Biographies
Poets
Cal Freeman is the author of the books Fight Songs (Eyewear 2017) and Poolside at the Dearborn Inn (R&R Press 2022). His writing can be found in many publications, including The Glacier, Berkeley Poetry Review, and North American Review. His latest book, The Weather of Our Names, was released by Cornerstone Press in September 2025.
Find Cal Freeman @johnfreeman5984 on Instagram.
GRACE GUY is a poet and writer from Columbus, Ohio, who spent five years living in Toledo. She earned her BA in English from the University of Cincinnati and is currently in the MFA program for poetry at North Carolina State University. She was a co-editor for Vol. 1 of the Poetry Stacked Anthology published by the University of Cincinnati Press. Her work can be found in South Carolina Review. Beyond writing, she works at a local coffee shop in Raleigh and loves to be near the sea.
Find Grace Guy @_graceguy on Instagram.
CHARLES MALONE works with writers in the community around Kent, Ohio, through his role at the Wick Poetry Center. He won the Moonstone Arts Chapbook prize for his poems "After an Eclipse of Moths." His full-length collection Working Hypothesis is out with Finishing Line Press, and his chapbook Questions About Circulation was published by Driftwood Press as part of the Adrift Chapbook Series. He edited the collections Light Enters The Grove: Exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park Through Poetry and A Poetic Inventory of Rocky Mountain National Park. He is the founder and co-editor of CrayfishMag at Furnace Run Press.
@c_j_malone on Instagram.
DIOR J. STEPHENS, PhD, is a poet-scholar rooted in Black and Queer literary traditions. Their work spans experimental poetics, intersecting with themes of spirituality, music, and nuclear history. As Co-Editor-in-Chief of Foglifter Press, Dior actively fosters inclusive community spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ voices. They are currently composing their forthcoming second poetry collection, "ATOMIC I,” and are deeply engaged in fellowship and grant-seeking activities. Dior's writing traverses existential themes with euphoric grace, challenging conventional narratives through a blend of innovation and tradition.
Find Dior Stevens @dolphinphotos on Instagram.
RUELAINE STOKES is currently serving as the Lansing Poet Laureate, 2024-2026. Her poetry has been published in Jar of Plenty (2021) and 4 Against the Wall (2005), and along with former Lansing Poet Laureate Laura Apol, she co-edited My Secret Lansing (2023), a collection of writing about hidden treasures in the Greater Lansing Area by 64 residents.
Find Ruelaine Stokes here: https://www.ruelainestokes.com/.
Host
JULIE E. BLOEMEKE is the author of Slide to Unlock (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2020) and co-editor of Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing, 2023). A two-time recipient of Books All Georgians Should Read, she is also the 2021 Georgia Author of the Year Poetry Finalist. An Atlanta-based Toledo native, her poems have been featured on NPR, The Slowdown, and Verse Daily; a broadside of her poem “Glass City,” hand-printed by Sven Olaf Nelson, is on permanent view with Hiltons Toledo Downtown. She also directs the annual #5poets5parks initiative with Metroparks Toledo in honor of National Poetry Month. [Website]
Find Julie E. Bloemeke @poemtastic on Instagram and here: jebloemeke.com
Letterpress
SVEN OLAF NELSON is a printer, designer, and artist whose work explores the meeting point of craft, language, and material. At Pineapple Press & Design, he works with antique letterpress tools to create contemporary pieces that honor the physical act of making. His practice is rooted in curiosity and tradition, drawing inspiration from the rhythm of type, the feel of paper, and the dialogue between art and process. Through his work, Sven invites viewers to slow down, notice details, and rediscover the quiet beauty of print.
Find Sven Olaf Nelson @leaddite on Instagram and here: https://www.pineapplepress.net