Oct 09 2020 149 mins
BRIAN SONIA-WALLACE Brian Sonia-Wallace’s books include The Poetry of Strangers (Harper Collins, 2020) and I sold these poems, now I want them back (Yak Press, 2016). His writing has been published in The Guardian and Rolling Stone, and he teaches creative writing through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and Get Lit - Words Ignite. He is the founder of RENT Poet, bringing poets on typewriters to events, as featured on NPR's How I Built This. Brian has been the Writer in Residence for Amtrak, Mall of America, the National Parks, and more. His work has been profiled by The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, ABC7, and Telemundo. More at briansoniawallace.com. JAMES PAUL WAGNER James P. Wagner (Ishwa) is an editor, publisher, award-winning fiction writer, essayist, historian performance poet, and alum twice over (BA & MALS) of Dowling College. He is the publisher for Local Gems Poetry Press and the Senior Founder and President of the Bards Initiative. He is also the founder and Grand Laureate of Bards Against Hunger, a series of poetry readings and anthologies dedicated to gathering food for local pantries that operates in over a dozen states. His most recent individual collection of poetry is Everyday Alchemy. He was the Long Island, NY National Beat Poet Laureate from 2017-2019. He was the Walt Whitman Bicentennial Convention Chairman and teaches poetry workshops at the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site. James has edited over 60 poetry anthologies and hosted book launch events up and down the East Coast. He was recently named the National Beat Poet Laureate of the US for 2020-2021. -- ~James P. Wagner (Ishwa) President: The Bards Initiative (Long Island Poetry Not-For-Profit) www.bardsinitiative.weebly.com Publisher For, Local Gems Poetry Press (Publisher Of Poetry Anthologies and Collections) www.localgemspoetrypress.com Editor For The Perspectives Series (Poetry Concerning Autism and Other Disabilities) www.perspectivesanthology.com On Twitter: @IshwaJPW Advisory Board Member: Nassau County Poet Laureate Society. http://nassaucountypoetlaureatesociety.com/ Advisory Board Member: Walt Whitman Birthplace and State Historic Site: http://www.waltwhitman.org www.bardsagainsthunger.com, www.bardconvirtual.com