Blue Jade Press

Alma Cole Pesiri’s first published poem was in a Salem High School newspaper. Where she also wrote on the yearbook staff, and co-wrote the class song. At a major glass manufacturing company, she penned co-worker bios and technical articles.  She creates collage-type poems, such as a balance scale, each side holding half the poem. She gained prizes from Cumberland County Older Americans Art Exhibit for photographs.

Short story, “Look at Me” (based on a painful teen-age experience) gained an award from Montclair State College. Publication and readings include  “Singles Scene, in AZ”, “What’s In Atlantic City Magazine,”  “NJ Poetry Society,” “Haddonfield Speaks,” “Paterson Literary Review,” “Chalfont/Steer Wilson Series,” “Frogpond, and Beach Bards Summer Series.”

“Alma Cole Pesiri’s poems often evoke home, whether viewed through the comforting lens of nostalgia (as in “Flowered Dresses—Flowered Hats”) or through the often painful experience of aging (as in “Are You in There?”). Mirrors abound in this collection, and Pesiri often gazes Janus-like both into and out of the glass in poems sometimes humorous, sometimes painful, and often both within the same poem. Indeed, the poet exhibits “Gemini Vision” (“I see both sides, both reasons / both hearts”) and in poems such as “Aged Mermaid” (“soft memories of youth / buoyed here”), she demonstrates how the past and the present are as closely bound as our mirror images are with ourselves. This is a timely and timeless collection of poems.
—R.G. Evans, author of Imagine Sisyphus Happy

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A native of Pennsylvania, Lara Dolphin is an attorney, nurse, wife and mom of four amazing kids. Her debut chapbook, In Search Of The Wondrous Whole, was published by Alien Buddha Press, 2022. Her second chapbook, Chronicle Of Lost Moments, is available from Dancing Girl Press. Most nights you can find her trying to answer the question, “What’s for dinner?”

https://a.co/d/34GsFqG

I have always had a passion for writing! I loved writing essays, poems, letters and keeping a journal. I like the process of putting thoughts together on paper. Combining both of my interests for writing and rock music has presented a way to put thoughts and conversations together to create written works with the intention for others to enjoy, appreciate and think about.

I currently write for LifeStyles 2000 Magazine www.lifestyles2000.net) which is a family-oriented publication that serves several areas within Northwestern Ohio. (Fremont, Ohio) I also write for The North Coast Voice Magazine (www.northcoastvoice.com) which is an entertainment magazine that serves Cleveland, Ohio and surrounding Northeastern areas.

Other ways in which I keep my interests active and fresh are to attend various gigs and performances by different artists. I am a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. I like to travel, read and meet people who are active participants in their lives and enjoy what they do.

Over the last few years, I have been giving my presentation, “The Long & Winding Phone” at various libraries where I discuss in detail how my journey began to interview rock stars and celebrities.

www.helenrosemarketti.com

Mark was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and moved to Brooklyn, New York at an early age. He holds a BA in Psychology from Richmond College CUNY, and a MS in Counseling from Long Island University. He is a proud member of The Brooklyn Bonnies Boys Club Baseball Hall of Fame. For the last twenty-five years, he has resided with his wife in Montclair and Cedar Grove New Jersey. His first book “Conversations with Myself” was published in 2017. Mark divides his time between family, community, and charity activities. He enjoys being a member of various discussion groups. His other interests include hiking, photography, exercising and exploring towns in and around New Jersey.

“My work is a blend of prose and poetry revealing the inner landscape of an individual without ignoring a much larger universality that we all experience.” Mark Shoenfield

https://a.co/d/5oEeLqx

Ray Cicetti’s poems have been published in a variety of journals including: The Galway Review, Platform Review, Deep Wild Journal, Stillwater Review and River Heron Review. His first book, A Forest in His Pocket was published in 2020 (Finishing Line Press). He has also been a featured poet at various reading series. Ray is also a psychotherapist and senior teacher at the Empty Bowl Zen Community in Morristown, New Jersey. He lives in northern New Jersey with his wife, Carolyn.

www.raycicettipoetry.com

Kate is a 40-year-old wife and mother of four magical misfits.

Originally from Millville, N.J., Kate was raised by parents who loved God and each other, and who set a wonderful example of integrity and compassion to her and her sister Megan growing up.

Kate attended Fairton Christian Center Academy from K-12, where she entered and placed in several writing competitions. She then attended Cumberland County College where she met her mentor and now friend, Professor Kevin McGarvey, who helped Kate truly recognize the talent and the passion she had for poetry and writing. She later went on to receive her Certification in the Mastery of the Works of Walt Whitman from Harvard University in 2014.

An active member of the Glasstown Art District in Millville since 2012, Kate owned and operated her first art studio in 2013 at the Village on High, later relocating to The Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts, where she still operates today. She attributes her progress as an artist and writer to the unique community of creatives who have become her daily encouragers in all things that are dear to her heart.

Terrified of public speaking for years, Kate’s first public poetry readings took place in 2012 at Bogart's Books and Café, a place adored by Kate and vital to her evolution as a poet. She thanks Rebecca Bonham and the members of Poetry on High for pushing her off the cliff of self-doubt and allowing her to free fall into self- acceptance and transparency. It gave her freedom.

