I’ve been writing all my life... poetry, short stories, essays, children’s stories, and more. It was back in the early 1990s when I was really into my passion for poetry and I began publishing In The Company of Poets Magazine. I was so excited. At the time, I followed some of the greats like Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker; and of course poets like Robert Hayden, Paul Dunbar, and Langston Hughes.
Along with the magazine I began hosting poetry competitions. “The Poetry Joust” became extremely popular in the bay area. Poets from around the bay attended to attempt to win the $1000 grand prize offering. Dr. Julia Hare and Dr. Nathan Hare were two of my first participating judges, and I was thrilled when Maya Angelou endorsed the magazine and suggested I contact her son Guy Johnson, who was local to the bay area to appear in the publication.
The magazine grew incredibly fast, faster than I could keep up. Submissions came from everywhere; and included places such as China, Guam, Africa, Australia, London, and throughout the United States. It was a wonderful time for me. Alas, many things in my life changes, and I was no longer able to continue the magazine, so the opportunity to bring the magazine to an electronic forum, in the form of a television show, is equally exciting to me, offering new opportunities, a new platform, and the introduction of new voices. I’d like to extend an invitation to poets, writers, spoken word artist and storytellers locally to be a guest on our show; and also welcome your video submissions and links for highlighting on our website.
Along with the magazine I began hosting poetry competitions. “The Poetry Joust” became extremely popular in the bay area. Poets from around the bay attended to attempt to win the $1000 grand prize offering. Dr. Julia Hare and Dr. Nathan Hare were two of my first participating judges, and I was thrilled when Maya Angelou endorsed the magazine and suggested I contact her son Guy Johnson, who was local to the bay area to appear in the publication.
The magazine grew incredibly fast, faster than I could keep up. Submissions came from everywhere; and included places such as China, Guam, Africa, Australia, London, and throughout the United States. It was a wonderful time for me. Alas, many things in my life changes, and I was no longer able to continue the magazine, so the opportunity to bring the magazine to an electronic forum, in the form of a television show, is equally exciting to me, offering new opportunities, a new platform, and the introduction of new voices. I’d like to extend an invitation to poets, writers, spoken word artist and storytellers locally to be a guest on our show; and also welcome your video submissions and links for highlighting on our website.