, she has rediscovered the joy of writing poetry that she last experienced in high school. After retiring from Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2014, Kathy immersed herself in humanities studies and the University of Illinois branch at the Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning. Her poems are philosophical reveries on community and family life, and gardening in all its many senses. She has published online and reads regularly at open-mics.
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Tom Roby IV publishes and performs his poetry in Chicago while writing criticism and winning various competitions. He is President and critique leader of The Poets' Club of Chicago and was chair of their annual Helen Schaible Sonnet Contest. He is also a member of the Illinois State Poetry Society and Poetry & Patrons. His poems have appeared in After Hours Press, Exact Change Only, Poetry Fish, Frog Pond, and other poetry journals, as well as, on north suburban PACE buses. He has published a chapbook, Griever's Circuit (Fractal Edge Press, 2004), and two other poetry books—Shape Shifter (The Puddin'head Press, 2008) and Pressure Points (First Flight Books, 2012). His poetry performances are featured on YouTube. In addition, his poems were presented as poetry-theater at the Loop Theater. With The Poets’ Club of Chicago he has developed the Poetry Wheel in which each poet reads explicitly in relation to the previous poem. The Wheel has performed at various poetry venues and fests, including Chicago Public Libraries. He is also part of Omniphonic, a trio that performs poems with sounds-of-poetry. It has hosted the annual Omniphonic Challenge for poetry bands and produced a CD.
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Sue Roupp has relocated with her husband to Wisconsin. Highland Park Poetry is indebted to Sue for her energy and enthusiasm which inspired several of our past programs and contributed so greatly to our growth and spreading the word on the North Shore. Sue is a poet and a teacher who is generous with her gifts. Sue says: "Poetry writing focuses on an intense emotional connection in an economy of words and carried along by the inherent craft and rhythm of each line. This "less is more" style of writing allows the writer to capture the essence of meaning while providing a universal story through metaphor or the give and take of each word bumping or caressing each other as we move through the poem." Sue served as the Guest Judge for our 2015 Poetry That Moves Contest.
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Tania Runyan is the author of the poetry collections Second Sky, A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, and Delicious Air, which was awarded Book of the Year by the Conference on Christianity and Literature in 2007. Her book How to Read a Poem, an instructional guide based on Billy Collins’s “Introduction to Poetry,” was released in 2014. Her poems have appeared in many publications, including Poetry, Image, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, The Christian Century, Atlanta Review, Indiana Review, Willow Springs, Nimrod, and the anthology A Fine Frenzy: Poets Respond to Shakespeare. Tania was awarded an NEA Literature Fellowship in 2011. She tutors high school students, writes for the Good Letters blog, and edits for Every Day Poems and Relief.
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Nancy Ann Schaefer (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen, UK) is a retired academic who recently relocated to rural Maine. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her poems have appeared in numerous anthologies, journals, and Web sites; a few have won awards. In Search of Lode, her first chapbook, was published by 918studio (2012). Her poem “Glad grace” was selected for display in two Chicago suburban libraries as part of National Poetry Month (2014), and “Ahimsa” has been chosen as the June entry (2015) in the Poetry That Moves Contest by Highland Park Poetry. Nancy lives with her husband, dog and three cats and is now revising her next poetry collection. In her spare time she volunteers to drive puppies (from kill shelters) to Lewiston, in central Maine, where they stay/are fostered until their ‘forever homes’ are found. Thanks for taking a look.
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Marjorie L. Skelly's cross-genre book, The Unpublished Poet: On Not Giving Up on Your Dream, published by In Extenso Press in 2015, consists of essays, short stories, and poems. She has won first place awards from Poets & Patrons, the Jo-Anne Hirshfield Poetry Memorial Contest, and the Palatine Public Library. She hwas twice reached semi0finalist status for the Word Works Washington Prize for a poetry book as well as in the Gwendolyn Brooks Open-Mic Contest. Marjorie has taught writing at several universities and libraries in the Chicagoland area. She is also a singer and has sung with North Shore Choral Society, Edgewater Singers, and loves signing the Jazz/Gospel version of Handel's Messiah known as "Too Hot to Handel." She lives in Chicago with her husband Jim and daughter Maggie.