Kate is a four-time published author with several new projects in the works.

http://anabstracthart.com/

Andrew Condouris is a writer and an English teacher in Trenton Public Schools. He graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s MFA program. Andrew has published online and in print in various literary magazines.

https://andrewcondouris.com

Erica Elizabeth Gray is a special education teacher and a thirty-year veteran Firefighter from Montgomery County, Maryland.   In 2015, Erica earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Special Education from Mount Saint Mary’s University and recently completed a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis.  She plans to embark on her next adventure in research and outreach to bring attention to and reduce line-of-duty deaths and suicide in first responders. When she is not teaching, she can be found staffing the engine, rescue squad or ambulance at her local volunteer fire department or playing tenor saxophone in her local community college jazz ensemble. She currently resides in Shepherdstown, West Virginia with her husband, raising two teenage sons and working on her next books.

https://a.co/d/0gn0ZJ3q

Aside from his creative writing endeavors, Ryan J. Torres is a teacher, freelance journalist, firewood splitter, typewriter collector, Dungeon & Dragons nerd, and professional brooder. He is the author of two books of poetry (Poem and Other Four-Letter Words and Blessed are the Snakes) and one book of horror stories (A Rustle in the Attic). Torres lives in a creepy house in Doylestown, PA with his wife and pets.

Jennifer Anne Moses is the author of seven books of fiction and non-fiction, including Bagels and Grits: A Jew on the Bayou, Visiting Hours, and The Man Who Loved His Wife. Domesticity is her first published collection of poetry. She is also a painter. She and her husband are the parents of three grown children, and live in Montclair, New Jersey.

www.jenniferannemosesarts.com

To Purchase https://a.co/d/awrVtO5

Kevin Pilkington is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College. He is the author of ten collections: Spare Change was the La Jolla Poets Press National Book Award winner; Getting By won the Ledge chapbook award; In the Eyes of a Dog received the New York Book Festival Award; The Unemployed Man Who Became a Tree was a Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award finalist. His poetry has appeared in many anthologies including: Birthday Poems: A Celebration, Western Wind, and Contemporary Poetry of New England. Over the years, he has been nominated for four Pushcarts. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines including: The Harvard Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, Iowa Review, Boston Review, Yankee, Hayden’s Ferry, Columbia, North American Review, etc. He has taught and lectured at numerous colleges and universities including: The New School, Manhattanville College, MIT, University of Michigan, Susquehanna University, Georgia Tech. His debut novel, Summer Shares, was reissued in paperback. His collection, Where You Want To Be: New and Selected Poems, was an IPPY Award Winner. A new collection entitled, Playing Poker With Tennessee Williams, was recently published. Taking on Secrets will be his second novel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judith Lynn Antelman is a poet and writer from Passaic, New Jersey. Her passion for travel took her to cities as far away from home as San Francisco and Krakow. When not writing or traveling, Judith plays piano, and wishes she had been a classical pianist. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. The Pugilist’s Daughter is her first collection of poems. Judith lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

The Pugilist's Daughter, by Judith Lynn Antelman, is now available at https://poemingaround.com/

Mark Schardine is a New Jersey resident with a lifelong love of poetry. In 2015, he published a French language book of his poems, entitled Au bord des rêves, and in 2019, it was followed by Vers des horizons lointains, and his first English language book Charm, Elegance, and Intrigue.

Previous Publications:

Au bord des rêves, Editions Mélibée, 2015

Vers des horizons lointains, Editions Baudelaire, 2019

Charm, Elegance, and Intrigue, Red Dashboard LLC

https://www.facebook.com/mark.schardine.75

Anthony Roberts is a poet, educator, and veteran. A graduate of The New School in New York City with a Master of Fine Arts degree, he has taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Seton Hall University. His poetry has been published in Southerly Literary Journal, The Other Voices Poetry Anthology, and Vox Poetica among others and has been translated into Persian, Italian, Bengali and Czech. His first book, Pigtown, was published in 2017 by Red Dashboard Publications and was selected by Old Dominion University for inclusion in their writing program.

https://www.instagram.com/varangiwriting/

http://varangiwriting.com

Bruce Colbert is an actor, filmmaker and author. His stage plays have been performed Off-Broadway and in Chicago and Toronto. His newest play Fitzgerald, a biopic on the iconic Scott and Zelda, is now in production. He has appeared on the BBC, ABC, NPR, Discovery TV and in co-star film roles for HBO and Fox. His books include a short story collection, A Tree on the Rift, and three novels: Lombard Street, The Cairo Arrangement and Bosphorus. In addition to his fiction are five poetry collections, most recently Canary in the Dark (Finishing Line 2019).

http://www.brucecolbert.info/index.html

Rebecca Bonham is a lifelong resident of Southern New Jersey. Her first job (at 9 yrs. old) was working for her Grandparents bookstore, where she would order and display the children’s and adolescent sections. She continues her love of art and literature as co-owner of Blue Jade Press, LLC; publishing local authors of all genres.

Rebecca is an active member of the Millville, New Jersey Art’s District. She hosts “Resurgence, Poetry on High”, a monthly poetry workshop, local author feature, and open mic. She has hosted the open mic portion of the Teen Arts Festival in Millville NJ, 2018-2019. She also performs at various open mics in New Jersey and Washington state. Described as earthy, honest and intense, her work represents South Jersey and personal experience. She was published in local literary magazines “L’Spirit” Cumberland Co. College, 2007; “Disorder III” and “Moving beyond Mars” Red Dashboard, 2017. Her own collection, “Model Poet”, was released June 2021, Blue Jade Press, LLC

Robert A. Geise holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Stockton University. He was born and raised in southern New Jersey, where he was part of the local Arts and Poetry community for over fifteen years. Bob currently lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida with his family.

https://www.facebook.com/ambivalentpoet/

S.N. Kirby received a BA in English with a concentration in creative writing from Tulane University in New Orleans and graduated from The New School’s MFA program in Creative Writing. Her creative work centers on the nexus of man, magic, and nature. With roots in magical realism and fables, her creative work infuses magic and mystical transformation into character focused storytelling. Lunatiques is the author’s debut work.

The author lives in New York City with her two big dogs and husband.

www.snkirby.com