October — Dante’s New South:
Dario Plevnik - was born in 1969 in Osijek, Croatia. A guitarist and composer since age 10, he creates the music, lyrics, arrangements, and production for his songs, performing all instruments except winds, with classical guitar as his first passion. He recorded four albums for Croatia Records: “Duše” (1994), “Iskre strasti” (1998), the instrumental “Snovi” (2000), and “English Songs” (2000). An instrumental from “Snovi” appeared on the UK release Chrisanne Collection IV alongside Henry Mancini, Nat King Cole, Bill Elliott, and Pedro Garcia. In 1999 he combined the tamburica and electric guitar in “Slavonian Horses,” representing Croatia at major European ethno festivals in Austria and Hungary. His piece “Mogu” supported therapeutic horseback riding and represented the Croatian team at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. Active on TikTok with 167k+ followers, fans call his sound “Croatian Heart & Soul.”
Links: https://linktr.ee/darioplevnik • https://www.tiktok.com/@dario.plevnik
Ben Smith has served as Senior Pastor of Central Baptist Church in Waycross, Georgia, since 2012, with prior ministry in Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. He holds a B.S. in Christian Ministry from Shorter University and an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His ministry centers on clear, verse-by-verse expository preaching that helps believers live out Scripture.
Website: https://www.BenSmithSr.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenSmithSr.org
X: https://www.x.com/BenSmithSr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Bensmithsr
Amanda Dennis is the author of Her Here and Beckett and Embodiment. Her work appears in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, and Guernica. She has held fellowships at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Columbia and Cambridge Universities, and UC Berkeley’s humanities center in Madrid. She co-directs the MFA in Creative Writing at The American University of Paris.
Website: https://www.amandadennis.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amargaretdennis
Keith “Hip” Hughes is a longtime educator known for his HipHughes History YouTube channel, with 55M+ views and more than 250k subscribers. He has also served as an adjunct professor of multimodal literacy at the University at Buffalo.
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@hiphughes
Instagram: http://instagram.com/hiphughes
Additional Music: Dario Plavnik — https://www.tiktok.com/@dario.plevnik
Advertisers:
The Crown: https://www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Linden Row Inn: https://www.lindenrowinn.com
Red Phone Booth: https://www.redphonebooth.com
We Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: https://www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: https://www.mupress.org
Alain Johannes: https://www.alainjohannes.com
Host: Clifford Brooks — The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, Old Gods.
Order books: https://www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
July, August & September — Dante’s New South Mega Return
Richard Blanco — Selected by President Obama as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet, Blanco was the youngest, first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person in that role. In 2023, President Biden awarded him the National Humanities Medal. Born to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, Blanco explores identity, belonging, and place in works like Homeland of My Body, For All of Us, One Today, and The Prince of Los Cocuyos. His honors include the Agnes Starrett Prize, PEN America Beyond Margins Award, Patterson Prize, and Lambda Literary Award. Blanco is Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets, Associate Professor at Florida International University, and Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County. www.richard-blanco.com
Samiya Bashir — Poet, writer, librettist, and multimedia artist described as “a dynamic, shape-shifting machine of perpetual motion.” Her work has been seen from Berlin to Accra, Florence to across the U.S. She is the author of Field Theories (Oregon Book Award) and I Hope This Helps (Nightboat Books, 2025). Honors include the Rome Prize, Pushcart Prize, and Oregon Arts & Culture Council Fellowship, with residencies at MacDowell and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. She is reigniting Fire & Inkwell to support LGBTQ+ artists and writers of African descent. www.samiyabashir.com
Octavio Quintanilla — Author of If I Go Missing (2014) and Poet Laureate of Texas. His poetry, fiction, translations, and Frontextos (visual poems) appear in Alaska Quarterly Review, Texas Observer, Green Mountains Review, and more. Exhibitions include Southwest School of Art, Weslaco Museum, and the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Regional editor for Texas Books in Review, poetry editor for Voices de la Luna, and faculty in Literature & Creative Writing at Our Lady of the Lake University. www.octavioquintanilla.com | IG: @writeroctavioquintanilla | X: @OctQuintanilla
Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon) — Since co-founding Leftover Salmon in 1989, Herman’s joyful, theatrical energy has defined the band. After moving from West Virginia to Boulder, CO, he briefly joined the Left-Hand String Band before forming Salmon Heads; both merged on New Year’s Eve 1989 to become Leftover Salmon. Decades on, Herman continues to bring his eclectic musical vision to audiences everywhere.
Additional Music: Alain Johannes — www.alainjohannes.com | Documentary: YouTube
Sponsors
Special Thanks
June 2025 Dante’s New South
Benheart: Ben is a living testimony of a dream come true: from childhood between Morocco and Italy, through technical discoveries and dramatic trials, to rebirth and the founding of a brand that fuses hearts, craftsmanship and style. Benheart is not just fashion, but a life statement - combining heart and craftsmanship, with strong roots in Florence and global vision.
www.benheart.it/?srsltid=AfmBOopJp1pzGmdew4Qc2oMvNo-0p7wLlIeJm9uVh_ETAUOWT1j-ilAd
Waqas Khwaja is the Ellen Douglass Leyburn Professor of English at Agnes Scott College where he teaches courses in Postcolonial literature, British Romanticism, Empire Narratives, Victorian Novel, and Creative Writing. He has published four collections of poetry, Hold Your Breath, No One Waits for the Train, Mariam’s Lament, and Six Geese from a Tomb at Medum, a literary travelogue about his experiences as a fellow of the International Writers Program, University of Iowa, and three edited anthologies of Pakistani literature.
