Meet Our Members

Jane Hillson Aiello is a poet, essayist and blogger. Her third grade teacher sparked a life-long love of couplets and catharsis. She faithfully listens to NPR and most genres of music. She likes cooking but not cleaning.

Jane enjoys meditation, yoga, dancing, swimming laps, reading, and of course - writing. Her biggest joys are her three grandchildren. The ability to be child-like is a source of inspiration for her writing.

Jane has lived in Colorado on and off for the past forty years. She is originally from the East Coast, but hopes you won’t hold that against her. She got here as quickly as she could.

Laurel Jean Becker has won many national and regional awards for her work, including the American Fiction Award, the Cipa/Evvy award and the national Draft to Dream Competition award for Tales from Weaver Pond, the Storyteller People’s Choice Award, Society of Southwestern Authors award in both poetry and short stories, Poetry Society of Colorado 2006 and 2012 Sweepstakes Award and the National Writers Association award for poetry—4th place nationally.  In 2013, CBS News recognized Laurel as one of Denver’s top poets.

Laurel is the author of In the Heart of a Quiet Garden (Finishing Line Press) and contributing author to: Women’s Voices of the 21st Century (Argian Press, New York); and Poetry on Track (Green Fuse Poetic Arts). She has written articles, poetry, essays and short stories for numerous magazines.

Laurel had been President of the Poetry Society of Colorado (2012-2014) and is a member of the Colorado Authors’ League, the National League of American Pen Women in “Letters,” Columbine Poets, Denver Women’s Press Club and Author U.

All of this followed a life path that included raising three children, presenting workshops in local schools and mentoring at-risk school children. Laurel presently lives in Lakewood, Colorado with her husband.

Laurel’s Web Page

Colorado Author’s League

National League of American Pen Women

Denver Women's Press Club​

CRISTINA A. BEJAN is a Romanian-American historian, theatre artist and spoken word poet based in Denver, Colorado. She grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and received her BA in philosophy from Northwestern University, where she also studied theatre. An Oxford DPhil and a Rhodes and Fulbright scholar, she has held fellowships at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Georgetown University, and the Woodrow Wilson Center, and has taught history at Georgetown and Duke Universities, among others. She currently teaches world history at Metropolitan State University of Denver. 

A playwright, Bejan has written eighteen plays, many of which have been produced in the United States, Romania, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu. She is founding executive director of the arts and culture collective Bucharest Inside the Beltway. Under the stage name “Lady Godiva,” she performs her poetry across the United States and Romania. She has written Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania: The Criterion Association (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019) and Green Horses on the Walls (Finishing Line Press, 2020) and is also  a contributing author for The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos Vol. 3 (University of Indiana, 2018).

She has appeared on C-SPAN, and her work has been featured in the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, American Prospect, Evenimentul Zilei and Observator Cultural. Bejan is on the Advisory Board of Alianța and is an advocate for NAMI and RAINN. In Denver she serves as the Social Justice Director for Fearless Theatre and is on the Board of Colorado's Romanian philanthropy organization: RAFA - the Romanian-American Freedom Alliance. Bejan also serves as cultural editor for Hora in America magazine. She is a member of the International Center for Women Playwrights and the Dramatists Guild of America.

Cristina A Bejan's Website

Recent Publications

* Green Horses On the Walls (poetry) (Finishing Line Press, 2020)

*  'J'y suis j'y reste' (play) in Voices on the Move eds. Domnica Radulescu & Roxana Cazan (Solis Press, 2020)

* Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania: The Criterion Association (Palgrave, 2019)

Nancy invites you to visit her blog, "Poems and Random Thoughts," where she publishes poetry and other writing:​

https://nancyleebierman.blogspot.com/

Marcel A. Duclos enjoyed an academic career as a professor of psychology and philosophy, and a college administrator for 28 years. He continues to practice psychotherapy nearing a fiftieth decade. Clinical supervision and training at home and abroad complemented his community involvements as a consultant and agency Executive and Clinical Director. He is an AMHCA Diplomate as a specialist in Trauma, Addiction and Co-Occurring Disorders. He has set carpentry aside after restoring an 1851 New Hampshire farm house to life with his companion wife. He lived and practiced in New Hampshire, Maine, Arizona, and Oregon. He now lives in the Colorado Springs area on a “hobby farm”. He writes prose and poetry, experiments as an amateur oil painter, and is learning to play the piano. Without any doubt, he is still walking the labyrinth to the still point as an unfinished sapiens.

Michael Escoubas began writing poetry for publication after retiring from a 48-year career in the printing industry. Encouraged by his mother at a young age to read widely and to fall in love with words, he grew to love their shapes and sounds. Now 73, Michael’s poetry has appeared across a range of venues. He has written four books of poetry: Light Comes Softly, Monet in Poetry and Paint, Steve Henderson in Poetry and Paint and Little Book of Devotions: Poems that Connect Nature, God and Man. All of Michael’s titles are available either on Amazon or from the author’s personal inventory. 

In addition to his membership in PSC, Michael is a member of the Illinois State Poetry Society, and the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Michael is editor and staff book reviewer for Quill and Parchment, a 20-year-old literary and cultural arts online poetry journal.

