Emma Alexandra
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. She is dedicated to promoting the artistic and practical preservation of the natural environment whose inspiration is essential to creative health.
Carol Alfus
is a retired teacher, community volunteer, kayaker,traveler and grandma. Her poetry is informed and inspired bycurrent events, personal experience, the ingenious beauty andvariety of nature, and occasional ponderings of the great what-ifs of Life. Carol loves the way a poem can tell a story, capture a moment, or express a range of emotions from wonder, to anger, to joy, to bliss and beyond.
Marie Asner
balances a life of being a poet, freelance writer, church musician, book reviewer and entertainment reviewer. Marie is one of the film critics on the Rotten Tomatoes web site and IMDB (International Movie Data Base). The Kansas Arts Commission selected her for a grant on poems about Amelia Earhart and to be part of Kansas Arts On Tour. Marie is a member of the Missouri and Illinois State Poetry Societies, The Rockford Writers Guild and The Kansas Authors Club. Marie was part of the 2022 Addison Art Gallery Exhibition of Art and Poets and continued through 2023 and now in 2024. Marie was a part of the “Last Book” Exhibit by the New York Public Library which had displays of artists written work in the Buenos Aires, Argentina Public Library, the Zurich, Switzerland Public library and the New York City Public Library. To celebrate April as National Poetry Month, Marie Asner gives a poetry read as part of a recital from Park International School of Music in Missouri. This is a fundraiser for music scholarships and into its third year in 2024. Marie Asner has conducted workshops for Reviewing, Poetry and Memoir Writing for the Missouri State Poetry Society Convention, The American Guild of Organists and Rockford Writers Guild. Marie Asner’s work has been published on PBS.org, The Rockford Review, Passages North, Omaha World-Herald, Kansas City Star, Calliope, Grist, Kings Estate, Dads Desk Publishing and Highland Park’s “Spicy Tale” to name a few. Marie was a First and Second Place Winner in the 2023 Kansas Authors Club poetry contest and Marie has appeared on Zoom poetry conferences with poets from Canada, Wales, India, Hungary, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany. Marie Asner has been a Pushcart Poetry Award nominee.
Lois Baer Barr
Lois Baer Barr lives in Riverwoods, IL. A finalist for the 2019 Rita Dove Poetry Award, Barr was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry. Her chapbook Biopoesis won Poetica’s 2013 chapbook award, and her chapbook of fiction, Lope de Vega’s Daughter, is available from Red Bird Press. Her chapbook Tracks: Poems on the El won fourth place in Finishing LIne Press's 2021 contest. Barr is a literacy tutor for Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America and a reading buddy for Open Books in Chicago. She gives writing workshops in poetry for all ages. Barr studied in Madrid for two years and returns to Spain whenever she can to hike, bike or dance. She and her husband Lew have cycled in Cantabria and Catalunya and hiked in La Rioja. When Lew turned seventy, they rode their bicycles from home in Riverwoods to New York City; now they're planning their ride through the Florida Keys. If she’s not writing in the Writers Workspace in Chicago, she’ll be practicing flamenco.
Mary Beth Bretzlauf
is author of The Path that Beckons: Poems About the Journey. Many of her poems have appeared in several East on Central and Highland Park Poetry’s Muses’ Gallery anthologies. She is chapter facilitator for the North Chapter, current President of the Illinois State Poetry Society and board member of East on Central Association. In addition, she is part of the Highland Park Poetry Live Events Team. Mary Beth is most proud of her editing collaboration with Jennifer Dotson for Highland Park Poetry.
Jennifer Brown Banks
Jennifer Brown Banks is an award-winning poet, author, freelance writer and senior editor of a regional publication in the Midwest. Over the decades, her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications such as: Rigorous Journal, Write City Magazine, Poetic Voices, Curbside Splendor, Chicken Bones, Two Drops of Ink, and Willow Review Magazine. Jennifer is the president and founder of Poets United to Advance the Arts, based in Illinois: https://poetsunitedtoadvancethearts.blogspot.com/p/about-poets-united.html. Banks is the recipient of the “Spirit Award” for 2020 from Chicago Writers Association.
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.
Renee Butner
is the author of a book of poems entitled Hunting for Shark's Teeth (Lulu Publishing, 2023). She is a mother and grandmother who resides in Clemmons, NC, with her spouse but dreams of someday living at the beach. Her poems have been widely published,including in NC Poetry in Plain Sight, Haiku Journal, Acta Victoriana, Origami Poems Project,Puppycat The Anthology, and 45 Magazine Literary Journal. Her Poem "Forest King" earned a place in the Highland Park Public Art Poetry Contest, and her poem “Silver Moments” won second prize in Piedmont Plus Silver Games. Her website is reneebutner.wordpress.com.