He served as translation editor (and contributor) for Modern Poetry of Pakistan, showcasing translations of poems by 44 poets from Pakistan’s national and regional languages, and has guest-edited special issues on Pakistani Literature and poetry for the Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies and Atlanta Review. A bilingual edition of one of his collections, No One Waits for the Train, was published as Nadie espera el tren in Madrid, Spain, in 2024.
www.agnesscott.edu/directory/faculty/khwaja-waqas.html
Joseph Saul Portillo After dedicating 25 years to Christian ministry and cultivating a successful career in business operations, Joseph Saul Portillo turned inward to explore his artistic calling, embarking on a new chapter in Fine Art Photography.
Today, Joseph Saul is a Creative Producer and Digital Artist based in Rome, Georgia, whose evocative work in pictorial portraiture has earned him international acclaim as a Master of Light Photographer. His award-winning style, marked by emotional depth and artistic precision, has led to collaborations across film, music, and education projects. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Rome International Film Festival and on the Advisory Board for Georgia Highlands College’s Digital Media and Communications program.
Wiktor Miesok was and raised in Poland, he relocated to Norway in 2012, drawn by a longing for Tolkienian mystical landscapes. Though he seeks inspiration in the silence and raw, untamed nature of the North, he remains stubbornly Eastern European at heart.
An engineer by trade, he has a passion for storytelling and fiction that explores the human condition and its potential for both good and evil.
His latest novel, and the first serious foray into fiction, tells the story of a young man in1980s East Germany who, in his search for freedom, ends up in a Soviet penal colony and becomes entangled in the ruthless criminal underworld.
Additional Music Provided by:
Dr, Fubbs: www.tiktok.com/@doctorfubbs?lang=en
Justin Johnson: www.justinjohnsonlive.com
Our Advertisers:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
May 2025 Dante’s New South
Alice Hong: Named one of CBC’s 2018 “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30,” Alice is active globally as a violinist and a composer. She performs frequently with the Atlanta Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and more, and next weekend you can hear a premiere of Alice’s orchestral work Eden performed by the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra! Alice is passionate about revolutionizing the classical experience and making classical music more accessible and innovative. Classical Remix Music Festival is her biggest project yet, and she’d really love to see you at this inaugural season’s concerts!
Fun fact: During COVID, Alice lived in a film bubble for five weeks with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds to film a scene in the Netflix movie Red Notice. Check it out - the movie remains in Netflix’s Top 10 of All Time Movies list (although Alice isn’t a huge fan of the movie herself).
www.experienceluxardo.com/buy-tickets/p/classical-remix-gala-concert
Kit Cummings launched the Power of Peace Project (POPP) in 2010 with a bold mission: to bring hope, healing, and transformation to some of the most dangerous and divided spaces in the world. With deep experience resolving conflict behind prison walls and in at-risk communities, Kit has become a powerful voice for nonviolence, second chances, and real change.
On MLK Day 2020, the NAACP honored Kit with the Martin Luther King Jr. “Living the Dream” Award for his civil rights work, prison reform efforts, and impact on underserved youth. In 2021, he was appointed to the Georgia House of Representatives Study Committee on Youth Gangs and Violence Prevention, playing a pivotal role in the passage of HB750, a groundbreaking anti-gang bill.
From juvenile prisons to war-torn neighborhoods, Kit has taken POPP across the globe—from Tijuana’s La Mesa Prison to South African townships, from U.S. high schools to Eastern European rehab centers, and from urban courts to rural churches. His tools of change? Hope, humility, courage, and compassion.
Denton Loving lives on a farm near the historic Cumberland Gap, where Tennessee,
Kentucky, and Virginia come together. He is the author of three poetry books including Tamp which was a finalist for the Weatherford Award and recipient of the inaugural Tennessee Book Award for Poetry. He is a co-founder and editor at EastOver Press and its literary journal Cutleaf. His fiction, poetry, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications including The Kenyon Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Iron Horse Literary Review and Ecotone. And he's a core staff member at Table Rock Writers Workshop. He has a new book of poems coming out in August from Mercer University Press. It’s called Feller.
Additional Music Provided by:
Justin Johnson: www.justinjohnsonlive.com
Our Advertisers:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
April 2025 Dante’s Old South
Buffalo Nichols: Texas based, Milwaukee raised, Buffalo Nichols is known as an acoustic blues guitarist and singer but that isn’t the whole story. Two albums into his career, Nichols has proven himself to be an innovative songwriter with lyrics address both personal and political themes with biting insight. His influences range from his time playing in Baptist churches to his many years playing guitar in West African music bands. His experimental and hip-hop influences are displayed as well on his 2023 album, The Fatalist’.
Nichols’ self-titled debut, released in October 2021, ascended him to the national stage, earning praise and support from NPR Music (‘Tiny Desk (Home) Concert;’ All Songs Considered ‘Best of October’) to Rolling Stone ('The Fight to Reclaim the Blues' feature; ‘Song You Need To Know’), Bandcamp Daily (‘October Shortlist’) to Guitar World, Texas Monthly to Uncut (UK), among many others.
www.instagram.com/buffalonicholsmusic/
Odessa Blaine: General oddment and possible cryptid, Odessa haunts the mountains and coffee shops of North Georgia. Her novels and short stories incorporate elements drawn from her Appalachia roots. Odessa has honed her skills as a performance storyteller and loves sharing stories with live audiences. When she's not slinking through the woods or over-caffeinating, Odessa can be found encouraging the creative passions of others by serving multiple writer focused nonprofits based in the Southeast and providing marketing and project management to small businesses.
bsky.app/profile/odessablaine.bsky.social
Jenny Bates enjoys seven poetry books, published in numerous NC and international journals. Jenny was a judge for the Poetry in Plain Sight contest through the NC Poetry Society, 2024. Her book of poems, ESSENTIAL has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2024. Her newest collection, From Soil and Soul is available. Jenny’s books are also available at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville, Bookmarks, the Book Ferret and The Book House in Winston-Salem, Scuppernongs in Greensboro, NC.
redhawkpublications.com/Poetry-c120141004
www.malaprops.com
thebookhousews.com
www.bookferret.com
Cynthia Atkins: (She, Her), is a prizewinning poet originally from Chicago, IL and the author of Psyche’s Weathers, In the Event of Full Disclosure, and Still-Life with God, and Duets from Harbor Editions. Her work has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, BOMB, Diode, Cimarron Review, Los Angeles Review North American Review, Permafrost, Plume, and Verse Daily. Atkins has earned fellowships and prizes from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. SWWIM Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Writers at Work. Atkins lives on the Maury River of Rockbridge County, Virginia, with artist Phillip Welch and their family.
