Contributors
Founder
Salena JD
Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, Salena JD is a poet, pole dancer, & philanthropist who currently calls Providence, Rhode Island home. A creative entrepreneur at heart, she is the founder of The Poetry Pour, a local media company that aims to connect local poets & poetry lovers and make the power of poetry approachable & accessible to all. When she isn’t working on poems of her own or creating content for TPP, she serves as the Development Associate at New Urban Arts (NUA) where she works behind the scenes & a computer screen to support the fundraising efforts that enable NUA to provide free after-school arts & leadership programming to local high school students. As a Black, Queer, Jewish woman, Salena crafts poems that embrace every intersection of her identity, exploring themes of family, addiction, sisterhood, & sex work on the page and the stage. She uses both adopted & invented forms to reveal the complexities of the taboo, challenge cultural norms, & establish autonomy while delving into deeply personal topics with nuance, humor, and honesty. (PC: Jenn Recinos, @yeniii_ on IG)
Featured Poets
Shelley Stoehr
Shelley Stoehr is the author of four award-winning young adult novels from the 1990s and many short works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. She has received awards from The de Groot Foundation, The North American Review, New Millenium Writings, Writer's Digest, WOW: Women on Writing, The New York Public Library, and the ALA. Shelley's memoir, Girls Girls Girls: One Woman's Experience as a Sex Worker in the 1990s, will be published by Legacy Book Press in September 2026.
Olivia Poulin
Olivia Poulin is an abolitionist educator, writer, and performing artist whose work critically examines power and justice as they pertain to race, gender, sexuality, language, and bodies. She is the Community Partnership & Program Manager at the Anti-Carceral Co+Laboratory. She has featured as a spoken word artist on platforms including GBH and her writing on education has been published in The Boston Globe. Olivia blends storytelling and research to document the wisdom of grassroots organizers working to foster transformative justice and healing within communities impacted by incarceration; her recent projects have focused on abolitionist frameworks for community care and relationship building in liberation work.
Estelle Collins
Estelle Collins survived and overcame childhood abuse, abuse inside psychiatric hospitals and group homes, and her own internal struggles with addiction, self-harm, and suicide. Now, she has found her power and voice using art, writing, and stories from her personal healing journey in her advocacy work, sharing her lived experiences with others as a Certified Peer Specialist.
Christopher Michael
A Rhode Island Native, Christopher Michael (they/she/he) is a queer, non-binary, neurospicy person raised by Azorean immigrants. They are a healing practitioner, birth doula, writer, and artist. They draw influence from their spiritual practice, Mother Earth, and the current human experience of life itself; witnessing magic in the 'mundane." Christopher hopes to inspire others to live as their most honest self and work towards collective liberation.
Grace Byrne
Grace Byrne writes prose and poetry centered on the human experience, drawing inspiration from motherhood, love, lost and found, and the connections that bind or break us. While she spends her days supporting students with exceptional needs as a school behavior analyst, her most rewarding job is at home, raising her toddler twin daughters -- her greatest and fiercest teachers. You can find her at many local poetry events sharing her life story, bit by bit.
Christopher Collado
Writer, Poet, Emcee/Musician and Founder of Aspiration Collective and Aspiration Press. Collaborator with the Poetry Pour for PVD Poetry Crawl 2026, Chris strives to touch heart and soul through his words using imagery to describe feelings and introspective thoughts, which can be retrospective, but most importantly, long lasting.
Sandra Beth Levy
Sandra Beth Levy, Ph.D., a retired psychologist, spoken word artist, and author of over fifty published poetry and CNF pieces across the U.S. and internationally, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Rough Diamond Poetry Prize, nominated for a Best Of The Net award, and is launching her debut poetry book in February 2027. A 2026 Motif Magazine RI Spoken Award winner for “Most Supportive of Open Mics,” she frequently features at local venues.
Mx. Asher
Mx. Asher (they/them) is a spoken word artist known for vulnerable storytelling exploring themes of community, current events, love, and power. Asher’s work reconciles their lived experience as a transgender sexual assault survivor and former sex worker with their political career. Voted Motif's 2026 Favorite Personal Storyteller, they recently released a chapbook exploring love as someone with CPTSD. Their poetry has found homes in Writers Resist, Discretionary Love, Unlikely Stories, Waffle Fried, and more.
Reese Landry
Reese Landry is a Cuban-American poet, short fiction author, and screenwriter based in Rhode Island with interests in psychology, neuroscience, and criminology. When she’s not writing, Reese enjoys adventures with her son, shopping for books, and studying film. Connect with Reese on Instagram: @reeselandrypoetry
Tanya L. Young
Tanya L. Young is a writer, visual artist, and PhD student. Her work is featured in publications such as Salt Hill Journal, The Amistad, New Delta Review, and others. She is a VONA (Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation) alum. For her poetry, she was a finalist for the 2025 Rumpus Poetry Prize, the Patricia Cleary Miller Award for Poetry and the ONLY POEMS Poet of the Year Prize. Find her work at www.tanyasroom.com
Vlad Jean
Vladimir "Vlad" Jean is a first-generation Haitian-American poet, actor, and host based in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder of Afroverse PVD, a platform for celebrating black and brown empowerment, expression, and unity through spoken word. Most notably, Vlad hosts a monthly poetry and open mic night at the Hide Speakeasy under The George in downtown Providence. With immersive live interviews with each featured poet incorporated into the show, Vlad has designed each event to reflect his values: positivity, inclusivity, and boundless talent.