Joseph Kuhn Carey
who is fond of gazing up in wonder at the shimmering moon and stars while walking his dog at night, has published two full-length books of poetry, Postcards From Poland (Chicago Poetry Press, 2014), which received the Journal of Modern Poetry Book Award, and Black Forest Dreams (Kelsay Books, 2021), which was also fortunate to win several awards. Joe is also the recipient of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor award for music-related writing and the author of a book on jazz (Big Noise From Notre Dame: A History of the Collegiate Jazz Festival, University of Notre Dame Press). Joe has also released two Loose Caboose Band CDs of original children's songs (available on iTunes) with his brother, Bill ("The Caboose is Loose" and "Mighty Big Broom”). His poems have been selected in Writer's Digest, Poets & Patrons, Illinois State Poetry Society and Highland Park Poetry contests and published in East on Central, Journal of Modern Poetry and Highland Park Poetry books. For more information about Joe, or to order his poetry books, please go to www.blackforestdreams.com or www.josephkuhncareycreativeworks.com.
William T. Carey
practiced law for some years before joining his family’s real estate investment business. In later years he returned to the world of language, his first love. He smiles more and more. He adds, “I'm a bit like curry powder, being an acquired taste.” William is a new member of HPP's Events Team and is also the author of Family Rattling, a poetry collection scheduled for pubication in 2024.
Jackie Chou
is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee who's poem "Formosa" was a finalist in the 2023 Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize. She has numerous poems published by Fevers of the Mind Poetry Digest inspired by the late great Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Pablo Neruda, Langston Hughes, Jack Kerouac, and others. Her two collections of poetry, Finding My Heart in Love and Loss and The Sorceress, published by cyberwit in 2023, can be purchased on Amazon.
Daniel Cleary
tells us that he "was born in Tipperary, Ireland so many years ago I've forgotten when. I'm an artist, you might say, a painter and sculptor as well as a poet. I've got three books including the first one, The Green Ribbon, Enright House of Ireland, presently out of print. The other two are: Elegy for James Gerard and Other Poems for the Larger Voice (Fractal Edge Press) and A Few Stray Leaves (Lagoons Editions)."
Katherine May Copenhaver
holds a BA in English from the University of Iowa, where she had her first writing classes, taught by graduate students from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She received her MFA in creative writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Katherine was an adjunct instructor of writing composition to undergraduates at local colleges for 16 years and spent numerous evenings and weekends meticulously grading their essays in hopes of imparting in her students some lasting skills about argument, research, and grammar. Currently, she is a web catalog copywriter at a medical products company, which has its rewards and allows her time in off hours to pursue literary endeavors.
Amelia Cotter
is an author, storyteller, and award-winning poet. Her books include the poetry collection apparitions, from Highland Park Poetry Press, and her haiku have appeared in journals like Frogpond, Modern Haiku, The Heron's Nest, tinywords, and many others. In 2023, apparitions was shortlisted for The Haiku Foundation 2022 Touchstone Awards for Distinguished Books as well as nominated for the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award. Amelia is a member of the Society of Midland Authors. Visit her official website at www.ameliacotter.com or write to her any time at ameliamcotter@gmail.com.
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
Bill Cushing
Returning to college after serving in the Navy and working on ships, Bill Cushing was called the “blue collar poet” by his undergraduate peers. He earned an MFA from Goddard College. Published in numerous journals and anthologies, both online and in print, Bill facilitates a writing group for 9 Bridges Writing Community. He has four published poetry collections including A Former Life (2019 Kops-Fetherling International Book Award), Music Speaks (2019 San Gabriel Valley Poetry Festival chapbook winner; 2021 New York City Book Award), . . .this just in. . ., and most recently, Just a Little Cage of Bone. Bill can be reached at piscespoet@yahoo.com; his website is mywriteronline.net.
Gail Denham
Years of reading led to Gail Denham writing stories, essays, articles, poetry. For over 50 years her work appeared in many publications. Denham's muses are story, humor, and family.
Charlotte Digregorio
has authored 7 award-winning books including Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing and Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. Libraries, corporations, and hospitals host her poetry/art exhibit. The Governor of Illinois honored her for her lifelong literary achievements. Her blog features global writers: www.charlottedigregorio.wordpress.com. She’s won 81 poetry awards, writing in 15 forms, and has received 4 Pushcart Prize nominations. She translates poetry books from Italian into English. Her poetry is translated into 9 languages. Her reference books have been adopted as supplemental texts at universities and are featured selections of major book clubs. She’s organized national writer's conferences and gives workshops; is a university writer-in-residence; teaches poetry in the public schools; judges national writing contests; and speaks regularly at libraries/chain bookstores. Digregorio hosted a radio poetry program on public broadcasting.