More info at: www.cynthiaatkins.com
Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
Invisible Strings 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/777808/invisible-strings-by-edited-by-kristie-frederick-daugherty
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
March 2025 Dante’s Old South
Desmund Dangerfield is an entrepreneur, educator, and PhD candidate in Educational Leadership, dedicated to student success and community development.
With experience in academic recruitment, leadership development, and entrepreneurship training, he has worked with institutions like Prairie View, A&M University and San Jacinto College to equip students with the tools for academic and professional growth. As a business owner, Desmun specializes in photography, brand strategy, and digital marketing.
Additionally, he is a social media influencer with 200,000 followers on Instagram, using his platform to engage and inspire diverse audiences. Passionate about innovation and community impact, Desmun blends research, real-world experience, and engaging storytelling to educate and empower others.
Brian & Amanda Trent are best known on social media as “The Trent Tribe”, where they offer biblical content that they hope will be relatable, understandable and encouraging. They reside in South Carolina with the rest of their Tribe, which is their six kids, two sons-in-law and four grandchildren. Brian & Amanda relocated from southwestern Virginia to Hampton, SC fifteen years ago to pastor Lighthouse Church.
They are passionate about family, church, entrepreneurship, community, and recovery.
Sarah Darling is an American singer-songwriter drawing inspiration from the allure of freedom and beauty. She channels the spirit of 70's California, with echoes from Laurel Canyon, narrating an American road trip story wrapped in nostalgia and sunshine. Infused with a modern aura, her lyrics transport us to a golden era, sung with the warmth of honey vocals and unfiltered honesty.
Her credits include five full-length albums, multiple singles, including a #1 on the UK Country charts, and many duets. She has over 20 million streams, 11 million video views, and over 90 appearances on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
Ally Venable is a singer/songwriter/ musician who believes rules are there to be broken. Expectations are there to be defied. Glass ceilings are there to be shattered.
Having spent the past decade carving out her own unique space in the male dominated world of blues-rock, Ally Venable’s combative sixth album, Money & Power, demands more of both – for herself, for women around the world, and for anyone else who thought they weren’t worthy of a seat at the table.
Money and power make the world go round. But in the right hands, music can be every bit as potent. Right now, on the heels of 2023’s acclaimed Real Gone – an album that hit #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and was still in contention a year later – Ally is rated amongst the best young singer-songwriters in American roots, saluted by Total Guitar Magazine in its poll of Top 100 Blues Guitarists.
Our Sponsors:
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza & the Case of the Missing Hat:
www.dolphinhat.com/product/taco-cat-goat-cheese-pizza-graphic-novel
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
_______________________________________________
Dante's Old South is produced by Michael Amidei
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold.
Find them all here:
www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here:
February 2025 Dante’s Old South
Dr. Fubbs: Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, master engineer, cinematographer, editor, actor, designer, recording engineer, Death Row Record-signed artist:
linktr.ee/drfubbs
Kelly J Nelson Founder / Chief Creative Officer / Director:
30+ Year entertainment and event industry veteran and award-winning live experience designer, conceptual artist, and theatrical marketing expert. Previous clients include AMC Network Coca-Cola, Accenture, Cartoon Network, CNN, The Atlanta Hawks, Ponce City Market, City of Atlanta. BA In Communications and Visual Art from Florida State University. Previous work: Jack Morton Worldwide then 3 of my own agencies: The Maverick Group (19 Years), LED Experience (15 years) and Oracle Experience Enterprises (1 Year)
Coach Lee Wilson has over 20 years in the relationship recovery service and his website is www.MyExBackCoach.com
Additional Music by:
Justin Johnson: https: www.justinjohnsonlive.com
Our Sponsors:
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza & the Case of the Missing Hat: www.dolphinhat.com/product/taco-cat-goat-cheese-pizza-graphic-novel
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
January 2025 Dante’s Old South
Steve Gillon is a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, Scholar-in-Residence at HISTORY, and Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma. Gillon received his B.A. in History from Widener University where he graduated summa cum laude with honors in History. He was named the recipient of the Faculty Prize for maintaining the highest undergraduate GPA. He went on to earn his A.M. and Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his Ph.D., Dr.Gillon spent nine years teaching history at Yale University where he won the prestigious DeVane Medal, awarded by the senior members of Phi Beta Kappa to the best undergraduate teacher at the university. In 1994, he accepted a position as University Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University.
Three years later, he returned to the United States at the invitation of the president of the University of Oklahoma to become the founding dean of a new Honors College.
Nicole B. Gebhardt, MS, CCLS, CECP is a bestselling author, speaker, and transformational coach with a passion for helping families heal and find peace after experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. She also is a huge advocate for individuals struggling with addiction.
Her extensive career includes positions as Executive Director at two private preschools, the CEO and Founder of The Worthy Femme and a recognized expert in Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness. Nicole is also a licensed teacher, demonstrating her lifelong commitment to child welfare, family support, and making a difference in the lives of others.
Michael Logen is a Grammy-Nominated, Multi-Platinum Singer/Songwriter as heard on “Nashville, “One Tree Hill”, “Parenthood”, and more. He's been featured in “Rolling Stone”, “Performing Songwriter” and “Billboard Magazine”.
