Quintessential Poetry: Online Radio, YouTube and Zoom

AaronRPoems.com sponsors multiple poetry contests throughout the year. Hilton Lewis won the the December 2020 Poetically Correct contest. The other participants in the contest were Joel “King” Atterberry, Allyson Autrey (First Runner-Up), Farida Aziz, Jerome “J writezzz” Bradley, James Dean, Alatashe Kowale, and Deelynn Leigh. The mission of Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio is to provide a live format for emerging, mid-career, and established poets to showcase their work. Whether traditional poetry or spoken word, the show offers an online vehicle for artists to engage in critical dialogue and discussion about poetry. If you would like to be a guest on QL: POR, please contact Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram at [email protected].

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Arif Ahmad is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society and practices cardiology and electrophysiology in southern Wisconsin. He is a mid-Westerner with pride for where he came from – Pakistan, his faith – Muslim, and most of all, for the county he now calls home – America. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, he has lived in New York City, Milwaukee, and Iron Mountain, MI, and now resides in Madison, WI. He also has a farm 20 minutes from his home. Dr. Arif Ahmad lived his first 30 years of life in Pakistan. After coming to America in the 1990s, he has been in the United States for almost 30 years. Through his experiences and optimistic outlook, he shares an encouraging vision for America in his debut book, A Piece of Me: An Arrangement of Words To Inspire Reflection. Written over a decade the 2010s, his book offers provocative thoughts on a wide variety of topical areas, including unity, diversity, news media, faith, and health. It became a best-seller on Amazon and earned the 2022 Bronze Medal Award in the Poetry/ Verse category for the Global Book Awards. Though it is his debut book, his writings have been published in the Associated Press and CNN.com. What we can learn from the Muslim-American experienceHow he uses award-winning poetry to get his points acrossExploring our nation through the eyes of a well-educated Pakistani immigrantHow can we shape society for the future right nowWhy we should feel optimism — but what we can do to bridge our cultural divide Which moments of the past decade are defining America.

Abi Taylor is an Artist/Illustrator living and working in North Vancouver BC. She takes inspiration from the places around her and inside her mind. After finishing her degree of Visual Arts at Emily Carr University she would like to make drawings for children's books. Alden Wallace Mackay has been published in numerous literary magazines across the continent. He hopes one day this might pay the bills.

Genevieve is a Spoken Word artist and poet from Bedfordshire in Britain. She has been published in 17 magazines and anthologies. She worked in theatre for 6 years as a director and playwright. Genevieve is working on her first book due to be released next year. (3) Genevieve Ray - Creative | Facebook Genevieve Ray (@genevievefirepoet) • Instagram photos and videos

Frogg Corpse is a poet from Louisville, Kentucky. Frogg has been writing poetry since he was eight years old. At age 12 in 1999 Frogg was one of the youngest poets and members at that time to be a part of a convention and a member of the International Society of Poets now known as the defunct poetry.com. Frogg had the pleasure of writing a poem with Pulitzer prize Poet W.D. Snodgrass in his time at Coronado Springs, Florida. Through the years Frogg improved upon his writing until he felt he was ready to approach it with enthusiastic ambition. Frogg became a vocalist and wrote lyrics for metal bands in his adolescence. As an adult, he published a memoir titled “The Mourning Hour” in 2011. The Mourning Hour was showcased in 2012 at the London Book Fair. He has performed Spoken Word at Gonzofest for three years in Louisville from 2014-2016. Gonzofest is a festival event celebrating the life and legacy of writer and Louisville native Hunter S. Thompson. He was a featured poet Halloween 2019 by Cajun Mutt Press. He also has poetry in the Fall 2019 edition of Artifact Nouveau Magazine. He has written guest blog in 2019 for 48HrBooks. The guest blog discusses the importance of documenting dreams to improve writing. Frogg has poems in the first and third issues of Necro Magazine. Frogg has performed in a 2020 Slam Poetry event hosted by Spoken Word artist Suli Breaks. MTV’s Jackass star Steve-O owns a copy of Frogg Corpses aforementioned memoir. He has also worked in 2011-2014 as a haunt actor at Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville. During 2012 Frogg Auditioned as a vocalist for the American Idol Season 12 series on FOX. He has also worked as a background actor for Magician Criss Angel in 2013 for Angel’s Spike TV show BeLIEve in Las Vegas. And while in Las Vegas, Frogg Corpse also had a minor role in the film The Las Vegas Story which featured established actor Eric Roberts while auditioning twice for NBC’s The VOICE.