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, East On Central, Evening Street Review, Exact Change Only, Griffel, Hamilton Stone Review, Poetry Cram/J.O.M.P., Grand Little Things, The MacGuffin, and Willow Review. Her debut collection, Clever Gretel, was published by Chicago Poetry Press in April 2013. In 2020, Kelsay Books published her second collection, Late Night Talk Show Fantasy & Other Poems. She teaches memoir and poetry writing through "Library U" at Highland Park Library and leads poetry writing 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 in 2007 to recognize local poets in the community has bloomed into Highland Park Poetry with participating poets throughout Illinois, across the United States, and other countries.
Photo credit: Martha Abelson Photography
Michael Escoubas
serves as senior editor, contributing poet, and staff book reviewer for Quill and Parchment, a 22-year-old literary and cultural arts online poetry journal. He has authored six collections of poetry and is a two-time Pushcart Prize Nominee.
Dana Fine
has a BA in Journalism from The Ohio State University. After college she received her doctorate in acupuncture and herbal medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Dana is an acupuncturist and writes for many different publications about Chinese Medicine. She and her husband Steven are parents to two humans and two doggies. Dana loves being outside and is thankful for all the beautiful nature Highland Park has to offer.
Mardelle Fortier
has nearly 200 poems in print, in various literary journals, as well as two chapbooks , White Fire and Moon Fire, by Finishing Line Press. She has taught at various Chicagoland colleges, and currently teaches creative writing for College of DuPage. An award-winning author, she has also served as president of Illinois State Poetry Society.
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Martina Gallegos
was born and raised in Mexico. She got a Master’s degree from GCU after a near fatal hemorrhagic stroke. Her works have appeared in the Altadena Anthology: Poetry Review, Spirit Fire Review, Poetry Super Highway, Silver Birch Press, OpenDoor Magazine, The Bloom, WFWP: Poetry Festival, Canada, 3Q Anthology, Highland Park Poetry, LA Magazine, and more recently, the award-winning anthology, When the Virus Came Calling: COVID-19 Strikes America, published by Golden Foothills Press and edited by, Thelma T. Reyna.
Photo credit: Annie Slagboom
Marne Glaser
was raised in the 'burbs of NY, and after several rehearsal moves, found herself living in Chicago some 34 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 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 sometimes includes her songs when performing with Chicago's fine jazz musicians. When she was younger and quicker, she twice participated in HPP's Poetry Pentathlon. Since the pandemic, she has fallen hopelessly in love with nature.
Gail Goepfert
associate editor at RHINO Poetry, is a Midwest poet whose work often reflects her love of image as an avid photographer. She has one chapbook—A Mind on Pain (2015), and three books of poetry Tapping Roots (2018), Get Up, Said the World (2020), and Self-Portrait with Thorns (2021), an interaction with Frida Kahlo’s life and art. With Patrice Boyer Claeys, she has a collaborative chapbook, This Hard Business of Living from Seven Kitchens Press that reflects Covid times, and two photoverse books of Patrice’s centos and Gail’s photography—Honey from the Sun and Earth Cafeteria.
Cynthia T. Hahn
Cynthia T. Hahn has authored two volumes of poetry, Outside-In-Side-Out (Finishing Line Press, 2011), a text on the emotional landscapes of grieving, and Coïncidence(s), bilingual self- translated, with illustrations by Parisian artist Monique Loubet (alfAbarre Press, Paris, 2014), on women's life journey. Professor of French at Lake Forest College, IL, teaching creative writing and translation since 1990, she is also a member of two writer's groups, Highland Park Poets and Bluff Coast Writers. She has translated over ten novels by Algerian, French and Lebanese authors, and publishes her poetry regularly in venues such as East on Central, the Ekphrastic Review, Last Stanza Journal, among others. Her personal sanctuary is her Japanese garden.
Mark Hammerschick
writes poetry and fiction. He holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a BS and MBA. He began writing in grade school and has contributed a number of poems to literary journals over the years and has been published sporadically. He is a lifelong resident of the Chicago area and currently lives in a northern suburb near the shore of Lake Michigan.
Kathryn P. Haydon
Chicagoland author Kathryn P. Haydon wrote her latest book, Unsalted Blue Sunrise: Poems of Lake Michigan, here on the bluffs overlooking our dynamic lake. Her poems have been published in New Croton Review, Written River, The Bedford Record-Review, Clinch, Daily Haiku, and East on Central as well as in books and academic journals. Kathryn’s poem “Primary Source Documents” won first place in the Poets and Patrons 67th poetry contest in 2023. “hanging from the edge“ won third place and "Always On: My Neighbors’ TV” won honorable mention. The founder of Sparkitivity (www.sparkitivity.com), Kathryn writes and speaks widely on the scientific method for innovation and the secret strengths of outlier thinker-learners whom she has termed “deep souls." She is a graduate of Northwestern University and earned her master of science degree from State University of New York.
