Season 3
Episode 18
Kennedy Engasser
Writer. Poet. Actress.
Kennedy Engasser is an incoming freshman theater major at USF. Her ongoing passion for theater and writing has inspired her many projects, including a number of spoken word poems and original stage plays. She has worked in tandem with Tampa’s Heardemsay and Growhouse poetry organizations to hone in on her craft, from winning awards in slam competitions, to hosting open mics, to recently featuring in a film. In addition, Kennedy is also currently working with TheStudio@620 in St. Pete to produce her own originally written and directed night of one act plays.
Episode 17
Rebel Poet
Host. Curator. Spoken Word Artist.
Rebel Poet is a Latina Host, Art Curator, and Poet who’s been writing poetry from a young age. Her name, Rebel Poet, comes from her rebellious nature to never conform to the expectations of society. She pours love into everything she is passionate about and she believes in community, culture, and creativity! Her poetry focuses on the Divine Feminine, Consciousness, and our connection to Divinity as human beings. A true supporter of all expressions of art, she worked as the Art Curator at Coffee Speaks N Tea Talks in Wesley Chapel for several years and the curator for Poets Café, a monthly poetry and music show featuring local poets and musicians. She is currently a member of the GrowHouse Tampa Poetry Collective and the host of WynWord Wednesdays at RoseBar Tampa. She is creative at heart and believes her purpose lies in helping, uplifting, and inspiring others to heal and find their own passion and purpose.
Episode 16
Georgie Moreno
Slam Poet. Playwright. Mentor.
Georgie Moreno (he/they) is an award winning and internationally published writer originally from Houston, TX. Georgie is heavily involved with the local arts scene in San Antonio and as a tenor in Live Oak Singers, a clarinetist in the SA Community Wind Ensemble, a *new* playwright and an actor, they are constantly exploring different approaches to storytelling. Georgie has represented South Texas on slam competition stages across the United States and looks forward to continuing this tradition as a performance artist and writer. Their work is centered around self-love, acceptance, overcoming addiction, and the stigma of queerness.
Episode 15
Richard J. Girard
Storyteller. Slam Master. Radio Host.
Richard J. is a 15 year veteran of the Florida poetry scene. He began his career in Tucson, Arizona while in the United States Air Force. Richard is an interdisciplinary performer with experience in stage and film acting, stand up comedy and storytelling. He has competed in the State, Regional and National levels of Poetry Slam representing the city of Orlando with Team Olympus in 2015. Richard is a member of GrowHouse and a Cohost of WMNF 88.5fm Poetry Is.
Episode 14
Gemini Fox
Art Entrepreneur. Community Builder. Slam Poet.
Born Stephanie Jackson, Gemini Fox is the lovechild of Dr. Seuss and Maya Angelou. She speaks in parables and salt water runs through her veins. Using her work as a tool to unite others through common experiences, Gemini is a keen wielder of raw emotion.
Her goal as an artist is to be a voice for the voiceless, believing poetry can be found in everything. She uses her poems to foster healing, understanding, and to create connection. She is an active member of the Growhouse Tampa Artist Collective.
Episode 13
Yesika Salgado
Poet. Trailblazer. Activist.
Yesika Salgado is a Los Angeles-based Salvadoran poet who writes about her family, culture, city, and fat body.
Salgado is a leading voice in poetry, both in performance and social media. She has garnered a large online following across multiple social media platforms through her poetry and her determination to make poetry accessible to everyone in everyday scenarios. Her combined following stretches out to over 176,000 readers. She is the co-founder of Chingona Fire, a poetry collective that curates and hosts poetry-based events in Los Angeles serving Women and Nonbinary folks of color. She is also a long-time production staff member of Da Poetry Lounge, the country's largest running weekly poetry venue.
She is a two-time National Poetry Slam finalist, Long Beach Slam Champion, and recipient of the 2020 International Latino Book Award in Poetry. Her work has been taught in the curricula of the most prestigious universities in the nation and continues to gain traction as a staple of modern poetry taught in schools.
Yesika’s work has been celebrated and featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Univision, CNN, NPR, TEDx, Spotify, Sundance Film Festival, and many more. She has successfully partnered and created with Planned Parenthood, Voto Latino, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, CARECEN, LA County Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, and countless community centers and organizations in California.
She is an internationally recognized body-positive activist and the writer of the columns Suelta for Remezcla and Relaciones for R29 Somos. Yesika is the author of the best-sellers Corazón, Tesoro, and Hermosa, published with Not a Cult Media, and is represented by Folio Literary Management.
Episode 12
Gianna Russo
Poet. Author. Professor.
Gianna Russo is the inaugural Wordsmith of The City of Tampa. She is the author of the poetry collections, All I See is Your Glinting: 90 Days in the Pandemic, with photographer Jenny Carey (Madville Publishing 2022); One House Down (Madville Publishing, 2019); and Moonflower, winner of a Florida Book Award. She has published poems in Green Mountains Review, Gulf Stream, Negative Capability, Crab Orchard Review, Apalachee Review, The Sun, Poet Lore, saw palm, The MacGuffin, Florida Review, Tampa Review, Ekphrasis, Florida Humanities Council Forum, Karamu, The Bloomsbury Review, and Calyx, among others.
She is Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Saint Leo University and serving as Saint Leo’s inaugural Poet-in-Residence for the College of Arts and Sciences and scholarly journal Rebus. A third-generation Tampa native, a mother and grandmother, Gianna lives in an almost 100-year old bungalow with her husband Jeff Karon and their cat Gingko.