Michael has written songs for other artists like Kelly Clarkson, Sister Hazel, Mat Kearney, and Johnny Lang. When starting out, he played hundreds of shows in prisons across North America the year after graduating high school, before moving to Nashville and signing his first deal.
Additional Music Provided by: Pat Metheny
Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here:
www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
December 2024 Dante’s Old South
Prince Stash: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola is an author, entrepreneur, actor, singer, and music producer. He performed and worked with various bands including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Vince Taylor & The Playboys, during the Swinging Sixties in London, Rome, Paris, and Los Angeles.
Made infamous for his arrest with The Rolling Stones founder, Brian Jones, his engagement to Italian superstar, Romina Power, and for being a fashion icon launching the New Romantic look that was all the rage in the ‘70s, Prince Stash comes from a line of scandalous and very colorful figures in his ancestry.
Prince Stash currently spends his time between his Italian castle, Californian beach house, and other exotic international locations.
Warren Haynes - A Grammy Award-winning artist, Warren Haynes has been recognized as a cornerstone of the American music landscape and revered as one of the finest guitar players in the world. Throughout his prolific career as part of three of the greatest live groups in rock history – Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule and the Dead –his virtuosic artistry has led to thousands of unforgettable performances and millions of album and track sales. Despite all of the ground that Haynes has covered on his musical journey, the impressive thing is that he still has many miles to explore. On his newest solo album Ashes & Dust, he puts forth one of his most gorgeous, musically rich and personal albums to date. It is endlessly exciting to see one of the most brilliant minds in modern music shine an entirely new light on the depths of his creativity.
Andrew Mack is the Founder and Managing Editor of Loblolly Press. His commitment to fostering emerging writers particularly those from marginalized or underrepresented communities drives Loblolly Press's mission to showcase contemporary poetry, short fiction, and novels with a distinctly Southern voice. Andrew has published two collections of his own poetry, Weekend Revival and What the River Was. He lives in Asheville, NC with his partner.
Justin Johnson has been hailed by Guitar World as a "must-see act", dubbed "The Wizard" for his mastery of stringed instruments, and recognized as Slidestock International Slide Guitar Champion. In 2014, Justin Johnson recorded his debut double album, "Smoke & Mirrors"; a celebration of the art, history, and traditions behind handmade roots instruments. The album saw its official release in March of 2014, as Johnson took the stage to present his signature approach to Roots music to thousands of fans at Port Fairy Folk Festival, Australia's largest and longest-running Folk Festival, thus ushering in the 2014/2015 Smoke & Mirrors World Tour, which spanned mainland Australia and Tasmania, North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom
Additional Music by:
Six One Five Collective: www.sixonefivecollective.com
Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-
ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here:
www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here:
November 2024 Dante’s Old South
Jenna Schroeder is a writer, mother of four, and the director of communications for Dolphin Hat Games. Additionally, she is the founder of Little Bird Press, and her creative projects include the inspiring children’s book “Are Enchanted Forests Real?” and “Tacoo Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and the Case of the Missing Hat.” Schroeder also contributed to the 2021 book “Peace in the Presence of God: Devotionals for Women with Anxiety” published by Michael Lacey. She earned a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communications from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
For more information visit JennaaSchroeder.com or follow her @jennaaschroeder
Michel Stone is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Border Child (Doubleday/Anchor, 2017) and The Iguana Tree (Hub City Press, 2012). She is the winner of the Mary Frances Hobson Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Letters, the Patricia Winn Award for Southern Literature, and the South Carolina Fiction Award. She holds a BA in English from Clemson University and M.Ed. from Converse University. She is a past board chair of the Hub City Writers Project. These days she writes full time and volunteers at area schools and colleges. She recently completed her third novel.
Lynne Kemen’s full-length book of poetry, Shoes for Lucy,was published by SCE Press in 2023. Woodland Arts Editions published her chapbook, More Than a Handful in 2020. Her work is anthologized in The Memory Palace: an ekphrastic anthology (Ekphrastic Editions, 2024), Seeing Things (Woodland Arts, 2020). Lynne is President of the Board of Bright Hill Press and has served on many other not-for-profit boards. She is an Editor and Interviewer for Blue Mountain Review.
Echo Montgomery Garrett loves all things Southern, especially the tradition of storytelling. The 40+ year journalist has written 25 books and joined her son Connor Judson Garrett to run Lucid House Publishing during the Pandemic. Lucid House represents 12 authors, and all of its titles have won awards, except the latest releases that have not had time yet. She is the co-founder of Orange Duffel Bag Initiative, a nonprofit that provides life plan coaching to young people (14-24) experiencing homelessness, foster care, and/or extreme poverty. The Nashville native lives with her husband Kevin Garrett in Marietta, Georgia.
Additional Music by:
Buffalo Kin: www.buffalokin.com
Larkin Poe: www.larkinpoe.com
Justin Johnson: www.justinjohnsonlive.com
Big Love for Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
We Deeply Appreciate:
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
October 2024 Dante’s Old South
Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, including Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems (2023) and The Absurd Man (2020). He is also the author of A Beat Beyond: The Selected Prose of Major Jackson .
A recipient of fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Major Jackson has been awarded a Pushcart Prize and has been honored by the Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. Major Jackson lives in Nashville, Tennessee where he is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. He serves as the Poetry Editor of The Harvard Review and hosts the podcast – The Slowdown.
Tim Blake Nelson is an actor, writer, director, and producer who has appeared in over ninety films including Just Mercy, Lincoln, Holes, The Incredible Hulk, Meet the Fockers, Minority Report, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and Old Henry. Other recent acting credits set for release in 2023 and 2024 include The Bricklayer, Bang Bang, Captain America: New World Order, and Invisibles. His playwriting credits include Socrates, Anadarko, The Grey Zone and Eye of God, the last two of which Nelson adapted and directed for the screen. Other film directing credits include O, Leaves of Grass, and Anesthesia the last two of which he also wrote. His first novel, City of Blows, was published earlier this year and will be released as a paperback in early 2024.