Colleen McManus Hein
is a poet and writer living in Riverwoods. She began writing poetry in middle school and never stopped. She's been published in Poetry Cram, East on Central and Highland Park Poetry. Dawn finds her neutral, tea with milk, morning news. Sundown roils her higher, double, toil and trouble, 'til by moonrise she's a firework, fragments sizzling on the wick, churning skywards into a thousand sparks, a trillion shades.
Kate Hutchinson
recently retired from a 34-year career as a high school English teacher and Fine Arts Coordinator. She has two full-length books of poetry, A Matter of Dark Matter (Kelsay Books, 2022) and Map Making: Poems of Land and Identity (THEAQ Press, 2015), as well as a chapbook, The Gray Limbo of Perhaps (Finishing Line Press, 2012). Her poems and personal essays have been published in over 75 journals and anthologies, and her work has earned many prizes as well as three Pushcart nominations. Kate has recently served as president and contest chair for Poets & Patrons of Chicago. In 2023, she became editor-in-chief for the literary arts journal East on Central in Highland Park.
Julie Isaacson
lives in Highland Park, and has retired from its school system as a Special Education and Early Literacy teacher. In her private tutoring practice, she teaches students of all ages and is passionate about teaching writing to adolescents. Julie serves on the Board of East on Central literary journal as program co-chair. She is a regular contributor to Highland Park Poetry, and enjoys monthly featured poets and open mic with other engaging writers. Julie is represented in an anthology, I Am my Father’s Daughter. She has combined her love of cooking and writing into two books, The Angry Chef: Satisfying Recipes Inspired by Unsatisfying Relationships. This anthology launched her into storytelling several years ago, and she performs at Short Story Theatre and Do Not Submit. Julie is committed to promoting the arts in this vibrant community and represents literary endeavors with the expanding Artslink North consortium, serving Lake County. While walking her rescue, Ziva, she finds herself inspired by lakefront and garden beauty. She may also be observed California dreamin’ about her West Coast kids and new grandson, who fortunately, loves books!
Caroline Johnson
has two illustrated poetry chapbooks, Where the Street Ends and My Mother’s Artwork, and more than 400 poems in print. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, she won 1st place in the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row 2012 Poetry Contest, and her poetry has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. Her full-length collection, The Caregiver (Holy Cow! Press, 2018) was inspired by years of family caregiving. 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 8 years and currently is treasurer. She is part of the P2 Collective, a Chicago-area group of poets and photographers who present at area galleries, and online. Visit her at www.caroline-johnson.com.
Judith MK Kaufman
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. Having stepped down from her role as Editor-In-Chief of East on Central after 23 years, Judith is currently focused on completing her next publication, The Cookie Jar, a volume of poetry about and by her grandchildren. Judith's writing has been published in Poetica Magazine, Journal of Modern Poetry, Collage (Lake Forest College) and the online publication, Pirene's Fountain (www.pirenesfountain.com), as well as in her previously published book, Caught Laughing: the Esther and Bernie Story, humorous stories and poetry about her roots.
Tricia Knoll
was born in Highland Park in 1947 during the middle of a heavy snowstorm. She now lives in Williston, Vermont. Her poetry appears widely in journals and anthologies and has received 10 Pushcart Prize nominations and one Best of Net. She has six collections in print - Ocean's Laughter (Kelsay Books) reflects on social and environmental change in Manzanita, Oregon over time; Broadfork Farm (The Poetry Box) with poetry about life on a small organic farm in Trout Lake, Washington. How I Learned to Be White (Antrim House) received the 2018 Indie Book Award for Motivational Poetry and includes poems about her life growing up in Highland Park. Checkered Mates explores relationships that work and don't work. One Bent Twig (FutureCycle Press, 2023) details trees Knoll planted, loves, or worries about due to climate change. The Unknown Daughter (Finishing Line Press) comes out in March, 2024. Wild Apples - poems of downsizing and aging, moving 3,000 miles from Oregon to Vermont, running into Covid and welcoming grandchildren comes out from Fernwood Press in 2024 .Website: triciaknoll.com
Candace Kubinec
is a poet and a photographer from Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Whether she’s playing with words or pixels, she tries to find the glimmer of beauty in the mundane, to coax the soul from the everyday. Her hope is that her work will help others feel the magic in objects and people, overlooked or taken for granted, and to look closer at the natural world that surrounds us. Candace is also the inventor of the poetic form, the Waltmarie, which was the poetic form challenge for Highland Park Poetry's 2022 Poetry Challenge.
