Check out Amanda's conversation with Elizabeth Bradfield! Writer/Naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield’s recent books are Toward Antarctica, Once Removed, and the anthologies Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry, co-created with CMarie Fuhrman and Derek Sheffield and winner of the 2024 Pacific Northwest Book Award, and Broadsided Press: Fifteen Years of Poetic/Artistic Collaboration, co-created with Alexandra Teague and Miller Oberman. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, ...
May 05, 2024•40 min•Season 7Ep. 1
It's the Season 6 Finale! Check out Amanda's conversation with Oombi Solis Flores! Oombi Solis Flores (b. 1988) is a queer/non-binary immigrant, poet, and licensed clinical social worker. They were born in Zacatecas, México and reside in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Their work has previously been featured in Razorcake Issue #102, Sister Spit: QTPOC Cruising the West Tour, Altadena Literary Review 2020, innateDIVINITYBooks' A Case for the Personhood of Trees Anthology of Poetry, and in the ...
Apr 07, 2024•47 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Check out Amanda's conversation with Alexander James! Alexander James is a man of many talents and accomplishments. He was born and raised in South LA and has used his experiences to become a successful poet, father, pastor, truth teller, and professional in his field. As an 2022 Addy and Webby Award-winning poet, Alexander has made a name for himself in the creative world. He has also become a respected Poetry Coach, helping aspiring poets to develop their skills and share their unique voices. ...
Mar 31, 2024•48 min•Season 6Ep. 7
Check out Amanda's conversation with Neeta Rare! Spoken Word Artiste, Voice Actor, Social Worker, Public Presentation Trainer, And Multi In Many Ways. Neeta Rare Was Finalist For The UBA Africa Poetry Day Contest, 2018. She Was Nominated For The Illustrious African Writers Awards As Outstanding Spoken Word Artiste Of The Year, By BEWA Africa In 2021. She Is A Semifinalist And Notable Mention At The SprinNG Poetry Contest, 2022. She Is Winner Of The World Bank Poetry Contest, 2022, And Second- Pl...
Mar 24, 2024•27 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Check out Amanda's conversation with Mister Motivation! Mister Motivation (Shaun Murphy) is an Army Veteran, and motivational EDU-tainer; A hip hop spoken word artist, Motivational Speaker, and musician. When he takes the stage, you get high level energy and stylish presentations where he uniquely combines his own original music and spoken word with motivational speaking. He uses his story, words, and music to provide purpose, direction, and motivation to ultimately spread positivity. Mister Mot...
Mar 17, 2024•37 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Check out Amanda's conversation with IB! Abu Ibrahim popularly known as "IB" is a socially conscious poet whose work has caused tremendous influence and change both locally. He sees poetry as a powerful tool to cause positive change and redefine society. In 2021, he was part of a group of poets who advocated that the Recording Academy make spoken word poetry at the Grammys and this led to the birth of the “Best Spoken Word Poetry Album” category in 2022. His debut poetry album “Music Has Failed ...
Mar 10, 2024•30 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Check out Amanda's conversation with Emily Lee Luan! Emily Lee Luan is the author of 回 / Return, a winner of the Nightboat Poetry Prize, and I Watch the Boughs, selected by Gabrielle Calvocoressi for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship. A former Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2021 , Best New Poets 2019, American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from Rutgers U...
Mar 03, 2024•30 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Check out Amanda's conversation with Matt Sedillo! Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle". His work has drawn comparisons in print to Bertolt Brecht, Roque Dalton, Amiri Baraka, Alan Ginsberg, Carl Sandburg and various other legends of the past. Sedillo was the recipient of the 2017 Joe Hill Labor Poetry award, a panelist at the 2020 Texas book festival, a participant in the 2012 San Francisco International Poetry Fe...
Feb 25, 2024•59 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 6 of The Poet Speaks Podcast! For our season opener, we have Major Jackson! Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, including Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems (2023), The Absurd Man (2020), Roll Deep (2015), Holding Company (2010), Hoops (2006), and Leaving Saturn (2002), which won a Cave Canem Poetry Prize for a first book of poems. His edited volumes include: Best American Poetry 2019, Renga for Obama, and Library of America’s Countee Cullen: Collected Poem...
Feb 18, 2024•46 min•Season 6Ep. 1
It's the Season 5 Finale of The Poet Speaks Podcast!For our last episode of Season 5 we have Jack Dawkins! Jack Dawkins is a storyteller, a rapper, and a poet. But before all of that, he honed his entrepreneurial skillsets across various industries, including hospitality, consulting, and fitness. His use of the English language has been compared to Michael Phelps’ performance on Saturday Night Live: Wildly entertaining for none of the reasons you would expect. He is, at his core, and in his musi...