Geoffrey Owens was born and raised in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. He attended New York City public schools before attending Yale University.He has had a notable career as a teacher and an actor.
On television, he played ‘Elvin’ on NBC’s “The Cosby Show,” as well as roles on numerous other shows, including “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Power,” and “Divorce.”
He currently lives in Montclair, New Jersey. He thanks Josette for all her support.
Seth Ingram is a seasoned film producer, educator, and Creative Director of the Rome International Film Festival (RIFF), where he has elevated the event into one of Georgia's most celebrated showcases for independent cinema. As the founder of the Film Program at Georgia Highlands College, Seth also serves as Division Chair of Film, Theatre, and Digital Entertainment, where he mentors emerging filmmakers. His production work includes films such as Signing Day, Spirit Halloween: The Movie, and Outlaw Posse. Recently, he was named one of Georgia’s most influential figures in the creative economy by Georgia Entertainment News.
Mobley, acclaimed indie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, returns with a rhapsodic new single, "Y'r Ghost," via Last Gang Records / MNRK Music Group. Written, performed, and produced by Mobley himself, this release signals his reemergence from the studio, where he’s been fervently crafting the sci-fi epic foreshadowed on his late 2022 EP Cry Havoc!. “Y’r Ghost” offers a first glimpse of the next installment of this sweeping sonic and narrative world.
Additional Music by: Logan Mac “Dance Under Stars”
Special Thanks Goes to Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: https://shorturl.at/eAhoD
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: https://shorturl.at/Fwv48
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: https://shorturl.at/9bsU3
September 2024 Dante’s Old South
Holly Haworth's essays appear in The New York Times Magazine, Orion, Oxford American, Sierra, Lapham's Quarterly, Terrain.org, Creative Nonfiction, The Bitter Southerner, and at the On Being radio program blog. They have been listed as notable in The Best American Travel Writing and included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. Her forthcoming book This Resounding World: A Field Guide to Listening is a recipient of a Robert B. Silvers Foundation grant for Works in Progress. Her first collection of poetry, The Way the Moon, is out now.
Inam, the author, was born into hardship and affected by Polio but found solace in art, turning pain into beauty. Despite numerous obstacles, he became a celebrated artist through resilience and creativity. Inam’s appreciation for Sufi wisdom revealed the universe's mysteries to him. He is also a prolific poet and playwright with international acclaim.
The author believes that Sufism is an advanced and more comprehensive version of manifesting self-awareness techniques. One does not need to follow a specific religion to understand and apply the methods and tools described in the book to embark on the path of Sufi personal transformation. All the methods outlined in the book are non-denominational.
If you are a fan of Rumi's wisdom, you will love Whispers of the Flight.
www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
Coach Ken Fox is a renowned relationship and ADHD coach, known for his powerful insights and practical strategies that help individuals manage the complexities of ADHD and navigate relationship challenges. With a deep understanding of emotional dynamics and ADHD-related behaviors, Coach Ken provides personalized guidance to empower individuals to improve communication, build stronger connections, and manage emotional regulation. His engaging approach and evidence-based methods have earned him a large following across social media platforms, making him a trusted resource for those seeking to better understand ADHD and cultivate healthier, more fulfilling relationships.
Matt Malyon is the founding Executive Director of Underground Writing. He is a prison, jail, and juvenile detention chaplain, and the author of the poetry chapbook, During the Flood. His poetry has received a Pushcart Prize nomination, and his writing in various genres has appeared in a variety of publications and anthologies, including the University of Iowa’s 100 Words, Teachers & Writers Magazine, Filid, Iron City Magazine, Rock & Sling, Adam, Eve, & the Riders of the Apocalypse, Measure, and The Stanza Project.
t | 360.220.0467
facebook | @UndergroundWriting
instagram | @_undergroundwriting
twitter | @UndergroundinWA
Musical Guests:
Brad Tursi: www.bradtursi.com
Tyler Ramsey: www.tylerramsey.com
Special Thanks Goes to Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: www.amazon.com/Whispers-Flight-Voyage-Cosmic-Unity-ebook/dp/B0DB3TLY43
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
August 2024 Dante’s Old South
Serene Hakim: Serene Hakim is an agent at Ayesha Pande Literary where she has been since 2015. She represents authors in a variety of genres, from MG fantasy to adult literary fiction to contemporary YA. Serene is interested in both YA and adult fiction that has international themes, highlights a variety of cultures, and focuses on underrepresented voices. Specifically, she's looking for writing that explores identity, home, and family and is currently prioritizing children's books. She loves books that are heartwarming as well those that are heart wrenching. Serene is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents and serves on the DEI committee.
DeeDee Cummings is a professional dreamer. She is also an author, therapist, attorney, and mom from Louisville, Kentucky. Cummings founded Make A Way Media in 2014 after struggling to find books with characters who looked like her own children. Books published by Make A Way focus on hope, diversity, social justice, and therapeutic skills for children and adults. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, Essence Magazine, Psych Central, Well+Good, and The EveryGirl, among other media outlets. In 2021, she was appointed to the Kentucky Early Childhood Advisory Council by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Deedee is also the founder of The Louisville Book Festival Cummings believes literacy is a fundamental human right. She is currently working to adapt her latest children’s series inspired by the life of her daughter, Kayla Pecchioni (a Broadway actress) to a Broadway musical. Deedee recently founded the Make A Way Mindset program. Her next book is called How To Dream and will be release in October 2024.
