SCHEDULED TO APPEAR
Ron Smith
Ron Smith’s book That Beauty in the Trees was published in 2023 by LSU Press. His The Humility of the Brutes, Its Ghostly Workshop, and Moon Road were also published by LSU. Smith’s poems have appeared in many periodicals, including The Nation, Kenyon Review, Georgia Review, Five Points, and Arts of War & Peace (UniversiteĢ Paris Diderot). He is currently Consultant in Poetry and Prose at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Virginia, and Poetry Editor for Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature. In recent years he has partnered with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to present poems associated with Man Ray’s Paris years and its “The Horse in Ancient Greek Art” exhibit. His poems have been translated into Japanese, Italian, French, and Spanish. Smith’s newest poems can be found in Plume, Blackbird, Cold Mountain Review, and Style. From 2014 to 2016 Smith was the Poet Laureate of Virginia.
Richmond, Virginia native, Douglas Powell/Roscoe Burnems is the city’s
inaugural poet laureate. He is a published author, spoken-word artist,
comedian, educator, and father who has dedicated his craft to entertaining
and educating. Douglas prides himself on using his creativity to inspire,
challenge, and destigmatize. No topic is taboo. From social justice to mental
health, Roscoe Burnems uses every performance to highlight culture and
resiliency in a way that is disarming and engaging. In his time as an artist, he
has been a three-time southern regional finalist, National Poetry Slam
Champion, and two-time Underground Poetry Slam Champion. His work has
spanned across platforms, from TEDx to hosting VPM's Emmy nominated "Art
Scene" and two-time Telly Award winning series "In the Pen with Roscoe
Burnems." For over a decade he has been the Executive Director of The
Writer’s Den RVA Art Collective, a poetry based arts, education, and
entertainment organization that curates events and facilitates writing,
performance, and team building workshops for schools, detention centers,
and other organizations. He is the author of four published works: Fighting
Demons, Chrysalis Under Fire, God, Love, Death and Other Synonyms,
and defyne. Selected poems from Roscoe have also been published in over
a dozen literary magazines and journals, including: Freeze Ray Magazine,
Flypaper Magazine, Scene & Heard Journal, Into Quarterly, Beltway Quarterly,
and Rise Up Review. He has been named Best Poet in Richmond by Style
Weekly. His poetry and stand-up comedy special, Traumedy, can be found
on Amazon Prime
Roscoe Burnems
Dr. Latorial Faison
Latorial Faison is a poet, writer, and Assistant Professor of English and Department Chair of Languages and Literature at Virginia State University. On July 20, 2026, she was named the new Virginia Poet Laureate by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. She has a BA in English from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, an MA in English from VA TECH, and a doctoral degree in Education from Virginia State University.
Rosa Castellano
Rosa Castellano is a dedicated poet and educator currently residing in Richmond, Virginia. Her work is deeply rooted in storytelling, language, and the exploration of identity and place. With a passion for both writing and teaching, she actively contributes to the literary community, fostering creativity and engagement among fellow poets and aspiring writers. She is a finalist for Cave Canem’s Starshine and Clay Fellowship, and a co-founder of the RVA Poetry Fest. She has an MFA from VCU.
Dr. Ravynn K. Stringfield
Dr. Ravynn K. Stringfield is an author, editor and artist based in Virginia. She is the author of the young adult novels Love in 280 Characters or Less (Feiwel & Friends, 2025) and Love Requires Chocolate (Joy Revolution, 2024).Currently, Ravynn serves as a non-fiction editor for midnight & indigo, a magazine and publishing company dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black women.
Ty Phelps
Ty Phelps’ work can be found at Poets.org, Poet Lore, Barstow and Grand, Streetlight, Zizzle, and elsewhere. He won the 2022 Nancy Ludmerer Flash Fiction Fellowship and Virginia Commonwealth University’s 2019 Catherine and Joan Byrne Poetry Prize. He holds an MFA from VCU, and served as the 2021–22 Cabell First Novelist Award Fellow and as the 2023–24 Writer-in-Residence at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. He is a co-founder of the Flying South Reading Series, assists with Richmond Poetry Fest, and is currently finishing a fantasy novel and a short story collection. He is the Program Director for James River Writers, and plays drums for two Richmond bands: Jojo & the Kick Its, and Summer School.
Dr Maurice “Moe Flowz” Brown
Dr Maurice Brown is a fixture in Richmond’s slam poetry and spoken word scenes. His work explores identity, healing, the African-American experience, and the power of language to inspire & empower lives. He is the founder of Ink & Barrel Inc., an organization dedicated to empowerment through poetry, and serves as Associate Director of The Writer’s Den RVA. He also teaches math at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Clarissa Bannor
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Clarissa Bannor is a writer based in Richmond, Virginia. Her work explores identity, family, and place, with nonfiction published in Callaloo, African Voices Magazine, Radiant Health Magazine, and RVA Mag. Clarissa's work has been supported by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), the Kenyon Review Summer Workshop and Bread Loaf. She is working on her debut novel—an intergenerational story about identity, culture, and belonging—while serving as Membership Director for James River Writers and Assistant Editor for Brevity Magazine.