About Michael's latest book:

Little Book of Devotions: Poems that Connect Nature, God and Man

by Michael Escoubas

32 seasonal poems, 48 pages

Colored Pencil Artwork by Mary Ritchie

Format: Pocket Size

Price: $10.00

Poet Michael Escoubas’ fourth poetry collection offers deserving readers a welcome respite from the stress of Covid-19 and the turmoil currently engulfing the nation following the wrongful death of George Floyd. Quite simply, he writes accessible poems for all to enjoy in daily life, away from the gloom and sadness.
 

Essayist Maria Popova says:

“To be a poet is to be a human being who feels everything more deeply, the beautiful as well as the terrible; he or she builds on those feelings, shelters where others can safely and sacredly process their own.”

Escoubas achieves in bountiful ways what Popova says:

“Little Book” offers a sanctuary for the reader. It may be retrieved from handbag, briefcase, or desk drawer, providing mindfulness moments about life, nature, and God.

“Little Book of Devotions” also offers encouragement for those going through depression, post-surgery rehabilitation, and bereavement. Gift it in lieu of flowers!

Melanie Claire Blinn Eulberg is a poet, former teacher, and avid Spellbinders ® oral storyteller. She is also the author of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) award-winning children’s picture book, Sylvana Takes a Spin.  She credits her mother, Marilyn Blinn, a lifelong poet and late in life member of PSC, for her delight in words, and her musically attuned father for her love of meter and rhyme.  Melanie’s middle name honors her grandmother, a teacher, journalist, poet, and beloved pen pal.

A near-native Coloradan, Melanie has lived in the Denver area since age four. She taught in Greeley, Littleton, and Sheridan, for a total of 27 years. In retirement, she appreciates having more time to write poetry and to participate in storytelling (for Littleton Public School first-graders), torturing her piano, and dabbling with her collection of Native American flutes. Melanie lives in Lakewood with her husband and soulmate, Doug, but they fly to Asheville, North Carolina frequently to visit their son, daughter-in-law and twin granddaughters. They also enjoy traveling (remotely, or sometimes, in person) to watch their daughter and son-in-law compete in international underwater hockey tournaments.

Discovering The Poetry Society of Colorado, in 2013, was a stroke of luck for this late bloomer, and it’s a gift that keeps on giving.  Melanie is inspired by PSC’s diverse, talented group of friendly poets, and the chance to write for monthly contests.  In 2015, she was named the PSC “Daisie E. Robinson Sweepstakes” award winner, for the poem Credo.  In 2020, she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, for a double etheree entitled Autumn Quest.    

Melanie agrees with the words of Adelaide Anne Procter: “No star is ever lost we once have seen.  We can always be what we might have been.” 

A fascination with writing and poetry has always occupied my thoughts. There it has quietly

remained, hidden and safely tucked away. Recently, poetry has begun to peek out from behind

this vail of obscurity. This passion—this creative nature to write—is now constantly pleading to

see the light. As a result, those secured creative endeavors now plaster the printed pages of black

ink and bright white sheets of paper. The difficulty is deciding which endeavor should have

priority, their moment at center stage, to be thrust out into the world.

The words of a poet are not likely to be remembered. Words drift with the passage of time, sailing

from one port to the next as a wisp, as a breeze of long-past memories, there to linger for a brisk

moment before fading into lore. One may remember an enchanted verse, a snippet of a phrase, a

catchy limerick, a witty tittle of words, but they soon fade from one’s memories.

Through the years my constant creative mind has always actively sought to express itself through

a variety of genres and styles. Reading has always had a strong influence on the many interests I

have developed through the years. My personal collection of reading material covers a wide

variety of topics, such as American & Ancient History, Egyptology, Astronomy, Old Seafaring

Stories, and yes, Poetry. I favor Edgar Allen Poe—mostly read in my youth—and I am an ardent

fan of Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, and more modern writers such as Orson Scott Card and Tom

Clancy.

I served in the United States Navy aboard the Ballistic Submarine, USS Nathan Hale (I blame

Jules Verne). While in the service, I spent three years in Scotland, where the exploration of the

local culture sparked my interest into the world of history. My career field is in Electronics, as a

Field Technician, and I have oft repeated to my children, “I may not be a rocket scientist, but I

have been a rocket technician.” This life at sea, which lasted only six years, has had a substantial

influence on my life as well as on my writing.

I have lived in Western Colorado for twenty-eight years, in the quiet farming community of

Lome, with my wife, and have four wonderful children. We enjoy the atmosphere of this area,

surrounded by the Grand Mesas, Colorado National Monument, and the Colorado River.

A Seafarer’s Tale, Of Sea Poems & Nautical Thoughts

By Steven C. Gardner

36 poems, 138 pages

$23.50/17.50 @ Amazon.com

Whimsical Poems From My Stash-of-Stuff & Other Thoughts of Value 

By Steven C. Gardner 

17 poems, 48 pages 

$8.95 

Website URL: https://www.GreatWitsJump.com

Other URLs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9S99S83 (Direct link to Amazon for above book)r. 