Deedee Cummings, M.Ed., LPCC, JD
Visibility, Marketing, and Dream Consultant
Motivational Speaker and Expert on Adversity & EmpathyAuthor of seventeen award-winning books
Make A Way Media, Abi Behavioral Health
Robert Dean Johnson directs Eastern Kentucky University's low-residency MFA in creative writing program, Bluegrass Writers Studio. He is the author of a novel, Californium (Plume-Penguin) and a story collection, Delicate Men (Alternative Book). Recent work appears in Baltimore Review, Evening Street Review, and is forthcoming is Permafrost. He lives in Kentucky with his wife, the writer Julie Hensley, their children, and some urban chickens.
Bluegrass Writers Studio: https://www.eku.edu/creativewriting/
R Dean Johnson:https://rdeanwriter.com/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/rdeanwriter/
FaceBook:https://www.facebook.com/delicatemen/
Threads:https://www.threads.net/@rdeanwriter
Brick Lohr is a passionate co-founder of the Ramble Festival, where the spirit of community and live music thrives. An advocate for the live music scene and the community around music, Brick’s vision has transformed Ramble into a vibrant gathering that feels like a celebration of the good old days. Alongside his festival work, Brick manages the up-and-coming artist Natalie Brooke, guiding her rising career with the same dedication and enthusiasm that fuels his love for live music.and building community.
Music Provided By: Pat Metheny: www.patmetheny.com
Special Thanks Goes to Our Sponsors:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
Whispers of the Flight: whispersoftheflight.com/book/
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: www.brighthillpress.org
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
July 2024 Dante’s Old South
Steven Dunn (a.k.a Pothole, cuz he’s deep in these streets) is a Whiting Award winner who was shortlisted for Granta Magazine’s Best of Young American Novelists. He’s the author of three novels: Potted Meat (Tarpaulin Sky, 2016), water & power (Tarpaulin Sky, 2018), and Tannery Bay (FC2/University of Alabama Press, 2024), which is co-authored with his homie Katie Jean Shinkle.
Mathieu Cailler is the author of seven books: one novel, two short story collections, two volumes of poetry, and two children’s titles. His stories, poems, and essays have appeared in over one hundred publications, including Wigleaf, the Saturday Evening Post, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the winner of numerous awards, most notably a Pushcart Prize; a Short Story America Prize; and the Paris, Los Angeles, and New England Book Festival Prizes.
Connect with him on social media @writesfromla.
Gerardo Pacheco Matus is a Mayan Native and an award-winning poet and educator. Pacheco teaches at Cañada College and writes poetry in California. Recently he won third place in the Southern Collective Experience’s Latin-American chapbook contest.
Patrick Davis was born on November 12, 1976, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The son of Rusty and Jean Davis, He was raised in Camden, South Carolina before moving to Nashville, Tennessee.[1] to pursue a career in music.
Davis attended Camden High School in Camden, South Carolina where he was an honors student and athlete. His interest in music began during high school, and at the age of 16 he joined his father on stage for his first ever performance. His talent developed throughout high school and into his college career at University of South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor's degree in History. It was during this time he became a mainstay of the Columbia, South Carolina music scene and decided to become a professional musician.
Jake Diaz is a bartender, mixologist, and loving father to two beautiful daughters. I’ve been behind the pine for almost 11 years with varied experience that started in fine dining but expanded into many types of bars and restaurants. He’s consulted with restauranteurs and bartenders alike as well as teaching zero-proof cocktail classes and is currently studying to be a wine sommelier. His goal is to take great care of people and to spread good bartending habits to professionals and amateurs alike which motivates him to be his best to provide for humanity. If you’re ever in the mountains of North Carolina come to The Crown in Brasstown, NC for a unique yet comforting bar experience.
thecrownbrasstown.com
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1252282661
Additional Music Provided By: Larkin Poe: www.larkinpoe.com
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: brighthillpress.org
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
Liberty Trust Hotel: www.libertytrusthotel.com
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
June 2024 Dante’s Old South
Marcella Prokop is a Colombian American writer and educator living in the northern Great Plains region of the US. Her work has appeared online or in print in the Brooklyn Review, Ploughshares, The Christian Science Monitor, PANK, and other publications.
Blog: marcellaprokop.com
TedX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn63z6p30TQ
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcella.prokop
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcella-prokop
X: @MarcellaProkop
Nick Kelsh is an author, photographer, and teacher living in upstate New York.
He has written and/or photographed nine books including Siblings and Naked Babies with Pulitzer Prize winning author, Anna Quindlen. Kelsh has appeared on The Today Show and Oprah multiple times.
www.howtophotographyourlife.com
Devon Allman is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the son of musician and singer-songwriter Gregg Allman and has appeared occasionally as a guest musician for Gregg Allman and The Allman Brothers Band. Allman was the founder and bandleader of Honeytribe, also known as Devon Allman's Honeytribe, with whom he released two albums and toured across North America and Europe. Prior to Honeytribe, Allman contributed to several other musical recordings, notably Vargas Blues Band and the A Song for My Father compilation album. He was one of the original members of Royal Southern Brotherhood and contributed to their first two studio albums and toured with them. In 2013, Allman launched his solo career as the Devon Allman Band, and has since released three albums. His latest tour, branded as the Devon Allman Project, features special guest Duane Betts.
devonallmanproject.com
Julie Stevenson is a literary agent with Massie & McQuilkin in New York. She represents literary and upmarket fiction, suspense, memoir, graphic novels, narrative nonfiction, young adult fiction and children’s picture books. She is drawn to storytelling with unforgettable characters, an authorial command of voice, and a strong sense of narrative tension. She looks for work that both entertains and explores the depths of human experience. She’s agented #1 New York Times bestsellers and books that have won the Pulitzer Prize, the MWA Edgar Award, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Caldecott Honor. Before she became an agent, Julie worked in the editorial departments of Tin House and Publishers Weekly. Julie grew up in Missoula, Montana and received her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College in New York.
www.instagram.com/juliestevensonpfarr/
Additional Music Provided By: Larkin Poe: www.larkinpoe.com
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Bright Hill Press: brighthillpress.org
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
Liberty Trust Hotel: www.libertytrusthotel.com
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com
May 2024 Dante’s
Kristen Arnett is the queer author of With Teeth: A Novel (Riverhead Books, 2021) which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction and the New York Times bestselling debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House, 2019). Her next novel, STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE, will be published by Riverhead Books (March 2025).