Jill Angel Langlois
lives in Gurnee with her husband. They both enjoy poetry, novels, movies and music. She holds a BA in Literature from Governors State University. Jill’s poems and short stories have appeared in The Reveiller; Starting Now – The Concerns of Young People; American Collegiate Poets; The Innovator; Surprise Me; Feathers, Fins and Fur; Earth Beneath, Sky Beyond; A Kiss Is Still A Kiss; Pioneer Press; Twilight Musings; Abyss & Apex Magazine of Speculative Fiction and Poetry; Possibilities; The Poetic Bond; The Joe Show; Poets Without Borders; Distilled Lives, as well as on display in various libraries and galleries including Burning Bush Gallery in Wheaton, Lemont Center for the Arts, and the Artist’s Association of Elk Grove Village. She received the Editor’s Choice Award for outstanding achievement in poetry presented by Poetry.com. Since 2019, she serves as a poetry judge for the Florida State Poets Association, Inc. She judges poetry categories that tend to fall on the darker side of life, searching for the truth in the poet’s heart and soul.
Michael Latza
Michael F. Latza was born and raised in Chicago. After twenty-five years as a mailman, he now teaches poetry, writing, and other literature classes at the College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL, where he also edits the creative writing journal, Willow Review, since 2004. Professor Latza earned his BA and MA in English from Loyola University of Chicago. He was accepted into the Creative Writing Poetry PhD program at UW Milwaukee, a juried process, where he studied poetry under the late James Liddy, in the fall of 2007. He has also completed a post graduate semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Michael has been published in several literary journals, including, The Solitary Plover, Red River Review, Bear River Review, East On Central, Ekphrasis, and Appalachian Journal. He has also published nonfiction on the Prairie Home Companion website, and a book of poetry, Rip This Poem Out. Jennifer Dotson has interviewed Michael for the series, Poetry Today, available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llj9t2a7rNY.
Joan Leotta
plays with words on page and stage. She performs tales of food, family, and strong women. Internationally published as an essayist, poet, short story writer, and novelist, she's been nominated twice for Pushcart and Best of the Net 2022. She was 2022 runner-up in the Robert Frost Competition and has been Poet of the Week on Poetry Super Highway. Her essays, poems, and fiction appear in Ekphrastic Review, Verse Virtual, Gargoyle, Highland Park Poetry, Silver Birch, Yellow Mama, Mystery Tribune, Ovunquesiamo, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Impspired, and others. Her poetry chapbooks are Languid Lusciousness with Lemon and Feathers on Stone. She also has two mini-chapbooks offered free through Origami Press: Dancing Under the Moon and Morning by Morning.
Arlene Gay Levine
is an award-winning poet, author and educator who lives with her husband in NYC tending a garden of herbs, roses and words. Her prose and poetry have found a home in The New York Times, over 30 anthologies, and journals including Chiron Review, The MacGuffin, Quest, and frogpond. She is the author of 39 Ways to Open Your Heart: An Illuminated Meditation (Conari Press) and Movie Life (Finishing Line Press). Learn more about her at http://www.arlenegaylevine.com/.
Terry Loncaric
Terry Loncaric, who lives in Hampshire with Debbie, her partner, and their two spirited felines, has worked as a poet, journalist, and educator. All three worlds converge in her poetry that has appeared in magazines, journals, newspapers, anthologies, and online galleries. She is the author of Poetry in an Age of Panic for Kelsay Books. She hosts a monthly open mic at Stage Left Cafe in Woodstock. She is currently working on poems about democracy and democratic values and hopes to use these poems to encourage discourse in our divided times. She has won many awards for her clever, lyrical, and thoughtful poems.
Lennart Lundh
is a poet, photographer, short-fictionist, and photographer. His work has appeared internationally since 1965, including twenty-seven books and several exhibitions.
He is also the judge of Highland Park Poetry's 2024 Prairie State Poetry Prize for a 1st or 2nd Book.
Olivia Maciel
Olivia Maciel es autora de los poemarios Sombra en plata (2005), Filigrana encendida (2002) y Luna de cal (2000) Swan Isle Press; Más salado que dulce (1995) March-Abrazo Press, del libro de relatos Espejos en un café (2022), International Latino Book Award for fiction in Spanish (2023), Ars Communis Editorial; de la narrativa “Arraigos (Des)arraigos”, Antología Narrar lo Propio (2023) UNAM. Es autora de la monografía Surrealismo en la poesía de Xavier Villarrutia, Octavio Paz y Luis Cernuda. México 1926-1963 (2008) Edwin Mellen Press; editora del volumen Vanguardia en Latinoamérica (2008) Pittsburgh University Press, y del poemario Astillas de luz (1998) Northwestern University Press & Tía Chucha Press. Recibió el Premio en Poesía, Northeastern Illinois University (2014), el Poet´s House, Nueva York (1996) y el José Martí, Universidad de Houston (1993). Es traductora al inglés, de la novela A pesar del oscuro silencio / In Spite of the Dark Silence por Jorge Volpi. Maciel se doctoró en Lenguas Romances por la Universidad de Chicago. Ha impartido clases de español y literatura en instituciones de educación superior, incluyendo: The University of Chicago, Loyola University, Lake Forest College, University of Illinois-Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Northwestern University, DePaul University, Harold Washington College y otras. Olivia nació en la Ciudad de México y reside en Highland Park, IL. Le encanta dar paseos por el lago, dibujar, hacer fotografía, escuchar música, o simplemente beber un capuchino con amigos.