Mar 26, 2023•44 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Check out Amanda's conversation with Justin Patton! Justin is a spoken word artist based out of Atlanta by way of Chattanooga, TN. He is an author of his collection of poems entitled Poetry for the Hopefully. He is the curator of his monthly show ‘Soul Therapy’, brand ambassador for Urban Grind Coffee House located in Atlanta, creator of The Poet’s Perspective Podcast, and blogger where he has written over 200 articles. Justin's Links: @iamjustinpatton Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcas...
Mar 19, 2023•41 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Check out Amanda's conversation with LaLa DeVille! Lala is a writer, poet, spoken word artist and self published author from Compton Ca, currently residing in Long Beach, Ca. Known for performing in Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes and being dubbed "The Queen in Chucks," LaLa has been a featured poet for Kevin's Cause Suicide Prevention And Awareness 5K run in 2016, S.W.A.A.M. Spoken Word Art and Music, The 2018 Pan African Film Festival Spoken Word Fest, Soul Sundays , The Speak Easy, The Griot Caf...
Mar 12, 2023•43 min•Ep. 6
Check out Amanda's conversation with Ashley Renee! Ashley is a writer, author and spoken word poet originally from Chicago, Illinois who has resided in Los Angeles for the past 8 years. Ashley hosts a monthly open mic + black culture trivia night at legacy lounge called: Pardon my poetry. Ashley's first poetry album, Flowers won’t fix this, is out now! Ashley's Links: @ashleyreneepoet on Instagram Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepoetspea.. ...
Feb 26, 2023•31 min•Ep. 5
This week we have on the podcast, Heather Pease! Heather (she/her) gives a loud voice to what has been silenced, by removing shame. As a survivor of assault, she hopes her words shimmer and resonate as she exposes the humanity of being flawed, addressing stigmatizations with blunt, riveting force, where nobody gets off the hook. Heather’s debut poetry collection is Out of the Weeds. Her work has appeared in Literary Journals such as Rogue Agent, Alpha Female Society, Rat's Ass Review, as well as...
Feb 19, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Check out Amanda's conversation with Bridgette Bianca! Bridgette is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. Her first book of poetry, be/trouble, was released by Writ Large in 2020. When she is not sharing her poetry, she hosts two instagram series, Young, Black, and Tenure-Track where she documents her experiences in higher education and We Be Readin! Wednesdays where she discusses her romance reading obsession! Bridgette's Links: bridgettebianca.com Be sure to check out The Poet S...
Feb 12, 2023•56 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Welcome to the podcast, Kyle Tran Myhre! Kyle Tran Myhre (also known as Guante) is a poet, educator, and activist based in Minneapolis. His work explores the relationships between narrative, power, and resistance, and he’s performed everywhere from the United Nations, to music festivals like Eaux Claires and Soundset, to countless colleges, universities, and conferences. A member of two National Poetry Slam championship teams, Tran Myhre uses poems as doorways into dialogue, critical thinking, a...
Feb 05, 2023•46 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Welcome to the Season 5 premiere of, The Poet Speaks Podcast! Our first guest of the season is, Sapphire! Author of Push, American Dreams, The Kid, and Black Wings & Blind Angels. Push: A novel, won the Book-of-the-Month Club’s Stephen Crane award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award, and in Great Britain, the Mind Book of the Year Award. Named by the Village Voice and Time Out New York as one of the top ten books of 1996, Push was no...
Jan 28, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Welcome to the Season 4 Finale of, The Poet Speaks Podcast! Check out as Amanda wraps season 4 with K.M.A.! Kimberly M Anderson also known as KMA is a “coloured” or mixed race poet from South Africa.Coming from the small town of eShowe in KwaZulu-Natal, she found her voice through poetry and started the Turning Pain into Power movement or journey as she calls it. Her poems speak of what it is like being a coloured /mixed race woman in South Africa as well as other topics that take you on a journ...
Oct 23, 2022•52 min
Check out Amanda's conversation with Blue! Blue is a Thai interdisciplinary visual artist and poet based in California. Her works explore feminist themes through a surreal aesthetic that highlights the morbid in the mundane. Born and raised in Thailand, Blue is inspired by the complicated relationship she has with her home country. Her works employ punchy and subversive visual language to convey an expressive and rebellious inquiry into the everyday. Blue's Links: https://www.bluerachapradit.com...
Oct 16, 2022•39 min
Check out Amanda's conversation with Kiz Manley! Kiz's older sister, Promila, died in a car accident in 2000. PTSD ensued without diagnosis. She was trained to teach English & Drama. When her father died in 2010, she was recovering from an undiagnosed delayed traumatised grief reaction and breakdown. This is when she discovered therapeutic writing. Hip Hop HEALS began as a mental health inequality project. Hip Hop HEALS delivers poetry therapy-style workshops in schools, probation centres, m...
