Lolita returns to the show to feature new work and discuss originality, magic, habits, writing your own story, and much more. Featuring the iconic "Alice on Downers". Beware the white rabbits.

Tristan Buttigieg is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans poetry, music, writing, publishing, and visual art. As a poet, author, musician, publisher, and artist, he treats art as an open question rather than a fixed answer. Originally from New York City, his work draws from both lived experience and inward reflection. Inspired by the raw honesty of early- to late-20th-century poetic and musical movements, he moves between city concrete and subconscious current, between what is seen and what is felt.

With seven collaborative albums released between 2018 and 2021, Tristan has long explored rhythm and narrative through music. His first published poetry collection, Have Nine Lives, carried that same unrestrained spirit, grounding abstract thought in the everyday pulse of human life. His second collection, Pearlesque, extends that exploration into a space where language and visual form converge. His forthcoming third collection, Va-Va Voom, continues to push his work into new territory, exploring the intersections of experience, perception, and the subconscious.

He resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

https://tristanbuttigieg.substack.com/

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Di Slaney lives in an ancient farmhouse on the edge of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, where she runs livestock sanctuary Manor Farm Charitable Trust and independent publisher Candlestick Press. She has a degree in English and European Literature from the University of Warwick and an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University. Di was the winner of the Plough Poetry Prize 2022, and her poems have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, widely anthologised, and highly commended in the Forward Prize 2016 and 2026, Bridport Prize 2020 and Rialto Nature & Place Competition 2025. She is Poet in Residence at Nottinghamshire Local History Association. Di was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019.

You can buy Hard Graft here https://www.aftershockreview.com/product-page/hard-graft-by-di-slaney

And Di's other books here: https://valleypressuk.com/products/reward-for-winter and https://valleypressuk.com/products/herd-queen and https://valleypressuk.com/products/january-conversations-with-dogs

From the Richmond, VA area, BG brings a hip-hop flow to spoken word, conveying messages of peace, resistance, justice, internal struggle, and eroticism.

BG also lived and studied in Chicago, IL, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. Afterwards, he spent some time in Virginia and D.C. before making his way to Denver, CO back in 2014, shortly after obtaining a Master's degree in Public Administration.

BG has been happily married since 2011. He currently works in the public sector and assists his wife with running a small business.

You can find more of BG’s work on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and more, under the name "iLL bg"

Anyone interested in artistic collaboration with BG can reach him at: illbgmusic@protonmail.com

Molly Bilker features to share her work on a range of topics including mental health, teaching, the eras of her poetry, relationships, and the oft misunderstood town of Pueblo, CO. We also discuss a new zine she was a part of creating with her writing group @idafterid (Instagram) hosted at The Ethos in Pueblo, CO.

thepoets.co

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Tony V is a streamer, stoner, and self-proclaimed local poet based in Denver, CO. Tony appears at the Friday night open mic at the Mercury Cafe, and has two collections in the works, one of poetry and one of short stories. Find Tony on Instagram ⁠⁠@tony_v_poetry⁠⁠, and TikTok ⁠⁠@zanaro420⁠

Jean-Marc Saint Laurent is an urban fantasy novelist and writer behind “Tripping in Public” —a newsletter about blackness, society, business—and their collisions.

See more from Jean-Marc on Substack: https://substack.com/@jeanmarcsaint

thepoets.co

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You can watch this episode on video HERE.

Steven Seidenberg is an artist, poet, and philosopher whose collections of photographs include The Architecture of Silence (Contrasto, 2023), Pipevalve: Berlin (Lodima Press, 2017), and the forthcoming Kanazawa Vacancy (Chin Music, Fall 2026).  He has had solo exhibitions of his work in Japan, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and the United States. He is the author of Coda (Omnidawn, 2026), Anon (Omnidawn, 2022), plain sight (Roof Books, 2020), Situ (Black Sun Lit, 2018), Null Set (2016, Spooky Actions), Itch (2015, RAW ArT Press), and numerous chapbooks of poetry and aphorism. His books have been published in Swedish, Italian, and Portuguese translation.

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a western existentialist and nature writer. He is an award winning playwright, poet, novelist and author of six published books with three more forthcoming in 2026. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Jack Kerouac School and an MA in English Education. Alexander writes a weekly poem on substack and teaches writing in universities, libraries, museums, hiking trails, schools, prisons and elsewhere across the Colorado Front Range. A literary Lorax, he does his best to write for the trees. 