Lane Marie is an indie pop artist born, raised, and based out of Athens, Georgia. Her music combines her roots as a classically trained musician, with honest songwriting and alternative pop production chops. Drawing inspiration from artists like Brooke Fraser, Maggie Rogers, and Madison Cunningham, Lane Marie has found a voice truly her own.
Released in 2019, Lane Marie’s first EP was written out of the experience of the unexpected loss of her father. It explores the grief of losing a loved one, and the journey of finding meaning in their absence.
Since then, Lane Marie has sold out regional venues and continued to release singles in preparation for the release of a full album.
Follow along with Lane Marie:
https://www.instagram.com/lanemariemusic/
https://www.tiktok.com/@lanemariemusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xproO4fQqo0t1wLoXXJcs?si=HEKjixbcRdaBTLI-T4Uhhw
Chloé Firetto-Toomey is a British-American poet and essayist living in Miami. She earned an MFA degree from Florida International University and her most recent chapbook of poems, Little Cauliflower, was published in 2019 by Dancing Girl Press. A Pushcart Prize nominee, and winner of the Scotti Merrill Memorial Award in Poetry, you can find her poems, essays, and short stories at poets.org, SWIMM, december, Tupelo Quarterly, The Offing, among others. She is an Author Assistant to President Obama’s Inaugural Poet, Richard Blanco.
uk.linkedin.com/in/chlo%C3%A9-firetto-toomey-801887215
Olivia Muñoz is a Chicana writer and educator from Saginaw, Michigan. Her work appears or is forthcoming from About Place Journal, San Pedro River Review, Thimble Literary Magazine, and other publications.
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
Englund Estate: englundestate.com
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
Liberty Trust Hotel: www.libertytrusthotel.com
NPR: https: www.npr.org
WUTC: https: www.wutc.org
Alain Johannes for the original score in this show: www.alainjohannes.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. Find them all here: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses, The Working Writer and Adulting with Autism, here:
brooks-sessions.teachable.com/p/home
April 2024 Dante’s Old South
January Gill O’Neil is an associate professor at Salem State University, and the author of Glitter Road (2024), Rewilding (2018), Misery Islands (2014), and Underlife (2009), all published by CavanKerry Press. From 2019-2020, she served as the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. She lives in Beverly, Massachusetts.
And, my social media so you can tag me: TwitterX: @januaryoneil | Instagram: @januarygilloneil | Facebook: /january.oneil
Website: www.januarygilloneil.com
Robert Petrillo is a retired English teacher who’s currently on the editing team for the OLLI arts and literature journal at the University of Southern Maine, where he also facilitates a poetry workshop. He’s been published in several literary journals, as well as in the anthology A Dangerous New World: Maine Voices on the Climate Crisis. His first book, What Passes For a Life, is forthcoming from SCE Press. He lives in Westbrook, Maine.
Social Media: TwitterX: @robpetrillo1 / Facebook: Robert Petrillo /
Email: robertpetrillo111@gmail.com
Michael Jann is an Emmy-nominated late-night comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon for over two decades. He currently teaches screenwriting at UCLA Extension, and writes screenplays with his wife Michele Jourdan, a writer and a gold-medal winning bodybuilder. Michele likes working out so much, she actually married a dumbbell: Mike.
Tae Lewis, a North Carolina native. discovered his passion for music in church, sparked by Gospel melodies and a serendipitous encounter that led him to love country music at just 13. Despite initial resistance from his family, he immersed himself in the genre. Influenced by Rascal Flatts, Dan & Shay, and Vince Gill, who have all helped shape his distinct sound, making him a true standout in the music city.
His breakthrough came with a Sync Placement on the hit TV show "Shameless" for his track "Good Luvin," earning him national recognition. In the Summer of 2023, Tae was also named the Tractor Supply Emerging Artist of the year, receiving mentorship from country music superstars Lauren Alaina and Lainey Wilson. He is also recognized on Season 25 of THE VOICE.
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. His chapbook, Exiles of Eden, is only available through his website: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable course on creative writing as a profession here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com/p/the-working-writer
March 2024 Dante’s Old South
Chelsey Clammer is the award-winning author of the essay collections Human Heartbeat Detected (Red Hen Press, 2022), Circadian (Red Hen Press, 2017), and BodyHome (Hopewell Publications, 2015). Her work has appeared in Salon, The Rumpus, Brevity, and McSweeney’s, among many others. She teaches online writing classes with WOW! Women On Writing and is a freelance editor.
Dan Veach is the founding editor of Atlanta Review. A poet and translator of Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, and Anglo-Saxon, Dan has won the Willis Barnstone Translation Prize and an Independent Publisher Book Award. His books include Elephant Water, Lunchboxes, Flowers of Flame: Unheard Voices of Iraq, Beowulf & Beyond, Songs of The Cid, and Returning Home: The Poetry of Tao Yuan-ming. Dan has performed his poetry worldwide, including Oxford University, People’s University in Beijing, the American University in Cairo, and the Adelaide Festival in Australia.
https://irisbooks.com/authors/dan-veach/
Elizabeth Cox has published five novels, a collection of short stories, and a book of poetry. She has won the North Carolina Fiction Award, the Lillian Smith Award for a novel, and in 2013 she was awarded the Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction. Cox taught creative writing at Duke for seventeen years, and also taught at Wofford College, Bennington College, Boston College, and MIT. She resides in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
www.mupress.org/cw_contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=6439&Name=Elizabeth+Barks+Cox
Music by:
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. His chapbook, Exiles of Eden, is only available through his website: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable course on creative writing as a profession here: brooks sessions.teachable.com/p/the-working-writer
February 2024 Dante’s Old South
Autumn Nicholas: (she/he/they/them) Autumn Nicholas is a gifted songwriter and performer who has amazed audiences around the country. Autumn is one of Music Forward Foundation's Emerging LGBTQ+ Artists for 2023 and one of Nashville Scene’s Country Music Almanac 2024 Artists to Watch.