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Tamara Tabel is a copywriter and marketer, and president of Napping Cat Communications. Tamara has a BA in Journalism/Advertising and is a graduate of the Great Books Program, University of Chicago. She is Chair of the Barrington Writers Workshop, serves on the Barrington Cultural Commission and is a founding Board Member of the Barrington Cultural Arts Center. She writes poetry and fiction, and is at work on an historical novel. Her poem “Tulip” appears in the anthology A Midnight Snack, by Poetic License Press. Her poems "I am writer" and "The Word Worshippers" appear in the Northwest Cultural Council Poet and Artist Chapbook
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Judith MK Tepfer was born at the age of 50, before which she had one middle initial and neither the ability nor the inclination to write creatively. Her late-in-life muse directed her to other writers and visual artists and the eventual founding of East On Central, a Journal of Arts and Letters from Highland Park, Illinois. Editor-In-Chief of East On Central, poet, and freelance editor, Judith's writing can be found in Poetica Magazine, Journal of Modern Poetry, Collage (Lake Forest College) and the online publication, Pirene's Fountain (www.pirenesfountain.com).
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Taunja Thomson's poetry has appeared in The Cincinnati Poets’ Collective, The Cincinnati Poetry Review, The Licking River Review, The Aurorean, Lime Hawk Collective Arts Journal, Really System, Squalorly, Wild Age Press, This Dark Matter, Melted Wing, The Cahaba River Journal, Sandy River Review,Watershed, Portage Magazine, Panoply Magazine, The Ekphrastic Review, Winamop, Amore (an anthology of love poetry), Potomac, Anti-Heroin Chic, The Ekphrastic Review, Halcyon Days, CQ California Poetry Society, Surreal Poetics, Masque and Spectacle, Peacock Journal, Zingara, Heyday Magazine, Half-Baked, The Light Ekphrastic, Crawl Space, the Chicago Press’s The Poetry Writer’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Golden Walkman Magazine, The Mages Lantern, Red Omnivore Review, Claudius Speaks, and Pink Panther Magazine. Her poem A Sailor’s Language has recently received an Honorable Mention in Causeway Lit.’s poetry contest. In the upcoming months, her work will be featured in These Fragile Lilacs and Placeholder Magazine. She co-authored a chapbook of ekphrastic poetry entitled Frame and Mount the Sky that was published in June of 2017. Her chapbook, Strum and Lull, placed in Golden Walkman’s chapbook competition. She is a Pushcart nominee. Check her our on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TaunjaThomsonWriter. Taunja resides in Kentucky with herhusband and six cats, where she practices kickboxing and water gardening.
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Judith Tullis lives in Indian Head Park with her husband, Lee. She is Treasurer of the Illinois State Poetry Society and a member of Poets & Patrons of Chicago. Her poems are published in Distilled Lives: 20th Anniversary Anthology, the DuPage Valley Review, Seeding the Snow and several internet sites.
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Curt Vevang is a Chicago native and a product of Chicago Public Schools and the University of Illinois. He has self-published two full length poetry books, a scant bagatelle and the nature of things. He has also published two rhyming children's books, The Prince and the Elf and The Prince and the Elf Too. Both children's books were illustrated by 6th grade grammar school students. His books are available at Amazon, keyword Vevang or can be downloaded for free at his website, www.curtvevang.com He was honored to have been interviewed on Poetry Today (June 2017). Curt's poetry has been published in anthologies, poetry magazines, newspapers, newsletters and many poetry websites. Along the way his poems have won honors from the Illinois State Poetry Society, Poets and Patrons, Northbrook Arts Commission Poetry Contest, and the Journal of Modern Poetry.
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William Vollrath recently retired and relocated to beautiful and historic Charlottesville, Virginia where he has finally found time to focus on writing, after varied experiences as a grave digger, ad salesman, college English instructor, real estate appraiser, bartender, political activist, stock broker, substitute teacher, volunteer, father and husband. He hopes that sharing his varied experiences, perceptions, frustrations and joys will be both good therapy for himself and may even provide some moments of lasting illumination for others. His poetry has won numerous awards and been published in a variety of journals, anthologies, e-zines and web sites.
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Lynn West lives in Highland Park and says, "I gather my poetry and photographs from the soul. When life brings bricks, stones, sun, shade, I filter through a medium that reflects and pleases my inner muse. My writing originated as an escape from a reality I couldn't cope with. The muse emerged and took many delightful forms. I have been writing for 7 years and have recently been published in East on Central. My favorite aspect of creativity is getting to know local artists and sharing our unique ways of looking at the world."
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Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. Her poem 'A Rose For Gaza' was shortlisted for the Theatre Cloud 'War Poetry for Today' competition 2014. This and many other poems, have been published in recent anthologies including - Stacey Savage’s ‘We Are Poetry, an Anthology of Love poems’; Community Arts Ink’s ‘Reclaiming Our Voices’; Vagabond Press’s, ‘The Border Crossed Us’; ‘Degenerates - Voices For Peace’, ‘Civilised Beasts’ and ‘Vagabonds: Anthology of the Mad Ones’ from Weasel Press; ‘Alice In Wonderland’ by Silver Birch Press, and many rather excellent on line and print journals.
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