Oct 09, 2022•37 min
We welcome to The Poet Speaks Podcast, Rachel Ferguson! Rachel is co-owner of Ryozan Park and executive director of Kosodate Village NPO. She has a degree in literature and master’s degrees in Japanese gender studies and creative writing. Originally from Scotland, Rachel also works as a voice artist and, in her spare time, loves reading and writing poetry, playing music and walking in the woods with her two young children. Rachel is a former NHK World TV weathercaster. Rachel's Links: http://rac...
Oct 02, 2022•34 min
Check out Amanda's conversation with Adrian Matejka! Adrian was born in Nuremberg, Germany and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Matejka served as Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana in 2018– 19, and he became the editor of Poetry magazine in 2022. Adrian's Links: https://adrianmatejka.com/ Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepoetspeakspodcast/ And listen to , The Poet Speaks Podcast, on the go on ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS WORLDWIDE! Apple:http...
Sep 25, 2022•52 min
Check out Amanda's conversation with Mumbi Macharia! Mumbi is a performing spoken word poet, event curator, and blogger from Nairobi, Kenya. Her poetry revolves around the themes of love, femininity, Africa, sex, and the inevitability of heartbreak. Mumbi has been a featured poet at poetry events across East Africa, and has curated her own events in various parts of Kenya. She has written and performed for organizations such as Multichoice Africa, Unicef, UN, and in 2021 was interviewed on CNN. ...
Sep 18, 2022•38 min
Welcome to the Season 4 Premiere of, The Poet Speaks Podcast! Check out Amanda's conversation with Sandra Cisneros. Sandra is a poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, performer, and artist. Her numerous awards include NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction, a MacArthur Fellowship, national and international book awards, including the PEN America Literary Award, and the National Medal of Arts. More recently, she received the Ford Foundation's Art of Change Fellowship, was recognized wi...
Sep 11, 2022•51 min
Welcome to the Season 3 finale of The Poet Speaks Podcast! Check out Amanda's conversation with Caridad De La Luz! Caridad is a multifaceted performer known as LA BRUJA who is nominated for an Emmy as Script Writer of “Legacy of Puerto Rican Poetry” which aired on ABC last year and she is the newly appointed Executive Director of the NUYORICAN POETS CAFE where she began her career in 1996. Winner of the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship 2019-2020 and a 2021 David Prize finalist, Caridad balances a c...
Aug 21, 2022•47 min
Check out this week's episode with Adam Tie! Adam is the founder of The Novel Encounter, and a published author & poet. He's well-known for his live typewritten poetry, where he gets invited by brands & to festivals and special occasions to engage with the guests for customised poems. Simply give him 3 words and he will write something heartfelt for you on the spot. Be sure to become a Poetry Lab Partner and attend a monthly workshop led by a teaching artist who represents a fresh new vo...
Aug 14, 2022•39 min
icon303 is an artist and poet based in South Florida. He is continually working and writing to create a better place for us all to live.” Check out this episode as him and Amanda talk all about his life, career in writing and all things Spoken Word Poetry! Be sure to become a Poetry Lab Partner and attend a monthly workshop led by a teaching artist who represents a fresh new voice in the writing world. It’s only $35 a month! Sign up at: https://www.thepoetrylab.com/labpartners icon303's Links: h...
Aug 07, 2022•36 min
Check out Amanda's conversation with Lady Red Ego! Lady Red Ego is a Chinese/Scottish lesbian writer concerned with intimacies. Her first pamphlet, The Red Ego, was published in 2019 with Wild Pressed Books and her second pamphlet, Natural Sugars, was published in 2020 by Broken Sleep Books. Her debut collection, Your Turn To Speak!, is due to be released in 2023 with Blue Diode Press. Be sure to become a Poetry Lab Partner and attend a monthly workshop led by a teaching artist who represents a ...
Jul 31, 2022•41 min
Listen to Amanda's conversation with Xabiso Vili! Having won the Poetry Africa 2021 Slam Jam competition, Xabiso Vili will be representing South Africa at the World Poetry Slam Championship 2022 in Brussels. He is a multi-award winning writer, performer, social activist, new media artist, applied theatre practitioner and producer obsessed with how to use innovative creativity for healing and therapy. Most recently, he created the Augmented Reality exhibition “Re/Member Your Descendants” which ex...
Jul 24, 2022•47 min
This week, Amanda has a chat with Dhayana Alejandrina! Dhayana is a Dominican writer, poet, and storyteller. Dhayana started to write around the age of nine when she lived in the Dominican Republic, then continued to after immigrating to the United States in 2009 with her family. Her writings explore different topics such as growth, love, loss, culture, healing, and spirituality. In 2018, she had her first spoken word performance at a lyrical lounge in Okinawa, Japan. Since then, Dhayana devoted...
Jul 17, 2022•40 min