Emily Strasser’s first book, Half-Life of a Secret, is a deeply researched memoir that traces her journey to reckon with the toxic legacies of secrecy of her grandfather’s work building nuclear weapons in the atomic city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Emily’s work has appeared in Catapult, Ploughshares, Guernica, Colorado Review, The Bitter Southerner, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Gulf Coast, among others. She was also the presenter of the 2020 BBC podcast “The Bomb.”
Kayla Lookinghorse stands apart from other designers because of her hunkpapa/Itazipco Lakota/Dakota heritage and the way it is artfully woven into her designs. K. Lookinghorse is a contemporary brand that honors the designer’s heritage with an aesthetic specific to her tiospaye (family). Her signature symbols, three lines Horizontal pays homage to the past, present and future. As a mother, designer, artist, and tribal citizen, Kayla Lookinghorse has forged her own path by creating iconic printed dresses and signature jackets which are the cornerstone of the K.lookinghorse brand. Working toward bridging the gap and creating space for Authentic-Inspired Native design, not Native-Inspired.
From her creations to your closest shop, her collections naturally empower through storytelling and design.
Wilder Adkins is a folk musician, dad, librarian, and gardener from Birmingham, AL. He loves the weight of handmade quilts, and his songs are kind of heavy and comfortable like that. In late summer he can be found every day out by the fig tree scaring away the birds and looking for ripe fruit (for making jam). In winter, he retreats into a cave to sleep for three months and process all that he’s learned that year. He’s friendly, but you might have to speak to him first. His songs call on an array of influences but frequently touch on the topics of Hope & Sorrow, Faith & Doubt, and sometimes flowers.
Ellen Bass’s poetry collections include Indigo, Like a Beggar, The Human Line, and Mules of Love. Among her awards are Fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and The NEA, The Lambda Literary Award, and four Pushcart Prizes. With Florence Howe, she co-edited the first major anthology of women’s poetry, No More Masks! and she co-authored the groundbreaking, The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth—and Their Allies. A Chancellor Emerita of the Academy of American Poets, Bass founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and the Santa Cruz jails, and teaches in Pacific University’s MFA program.
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena
Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. His chapbook, Exiles of
Eden, is only available through his website: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses on thriving with autism and creative writing as a
profession here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com/p/the-working-writer
January 2024 Dante’s Old South
Stuart Dischell is the author of Good Hope Road (Viking), a National Poetry Series Selection, Evenings & Avenues (Penguin), Dig Safe (Penguin), Backwards Days (Penguin), Standing on Z (Unicorn), Children with Enemies (Chicago), and The Lookout Man (Chicago).
His newest work is Andalusian Visions (Unicorn), a book of poetry, photography, and music with international collaborators Cyril Caine and Laurent Estoppey.
His poems have appeared in The Atlantic, Agni, The New Republic, Slate, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and numerous national and international anthologies, such as Best American Poetry, Good Poems, and the Pushcart Prize. He is the recipient of awards from the NEA, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Ledig-Rowohlt Foundation. and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, he teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Rissi Palmer’s gift lies in reaching across all musical boundaries. While she made her mark in Country Music, she is equally at home in R&B music, bringing the entire spectrum of popular music to bear on music she calls “Southern Soul.”
The daughter of Georgia natives, Rissi was born near Pittsburgh, PA and spent her adolescent years in St. Louis, Missouri. Raised in a musical family that loved both country and R&B, Rissi was part of a singing and dancing troupe sponsored by a local television station at age 16, and by the time she was 19 years old, she had already been offered her first publishing and label deal.
A few highlights throughout her musical career include performances at The White House, New York's Lincoln Center and multiple appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.
She has toured extensively across the country and has made numerous national appearances on Oprah & Friends, CMT Insider, CNN, CBS This Morning, GMA, Entertainment Tonight, and FOX Soul's "The Book of Sean" and has been featured in Associated Press, Ebony, Essence, Huffington Post, New York Times, Newsweek, NPR's "All Things Considered", PEOPLE, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
Justin Hamm's most recent book is Drinking Guinness with the Dead: Poems 2007-2021 (Spartan Press 2022). He is the Executive Editor of the Museum of Americana and the creator of Poet Baseball Cards. His poems, photos, stories, and reviews appear in numerous journals. He is a 2022 Woody Guthrie Poet and a recipient of the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize.
Heather Hartley is the author of Adult Swim and Knock Knock both from Carnegie Mellon University Press. She was the long-time Paris editor at Tin House magazine. Her short fiction, essays, poems and interviews have appeared in or on PBS Newshour, The Guardian, The Literary Review, Slice and other venues. She has presented writers at Shakespeare and Company Bookshop in Paris and has taught creative writing at the American University of Paris and the University of Texas El Paso MFA Online program.
She teaches in the Master’s program at the University of Kent (UK) Paris School of Arts and Culture.
Additional Music by:
Wilder Adkins
https://wilderadkins.bandcamp.com/
Special Thanks Goes to:
Lucid House Press: www.lucidhousepublishing.com
UCLA Extension Writing Program: www.uclaextension.edu
The Crown: www.thecrownbrasstown.com
Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org
The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com
The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics, Athena Departs, and Old Gods are available everywhere books are sold. His chapbook, Exiles of Eden, is only available through his website: www.cliffbrooks.com/how-to-order
Check out his Teachable courses on thriving with autism and creative writing as a profession here: brooks-sessions.teachable.com/p/the-working-writer