Olivia Maciel is author of the poetry volumes Sombra en plata | Shadow in Silver (2005), Filigrana encendida | Filigree of Light (2002), and Luna de cal | Limestone Moon (2000) Swan Isle Press; Más salado que dulce | Saltier than Sweet (1995) March-Abrazo Press; Cielo de Magnolias, Cielo de silencios (Pandora – Lobo Estepario); most recently of the book of short stories Espejos en un café (2022), International Latino Book Award in Spanish (2023), Ars Communis Editorial, and of the personal narrative “Arraigos (Des)arraigos” in the anthology Narrar lo propio (2023) UNAM. She is author of the monograph Surrealismo en la poesía de Xavier Villarrutia, Octavio Paz y Luis Cernuda. México 1926-1963 (2008) Edwin Mellen Press; editor of the volume Vanguardia en Latinoamérica (2008) Pittsburgh University Press, and of the anthology Astillas de luz | Shards of Light (1998) Northwestern University Press & Tía Chucha Press. She received the First Prize for Poetry in Spanish, Northeastern Illinois University (2014), the Poet´s House Award, New York (1996) and the José Martí Award, University of Houston (1993). She is the translator into English of the novel A pesar del oscuro silencio| In Spite of the Dark Silence by Jorge Volpi. Maciel obtained her doctorate in Romance Languages from the University of Chicago. She has taught Spanish and Latin American literature courses in institutions of higher education including: The University of Chicago, Loyola University, Lake Forest College, University of Illinois-Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Northwestern University, DePaul University, and Harold Washington College. Olivia was born in Mexico City and resides in Highland Park, IL. She enjoys taking walks along Lake Michigan, drawing, doing photography, listening to music, or simply drinking a cappuccino while conversing with friends.
William Marr
William Marr, born in 1936 in Taiwan, came to the United States in 1961 as a graduate student. He received his MS in mechanical engineering from Marquette University in 1963 and his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1969. After working in energy and environmental systems research for many years at Argonne National Laboratory, he retired in 1996 to devote his full time to writing, painting, and sculpting. So far, he has published over 30 books of poetry in Chinese, English, bilingual (Chinese/English), multilingual (Chinese/English with French and Italian translations), and one Korean translation. A longtime resident of Downers Grove in Illinois and a former President of the Illinois State Poetry Society, he holds two lifetime achievement awards, including one from the Marquis Who's Who Publications Board. In 2016, in celebration of his 80th birthday, his two sons and their wives set up the William W. Marr Scholarship for Creative Writing in the College of Letters & Science of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2019, he was awarded the 60th Literary Award from Taiwan's Chinese Literature and Art Association. His most recent bilingual poetry books are A Dreamless Night, and Every Day a Blue Sky -- Humorous and Satirical Poetry. Both can be purchased from Amazon. Since August 2019, the Chicago Chinese News has been publishing one of his bilingual (Chinese/ English) poems every Friday on its front page without interruption.
Joan McNerney
has been the recipient of three scholarships. She has recited her work at the National Arts Club, New York City, State University of New York, Oneonta, McNay Art Institute, San Antonio and the University of Houston, Texas, Published worldwide in over thirty five countries, her work has appeared in literary publications too numerous to mention. Four Best of the Net nominations have been awarded to her. The Muse in Miniature, Love Poems for Michael and At Work are available on Amazon.com A new release entitled Light & Shadow explores the recent historic COVID pandemic.
Adrian McRobb
resides in darkest Northumberland UK, his poetry has appeared in literary magazines and publicans, he has been writing since 1984, one of his poems was displayed on a 6×4' banner in 2017 Sandersons Gallery shopping centre Morpeth UK. In April 2018, he came 1st-2nd-3rd-4th in Open English Verse Section, Morpeth Gathering...this record has yet to be broken, competition running since 1965. He is the past holder of the Lowford Trophy, for Historical Article's 5,000 words "Margaret Shelby"...His hobbies include Victoria Sponge Cake & "Talking in Lifts."
