Issue #11

Welcome (back) to Stanza Cannon, the home for poetry presented orally. We operate on the belief that there’s something inherently special about poetry, especially when it’s delivered by the power of the human voice, that grows empathy in others, that connects people in the most human of manners via vulnerabilities laid bare. And we stand proud to keep delivering humanity to humanity in the hopes that we hear each other, help each other, laugh with each other, and celebrate each other.

Issue #11 – Playlist

A message from the editor
00:00 – 01:02

Johannah Simon
01:07 – “Betty’s Moon”

Craig Kurtz
03:49 – “Misanthrope’s Holiday”

Colleen Machut
05:07 – “A Poem Instead” *
06:52 – “A Father Who Wasn’t Mine”
08:30 – “Regardless of You” *

Paul atten Ash
11:00 – “Writer’s Block”

Rachael Clyne
13:26 – “Black Dog Years”
14:56 – “Office Rules”
15:37 – “A Woman Walked”

Liam Mick
16:25 – “The Cape of Good Hope”
17:44 – “Archives”
19:09 – “Crowning”

Rachel Turney
19:53 – “The Destroyer”

Issue #11 – Individual Contributors

“Betty’s Moon”

Poem: “Betty’s Moon”
Poet: Johannah Simon (X/Twitter, Bluesky, Web)
Bio: Johannah Simon is a corporate learning strategist by day and (sometime) writer by night. You can find her on X @JohannahWrites, BlueSky @johannah.bsky.social, and at www.thewritingtype.com.

“Misanthrope’s Holiday”

Poem: “Misanthrope’s Holiday”
Poet: Craig Kurtz (Web)
Bio: Craig Kurtz led the post punk Philosophic Collage into cult status in 1981. He has since placed hundreds of ‘light verse’ lyrics in publications as varied as Rattle, Stand, and Quadrant. His novel, Surviving the Dream, is available through the antichrist of retail.

“A Poem Instead”*
“A Father Who Wasn’t Mine”
“Regardless of You”*

Poems: “A Poem Instead,”* “A Father Who Wasn’t Mine,” “Regardless of You”*
Poet: Colleen Machut (Web)
Bio: Colleen Machut is a teacher and a writer from Sheboygan, WI. She lives there with her husband, Trent, and their son, Desmond. Colleen and Trent write and perform songs in the lakeshore area of Wisconsin. Colleen has poems published or forthcoming in Whimsical Publications, Impspired, Open Skies Quarterly Edition 1, Open Skies Quarterly Edition 3, Jalmurra, Creation and the Cosmos Anthology, Anxious Times Magazine, and CORE: Dance Poems Volume III.

* Previously published in print by Impspired.

“Writer’s Block”

Poem: “Writer’s Block”
Poet: Paul atten Ash (X/Twitter, BlueSky, Web)
Bio: Paul atten Ash is the pen name of Bristol-based Paul Nash. He has been published by Broken Sleep, Butcher’s Dog, Magma, Shooter, among others. Prize shortlistings include: Alpine Fellowship (2023) and Ginkgo (2022, 2021). His debut pamphlet, Searchlight Seasons, was published by Atomic Bohemian in October 2024 and is available for purchase here.

“Black Dog Years”
“Office Rules”
“A Woman Walked”

Poems: “Black Dog Years,” “Office Rules,” “A Woman Walked”
Poet: Rachael Clyne (X/Twitter, BlueSky, Substack, Web)
Bio: Rachael Clyne – from Glastonbury, is widely published in journals. Her prizewinning collection, Singing at the Bone Tree (Indigo Dreams), concerns eco-issues. Her pamphlet, Girl Golem (4word.org) explores her Jewish migrant heritage. Her latest collection, You’ll Never Be Anyone Else, (Seren), expands on themes of identity to include relationships and LGBTQ+.

“The Cape of Good Hope”
“Archives”
“Crowning”

Poem: “The Cape of Good Hope,” “Archives,” “Crowning”
Poet: Liam Mick (X/Twitter, IG, SoundCloud, YouTube)
Bio: His name is Liam Joseph Mick. He is an actor, writer, poet and filmmaker from Cape Town, South Africa. He is a member of the Roots and Love Music Collective alongside Siya and Maru. He is also a member of the DIY Film Collective, who started their own 72 Hour Film Festival in 2024. He wrote and acted in a short film as part of the Free Film School summer program called Fighting with Tomorrow directed by Lindokuhle Dube, co – starring Theo Solomons. The film is available on the Free Film School Youtube Channel.

“The Destroyer”

Poems: “The Destroyer”
Poet: Rachel Turney (IG, Web)
Bio: Dr. Rachel Turney is an educator and teacher trainer. Her poems and prose are published (or are in press) in The Font Journal, Nap Lit, Ranger, Through Lines Magazine, Bare Back, Lobster Salad and Champagne, and Teach Write Journal. Her photography appears in By the Beach and Ink in Thirds Magazine.