Chadria Major Thomas
Chadria is a Rhode Island transplant originally from Springfield, MA. She has been in the Ocean State for over 20 years but refuses to lose her 413 area code. Writing has always been a part of her life, and in the past year, there has been a stronger pull to create and share more. She uses vulnerability and humor to spread faith and hope to those around her.
John Steel
A poet of 53 years, a writer, an artist for most of his life. Born in 1973 in Pawtucket and resident of Central Falls until age 18, John graduated from Central Falls High in 1991 and then into the military until 1999. His last duty station was in Hawaii. Twice married and now with his wife Ludy. They have 3 children and 2 grandchildren between them.
Kimberly Urban
Kimberly Urban is a queer trans writer and artist based in Providence. She has had short stories and poetry published under her deadname. More recently, she published a zine under The Wrong Press called The Hellbound Zine, based, in part, on the Hellraiser series. Her work takes pre-existing materials and splices them together with fact and fiction.
Kou Tukala Nyan
Kou Tukala Nyan (she/they) is a creative producer, journalist, and performer exploring surrealism, the paranormal, and day-to-day oddities. A published author and RISCA Make Art Grant recipient, she founded Project Overflo and co-founded black earth collective + lab. Nyan dances, acts, and curates creative community spaces and workshops in Rhode Island.
Michaelis Lee
Michaelis is a multi-medium spoken word artist from the DMV currently residing in Providence, RI. They are the 2025 Providence grand slam champion and the Web and Digital Media Specialist for the African Poetry Book Fund at Brown University. This poet uses rhyme, rhythm, and word play to tell important stories about blackness and queerness, drawing on their ties to the Deep Baptist South.
Monica D. Vance
Monica D. Vance is a poet, author, therapist and speaker. She performs her healing poetry at open mics in Rhode Island and the New England area. Most notably, she has been featured at GBH's Outspoken Saturdays and Afroverse PVD's Hide-N-Speak. She is a therapist at a community health center. Online and offline, she motivates creatives to develop a healthier, "new" mindset. If you want to keep up with Monica's motivational nuggets, you can check her out on Instagram. Monica's debut poetry collection, Leaving the Dust and the Weeds launched on June 26th, 2026.
Mr. Orange Live
Damont Combs, professionally known as Mr. Orange Live, is an award-winning poet, recording artist, filmmaker, educator, and Executive Director of Tell Your Truth. He serves as Program Director of Poetry Out Loud Rhode Island and has spent over 15 years creating work at the intersection of poetry, music, film, education, and community engagement. A Recording Academy Voting Member, Combs is recognized nationally for using the arts to inspire dialogue, empower communities, and cultivate the next generation of artists.
Suleimen S.
Suleimen is a math and chemistry student by day and poet by night. An author of a self-published poetry collection, 101 Ways to Love, he is constantly writing. He is an active member of the Rhode Island spoken word community, and is most known for his Rubik's cube poems. He won the Motif Magazine 2026 LIVE spoken word award and has been featured in places including, but not limited to, AfroversePVD, TDNPoetry, ApothicaCafe, and WGBH.
Simply Sara
Sara Monteiro is an African/Cape Verdean/African American Providence Native: her focus and talents have been utilized to provide quality service to under-represented communities by way of education and community organization. She is an entrepreneur and artist. As a mother of 2 she is passionate about creating and supporting fruitful programs for inner city youth. She is a URI alum with a background in African American Studies & Human Development. Sara is passionate about serving and collaborating with community partners to create spaces for equal/diverse representation. Sara’s goal is to preserve culture and history through community. As a resident artist at CIC, she produces art as a form of storytelling about her rich ethnic background as a 1st generation Cape Verdean. Through poetry she has evoked conversation about race, identity and purpose. She is the proud owner of Distant.Relatives LLC. and OUTSPOKEN.
René Manuel Ramos
Who is René? René Manuel Ramos (he/him) is a Providence-based artist born & raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. A competitive poet on the Providence Poetry Slam team since 2025. His poetry explores masculinity, family growing pains, and systemic grief. A Motif Magazine Free Verse Award Nominee. A featured performer at Boston Poetry Slam, FreeVerse Presents, AfroVerse PVD, & more. His work has been featured on platforms such as Voices in Power and The Poets Cauldron. A self-proclaimed caffeine connoisseur, René uses energy to navigate this thing called life.
Louie Bee
Louie Barroso is a published poet, writer, and creative based in Providence, RI. When he's not running poetry nights for The Daily Note, he's listening to Hip-Hop & R&B while writing love notes, binge watching random shows, and encouraging others to write their hearts out (however that may look at that moment). Easiest way to get on his good side when you see him is to say "Go Birds!"
Victoria Restler
Victoria Restler is an interdisciplinary artist, writer and educator. Her first book, "What Do You Do That Can't Be Measured? On Radical Care in Teaching and Research," was published by Brill in 2023. Her poetry has been published in journals and volumes including Panorama and electric pink. Victoria leads the Youth Development Master’s Program at Rhode Island College where she serves as an Associate Professor.