Alexander writes regularly on Substack

EVENT on September 21st at 6pm - lgbtqhp.org/denver

August Bernadicou is the Executive Director of The LGBTQ History Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the lives and legacies of LGBTQ activists from the first wave of gay liberation. His career began in 2008 at the age of 13 when he started interviewing alternative counterculture figures for various online and in-print publications. His work primarily appeared in the punk music magazine Punk Globe. At 18, August began publishing his own "zines" (Teenage News #1, Teenage News #2, and August Nation). In 2020, he co-founded The LGBTQ History Project to archive and share his thousands of recorded interviews and conversations. Through The LGBTQ History Project, August produces a podcast featuring archival interviews, hosts LGBTQ history events, and publishes excerpts from his archive online, in newsletters, and on social media. August is driven by his mission to counteract the erasure of history and provide a platform for individuals seeking to reclaim their legacies, firmly believing that the lessons of the past can pave the way for a better-informed future.

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The LGBTQ History Project, a registered nonprofit organization (EIN: 84-4334508), preserves and shares the stories of LGBTQ+ activists, pioneers, and everyday people whose legacies shaped our communities and movements. Through oral histories, archives, podcasts, and public programs, we ensure these voices are not lost to history. The gay liberation revolution was a real moment in time. With the Gay Liberation Front and similar groups, the world was changed.

The LGBTQ History Project is a grassroots 501(c)(3) organization, and donations can be made here.

You can see this episode on video here.

Mahogany Imani, a slightly inappropriate slam poet for the past decade plus, is so excited that you’ve taken the time to read/listen to their work. What can be described as a “celebratory self-expose,” Imani’s poetry is a polished look into raw emotion and circumstances that will make you laugh, touch your spirit, and hopefully allow you to tap into empowerment you never knew was bubbling under the surface. Based out of Denver, CO, outside of poetry, Mahogany is also passionate about reaching their higher education goals, being the most present friend and partner they can be, and finding the best Cuban food in town (a noble pursuit). You can find Imani’s work on their Substack @manicprotagonist, or check out their poem, “Down the River,” in the Retrograde Review.

The Poets is now available on VIDEO. Check today's episode on the Coven Recording and Sound channel. Hope you enjoy.

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Sam Amabile returns to The Poets to discuss and promote Mercury Nights, his most recent EP. Get the album HERE.

Mercury Nights is a callback to the lost Friday nights which once took place at 2199 California Street. For decades, Friday night open mics saw poets from all walks take the stage in the Jungle Room to speak their art to a room of waiting friends and strangers. All the while next door in the Rose Room, Sam Amabile laid a soundtrack for the evening. Once a consistent Friday night presence on the piano in the back corner, Sam Amabile now gives us Mercury Nights, a showcase of his unique playing style and talent.

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I met Marilyn back in 2016. I was playing with the David Booker band upstairs in the ballroom at the Mercury for swing night. We were playing Chuck Berry and Big Joe Turner, which probably annoyed the dancers but Marilyn liked it. After the show she asked me to write my name down in her book of musicians and soon after she booked me to play in the Rose Room. I played nearly every week from then until it became the Pearl.

In the early days of the mercury there was a man named George “Boogie Woogie” Daniels who was a regular fixture that Marilyn told me about. Im grateful I could bring back some Boogie Woogie for the final years.

Oh and i should say R.I.P. to David Booker

Sam

Westin Isaiah Koa Hess depends on an active internal life for their creative works, and hopes to continually bring people back into their bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits through artwork.

Mxxx. J (xe, xem, xer(s) singular pronouns) is a full-time multidisciplinary artist who has been writing poetry since 2013 and performing since 2020. Xe is passionate about community and is involved with art events daily, including hosting a variety open mic at SAME Café every 3rd wednesday 6-9pm called So All May Express, and an interactive writing workshop with Sacred Voices Denver (in which xe is a board member as well) called Sacred Voices WRITE!, which is every 3rd saturday currently at Lighthouse Writers Workshop from 2-4pm. Follow xem at @m.x.x.x.j on Instagram and Eider Luda on Facebook to get and stay in touch if you aren't already! Xe is also primarily a maker and vendor (@sickeningcreations), as well as a drag performer, dancer, and drummer. Also, enjoy the T this episode includes, which Mxxx. J always has.