Jen Meyer
is a writer, artist and self-appointed Little Free Library librarian. She is a former public librarian and homeschool mom. She lives in Highland Park where she enjoys walking her dog on the Green Bay trail, walking her dog down to Glencoe to visit their dog treat boxes and walking her dog to organize the Little Free Libraries in her neighborhood. Jen is als a member of Highland Park Poetry's events team.
Arlyn Miller
has taught poetry-based creative writing to students of all ages and abilities for more than twenty year in schools, community venues and, more recently, on-line. A published writer with poetry as her primary genre, Arlyn's writing has appeared in many magazines and journals including Make it Better, the English Journal, Calyx, Literary Bohemian, and Literary Mama. Arlyn is also the Founding Editor of Poetic License Press, publishing themed anthologies of poetry that is authentic, accessible, and engaging, which Arlyn strives to be herself. You can find out more about Arlyn and her work at www.poeticlicenseinc.net.
Khalid Mukhtar
is a poet, short story writer and aspiring novelist. He dabbles in free verse when he isn’t experimenting with hybrid meters in his poems. His work is predominantly influenced by Eastern culture and Sufi thought. His first collection of poems titled In The Warmth Of The Shade was published in 2018 by Fons Vitae. His poem “Morning Chai” published in the Fall 2022 issue of Prairie Light Review won him the Budilovsky Literary Award. He also won 2nd Place Honorable Mention for his poem "On Forgetting" in Poets & Patrons’ 67th Poetry Contest 2023. Khalid has written two unpublished novellas and is presently co-writing a biography titled “Steeled: Memoirs of a Twentieth Century Master Mariner.”
René Parks
is a LaSalle County poet, educator, and visual artist focused on themes central to ecofeminism, healing with nature, and folk stories. She received a BA and MA in English from Governors State University and an MFA in poetry from Lindenwood University. She has two recent chapbooks, Holistic Rewilding and Folk Magic. See her work on Insta @kankakeeteacompany
Marcia J. Pradzinski
is a retired ESL instructor who taught at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is the author of two books of poetry; Left Behind (Finishing Line Press, 2015) and As One Day Slips Out of the Shoe of Another (Kelsay Books, 2021). She was born and raised in the Chicago neighborhood, now dubbed The Ukrainian Village. Her family didn't travel much, but hearing a variety of languages - Polish, Ukrainian, and Spanish - enriched her childhood. She served as a poetry judge for the Society of Midland Authors, and as a board member of Poets & Patrons. Her poems have appeared in Highland Park Poetry, RHINO, Paper Swans Press-UK, After Hours, Aeolian Harp Anthology Six, Poetica Review, The Examined Life, and the OCWW anthology Meaningful Conflicts among others. She has received awards from Journal of Modern Poetry, Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Contests, Highland Park Poetry Challenges, and Pen2Paper.
Ann Privateer
is a poet, artist, and photographer. Some of her recent work has appeared in Third Wednesday and Entering to name a few. Ann grew up in the Midwest and now resides in California.
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.
Marjorie Rissman
is an active participant in HP Poetry, East on Central Association, and Illinois State Poetry Society. She serves as treasurer of the last two organizations but also contributes her poetry to all three. She also helps with the organization of the monthly HPP poetry events and enjoys meeting old friends and new who attend. Her poetry can be found on line and in East on Central, ISPS' Distilled Lives and in Highland Park Poetry's many anthologies.
Sandy Rochelle
Sandy Rochelle is a widely published poet, actress and filmmaker. She was a member of the Acting Company of Lincoln Center. A voting member of the Recording Academy in the Spoken Word Category, Sandy produced and narrated the documentary film, Silent Journey, streaming on Culture Unplugged at http://www.cultureunplugged.com/storyteller/Sandy_Rochelle. She is a recipient of the Literary Achievement Award from the World Peace Prayer Society. Her publications include: Dissident Voice, Poetic Sun, Indelible, Impspired, Verse Virtual, Black Poppy Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Haiku Universe, Wild Word, Ekphrastic Review, Every Day Poems, Spillwords Press, Trouvaille Review, Amethyst Review, Flash Fiction North, The Poet, Writing in a Woman's Voice, and others. Her chapbook-- Soul Poems - is published by Finishing Line Press.
Irfanulla Shariff
Irfanulla Shariff has a great passion for writing inspirational poetry and his work has been published in various American poetry magazines and anthologies. Irfanulla’s poetry influences are Rumi, Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. He is a member of Illinois Poetry Society and Academy of American Poets. By profession, he is a Computer Scientist and Telecommunications Engineer. Irfanulla lives with his wife and daughter in South Elgin, Illinois. Check out his Web site at https://irfanullashariff.com/
Alice Marcus Solovy
has lived in Highland Park, Illinois for eleven years. She wrote her first poem at age eight or nine, a Valentine for her Father. In high school, she wrote a poem that was published in a national anthology, "America Sings." Her subjects are usually nature or Judaic inspired, with some occasional humorous ones. She enjoys having her poems on the Highland Park Poetry website or on the HPP Facebook page as Daily Poem Posts. Her poems have also been read at religious services at her Synagogue. One of her poems resides in the archives of the Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois. Her family includes two lovely daughters, two nice sons-in-law, and four delightful grandchildren.
