Biographies
Poets
LYDIA BABCOCK (she/her) has lived in the city of Toledo almost all of her life. She graduated from the University of Toledo in the spring of 2024, earning a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing, and a minor in theatre. Apart from her work as a writer, Lydia has acted as a producer, director, and performer in several theatrical productions in Grand Rapids, Ohio, in an effort to revive the theatre scene there. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in creative writing. In the meantime, she is living in the Cleveland area, working as a barista at a bakery. She would like to thank her former professors for all of their support throughout her academic journey.
DARREN C. DEMAREE (he/him) is the author of twenty-three poetry collections, most recently So Much More, (Harbor Editions, November 2024). He is the recipient of a Greater Columbus Arts Council Grant, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Louise Bogan Award from Trio House Press, and the Nancy Dew Taylor Award from Emrys Journal. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Best of the Net Anthology and the Managing Editor of Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently working in the Columbus Metropolitan Library system.
KARI GUNTER-SEYMOUR (she/her) Ohio Poet Laureate, is the author of four collections of poetry and is the recipient of a POTY Award, Storytrade Award, Legacy Award, and Best Book Award. She is a Pillars of Prosperity Fellow for the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, a member of the Ohio Advisory Group of the National Museum of Women in The Arts, the Executive Director of the Women of Appalachia Project, and is the editor of its anthology series Women Speak. Her work has been featured in a number of periodicals and journals including the American Book Review, World Literature Today, The New York Times, and Poem-a-Day. Find her at www.kariguterseymourpoet.com
ADRIAN LIME (he/him) is a poet, spray paint artist, and substitute schoolteacher. A co-creator of Toledo, Ohio’s Almeda Street Poets, he helped to launch ToledoPoet.com and the Toledo Poetry Museum page on Facebook. Adrian coordinated and was a member of the ensemble cast of “Back to Jack” [Kerouac] Readers’ Theater for ten years. His books are Feeding the Monster (2018, EMP Books), a collaboration of factory poems with poet Michael Grover, and Every Broken Little Thing (2021, Luchador Press). Adrian lives in a nice little house in West Toledo with his endlessly talented wife.
SANDRA RIVERS-GILL (she/her) a native Toledoan, is an award-winning poet, performer, and playwright. Her poetry has been featured in print journals, online, and in anthologies, and has garnered nominations for the Best of the Net and the Pushcart Poetry Prize. She serves as an Ohio Arts Council teaching artist, a Poet Ambassador for the Ohio Poetry Association, and is the editor of Dopeless Hope Fiends (Radio Room Press, 2018). Her debut chapbook, As We Cover Ourselves With Light (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2023) was a 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist. Visit her at www.sandrariversgill.com.
Host
JULIE E. BLOEMEKE (she/her) 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 Finalist. Winner of the 2022 Third Coast Poetry Prize, her poems have been featured on NPR, The Slowdown, and Verse Daily, and her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications. An associate editor for South Carolina Review, and a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts fellow, she is a proud Toledo native. Visit her online at www.jebloemeke.com.
Photographer
ART WEBER has been with Metroparks for nearly 52 years. Starting in 1972 as public information manager, he combined his writing and photography skills to work with local media, and through publications and exhibits amplified and celebrated the mission of Metroparks Toledo. In his career he’s witnessed the addition of ten Metroparks – including Oak Openings, Howard Marsh, and Wildwood Preserve Metropark. He retired from full-time employment in 2002 and redirected his career to combine his nationally recognized photography skills with his knowledge of the Metroparks and nature, which led to his role as Director of the National Center for Nature Photography at Secor Metropark. The center backed the display of images donated by the very best professional nature photographers with an array of lectures, walks, and outdoor workshops to teach photo skills. In recent years he has worked in the field to capture nature images for the Park District’s social media outreach.
Letterpress
SVEN OLAF NELSON (he/him) is the founder of Pineapple Press & Design. His passion for printing letterpress and graphic design began at Ball State University and bloomed into a collection of over 500 metal and wood typefaces spanning two centuries. Specializing in bespoke small batch orders, Sven is committed to historical printing education and perpetuating beauty, working with clients on design, typefaces, layout, and paper selection - including incorporating vintage and handmade papers; he also hand mixes all of his inks. While his range includes stationery, invitations, posters, and custom orders, he is particularly interested in poetry broadsides. All of Sven’s projects are printed on antique letterpress equipment - including a 1941 Chandler & Price 8x12 press and a 1905 Vandercook No.01 proof press. Committed to continued education, he also works with the Sauder Historical Village and hosts community workshops through the Toledo Museum of Art.