Heads up - we talk about events in the episode that may no longer be upcoming, as this was recorded several months ago. Definitely check out Mxxx. J on socials or reach out to get info on the most up to date events and happenings.

Recorded on April 14th, 2026

J Diego Frey is the preposterous nom de plume for a human poet raised in the southeast corner of Denver, Colorado, from a time at least a few years before anybody’s hiking boots scuffed up the Moon.

J Diego has published two collections of poetry, Umbrellas or Else and The Year the Eggs Cracked, both of which are considered essential reading in several very hip bathrooms. The books can be purchased from the publisher, Conundrum Press, an imprint of Bower House Books (bowerhousebooks.com), for less than you would spend on overpriced coffee and prune danish over the course of a very jittery Monday. The books offer a unique aggregation of both formal and decidedly informal verse that comment on and rhyme with a cross-section of mundanity in modern (read, the last 40 years or so) American life.

Joshua C. Robinson (Xe/Xem/Xer) is an intersex, non-binary, poet and performer. Xe received degrees in Playwriting and Poetry from the University of Missouri; xe hold a Master’s of Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago. Xe are the founder of the Screaming at America anthologies, which is in its third iteration. 

Xer work is featured in a multitude of journals and stages, New City, The Maneater, Writer's Block Zine, The GuloGulo Anthology, Exposed and more. Xe survived a year and a half of nonconsecutive homelessness. Xer memoir “Homeless With God,” has yet to win any awards, but there's still time. Xe would like to take themselves less seriously someday. Xe would also like to take a nap. Xe love you, and xe mean it.

Follow Joshua on IG @artbeforemoney

Screaming at America Anthology

Megan's collection Sike Ward is out now and available through South Broadway Press.

Note - This episode contains a discussion about mental health topics including hospitalization and suicidal ideation.

Megan Foley—aka: Cool Boots—is a queer poet, author, and artist who specializes in crying & trying. They write sad poems, they make unhinged art, and they spend 60% of their time on Thesaurus.com trying to find the exact word they want. Megan is a professional weirdo, a career cryptid, and the leading expert on how to make the world a weirder place. Instagram: @megan_jean_foley

Clarence's audiobook, Lessons and Libations, is available for free, along with other of his works here.

Clarence Barbee is a multi-talented individual known for his literary achievements. As the author of multiple distinct works, “Chicken Soup and a Shot of Jack” and his debut poetry book “Fire Molten and Ash,” he showcases his versatility and creativity. Now, with the release of Lessons and Libations, Clarence continues to display a wit and keenness in his written (and spoken) works.

With a background as a spoken word artist, he has mastered the art of weaving words into evocative pieces that resonate with emotions. He was known for traveling the southeastern US under the stage name Nabraska. Currently serving as an educator in the Denver area, Clarence continues to inspire and shape young and old minds. He’s also a pretty great girl Dad!

His passion for writing remains unwavering as he diligently works on new ventures, including upcoming books, short stories, and poetry collections, further solidifying his place in the literary world.

Follow Clarence on IG ⁠@authorclarencebarbee⁠ and ⁠@poet402⁠

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Julian Thomas is an actor born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is best known for appearing in Jordan Peele’s “Hunters” (2020), ABC’s “For Life” (2020), and “Day of the Dead II: Contagium” (2005). He has also appeared in numerous comedy sketches on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Julian Thomas graduated from the notable theatre program at Northwestern University. Most recently Julian has narrated a number of audio books in fiction and non-fiction, including “We Matter; Athletes and Activism”, a collection of essays and interviews with high profile journalists, political activists and professional athletes, in which they explore the social justice landscape of today. It is available on Audible and Itunes.

Follow Julian on IG @thomas_artandlife

⁠Julian's IMDB page

David Latiff features to discuss their poetry collection THE CHAIR: A cluttered pile of neuroqueer poetry and themes of neurodivergence, executive dysfunction, battle bots, queerness, mental health, and getting your work out there as a poet and artist.

Follow the link purchase David's collection THE CHAIR: A cluttered pile of neuroqueer poetry

You can read more from David at their Substack

Eve Addams is a performance poet whose work mixes storytelling with elements of magical realism to explore memory, religion, trauma, and love. She was a member of the 2025 Mercury Slam Poetry Team and is a 2x Moth StorySlam winner.

Connect with her on Instagram @eveaddamspoet