As a native of Colorado, I grew up in natural surroundings that provided fertile ground for my way of being in the world–both as mystic and lover of the created, natural world.  The intense feelings and insights I have experienced–joy and gratitude as well as suffering and loss–have found voice in poetry. Writing poetry is a spiritual practice for me; reading poetry is essential to touching into my deep inner world, essential to my ‘Being’.

Poet, fiction writer and performer SETH openly admits to having a sordid love affair with language. His passion for words, particularly the rhythms and sounds of speech, extends not only to his craft but in the myriad ways he presents his poetry and prose. SETH has made a career of exploring creative ways of performing spoken word.

One of Colorado’s best known performance poets, SETH has and continues to collaborate with musicians, poets, actors, dancers and other performance artists in his never-ending quest to render poetry more entertaining, and thus more accessible, to general audiences. Over the years he has garnered numerous awards for his pioneering efforts to meld spoken word with the other performance art forms.

In 1991 SETH help found Open Rangers, a dynamic network of poets, actors, musicians, dancers and other performance artists. Over a span of 13 years, Open Rangers was responsible for such innovative “Poetry Theatre” productions as JoY is the Name of a Child, Poetic License, Reign of the Scar Clan (“Best Poetry Performance” 1995 Westword) and Random Axe of Rhyme. Open Rangers also produced two audio cassettes Drop the Other Shoe and Eating Light which interwove music, poetry and theater for a uniquely stimulating listening experience.

In 1993 SETH joined Jafrika, a critically-acclaimed trio presenting “original music, provocative dance and poignant poetry.” The Rocky Mountain News listed Jafrika as “among Denver’s finest cultural offerings.”

SETH lives in Denver where he currently spearheads Art Compost & the Word Mechanics, an improvisational poetic-musical ensemble inviting poets and singers from the audience to join them every Sunday night from 7-8pm at the Mercury Café. Their first CD Love, Death & Poetry won Westword’s Best of Denver 2005 for Spoken Word CD.

Also a fiction writer, SETH’s experimental short stories have appeared in numerous publications including Lynx Eye, Happy, the Portland Review and Fugue. He recently finished first novel.

For more information and to hear SETH perform, visit www.wagingart.com​​

 I've been writing poetry since 2015 or so. I've been inspired by the poetic structure of Edgar Allen Poe, particularly poems like Annabel Lee, which feature internal rhymes in iambic. I tend to write in iambic tetrameter, which I find long enough to express ideas but short enough to flow well. I tend to write philosophical, comedic, or persona poetry. I believe my passion for poetry comes from a birth condition; my right brain is more advanced than usual whereas my left brain is underdeveloped - so don't expect poetry about math. 

I am from Highlands Ranch in the Denver metro area. I also am a ballroom dancer, novice fencer, tea drinker, equestrian, chess and cribbage player, and lover of live opera and ballet.

While I was going through a hard time, I began to write poetry to cope. I slowly got better, self-teaching about rhythm and rhyming. Finally, I got to where I am today. I have a lot of room for improvement, and I hope to improve and improve learning from great poets. I would be thrilled to one day publish a book of poetry.

 Website: https://ianhoymanpoetry.com/

Laura V. Keegan lives in Edgewater Co. She is the proud mother of three sons. She was elected as President of the Poetry Society of Colorado in May of 2014. Before that, she served as Membership Chairman. She served as President for Foothills Writers group for eight years, and is currently  a member of the Inklings Critique group, who critique and edit poetry, The Critiquers, who edit and critique nonfiction, fiction and poetry, Denver Woman’s’Press Club, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, IPAL  and Author U. Being a member of many other writing organizations keeps her in tune with her writer’s muse. Her debut novel, Haunting at Remington House, was released in 2014 and is available at all online retailers through her website: Laura’s website address is www.lauravkeegan.com. A book of her poetry, Dark Side of My Soul, is scheduled for release soon. She has also written numerous short stories.

Laura has served since February of 2009 as a member of the Edgewater City Council. She was reelected in November of 2013 to serve another four years. She carried the Group Home Ordinance, the Smoking Prohibition Ordinance and the Rental Property Maintenance Code Ordinance. She has been an active attendee of numerous city boards and commissions as well as an active voice for the citizens.

Laura is also a medium. She does readings for the private sector as well as having spent the past three Halloween seasons at the famous Brown Palace Hotel in Denver taking guests on tours and sharing her and others’ experiences as they visit the many haunted rooms.

Laura is one of the three founders of the Edgewater Arts Project, a nonprofit group formed to bring art and culture to the community. The EAP is one of the originators, as well as a sponsor, of the Celtic Harvest Festival Edgewater which had its debut in 2010. In 2009, EAP presented a play in the park with a production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream—from fundraising, costuming, props, directing, managing and finding actors and actresses—to the finish!, which culminated in a two night event. This was the highlight of months of their hard work and determined dreams to present a polished and professional production.

The conviction that we all must act to make the world a better place, that we cannot and should not choose to remain silent but should all have a voice to bring about change; a love of words and images; a sense of humor; and a history with the darkness known as depression, color her world.