Jacqueline Stearns
holds a B.A. in Mass Media Communications from William Paterson College, now University. She has been published in the Highland Park Poetry Muses’ Gallery, and has been published in the 2014, and 2018 Montclair Write Group Sampler Anthologies. Her flash fiction is included in The Montclair Write Group Flash Fiction Anthology of 2019. She was an associate editor of New Jersey Peace Action Peace Poems.
Christine Swanberg
Christine Swanberg’s books include Tonight On This Late Road, Invisible String, Bread Upon The Waters, Slow Miracle, The Tenderness of Memory, The Red Lacquer Room, Who Walks Among The Trees With Charity, The Alleluia Tree, and Wild Fruition: Sonnets, Spells, and Other Incantations. She has published about 600 poems in about 100 journals and anthologies. She is the first inaugurated Poet Laureate of Rockford, Illinois.
Curt Vevang
is a Chicago born author of six poetry books, most recently, "poetry of the engineer" published in 2021. is poetry has been published in anthologies and poetry websites. Curt has won honors from the Illinois State Poetry Society, Poets and Patrons, the Journal of Modern Poetry, the Northbrook Arts Commission, and the Poetry Society of Tennessee. His poetry won first place in the Humor category in both 2019 and 2020 poetry contests sponsored by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
William Vollrath
William, wife Renee and their two cats have escaped to the clean air, water and abundant food and wine of Charlottesville, Virginia. When inspired, he still enjoys sharing assorted joy's and frustrations via short poems that have won varied awards. His most recent publication is My Third Eye Is Blurry from Highland Park Poetry Press..
Jamie Wendt
is the author of the poetry collection Fruit of the Earth (Main Street Rag, 2018), which won the 2019 National Federation of Press Women Book Award in Poetry. Her manuscript, Laughing in Yiddish, was a finalist for the 2022 Philip Levine Prize in Poetry. Her poems and essays have been published in various literary journals and anthologies, including Feminine Rising, Green Mountains Review, Lilith, Jet Fuel Review, the Forward, Poetica Magazine, and others. She contributes book reviews to the Jewish Book Council as well as to other publications, including Literary Mama and Mom Egg Review. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best Spiritual Literature. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She is a middle school Humanities teacher and lives in Chicago with her husband and two kids. Visit https://jamie-wendt.com/
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. I have been writing for years and have recently been published in East on Central and many of the Highland Park Poetry publications. My photography is featured in Capture the Heart of Highland Park, East on Central and Highland Park Poetry. I also host poetry events monthly at The Art Center Highland Park.”
Peter A. Witt
is a Texas poet and former university professor. He is also an avid birder and photographer. Peter took up writing poetry as a way to recapture his ability to describe his surroundings and experiences after retiring from a 43 year teaching and research career, a setting that discourages vivid descriptions. Peter also researches and writes family history, a book about his aunt was published by the Texas A&M University Press.
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.
Michael P. Wright
is a native Chicagoan currently residing in Highwood and a published poet. Mr. Wright dabbled with poetry in the mid 1990’s and started writing again in August, 2006. What began as a joke to a neighbor has escalated to readings throughout Chicago and winning first and second place in Highland Park Poetry’s 2013 Poetry Challenge in the Sports and Games category. Mr. Wright has dabbled in journalism, writing for a The Bleacher Banter, the newsletter of the Chicago Cubs bleacher fandom in the mid 1990’s, and the College of Lake County Chronicle. Mr. Wright yearns to write that “over the top” perfect poem that reaches out to everyone.
RM Yager
is a retired nurse/teacher/photographer who loves to write about marginalized and at risk people, she loves to tackle topics about over the top feelings and situations that most people are afraid to confront. She brings family, relationships, and dysfunctional people to the forefront, but also loves to write about babies and little children, especially her granddaughter, nature, healing and whimsy. She has lived on the north shore of Chicago for over 50 years but is an inner city transplant, who grew up in the Lakeview Neighborhood. Her writings have been published locally in Winnetka Living, The Front Porch Review, The Rockford Review, as well as East on Central, Highland Park Poetry's Daily Poems on Facebook and Muses' Gallery as well numerous other journals throughout the US and internationally. She is indebted to her fellow poets who pushed her into finally submitting her poetry in 2018.
