Benny Hunt

Benny Hunt is a 43-year-old native of Chicago who relocated to Akron in 2014 after meeting the woman who would become his second wife. He's always been comfortable expressing himself with words--written or spoken. The comfort has been beneficial throughout his life. But it wasn't until his late 30s when he met his second wife that he realized how beautiful language could be, She was, then, a PhD candidate in poetry. When incarceration abruptly ended his marriage, he clung to the pursuit of beautiful language as a way to grieve. Poetry challenges him to distill his language down to its thick, sticky, concentrated essence. Though his work has a long way to go, he's committed to see it through.
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Carstie Clausen

First poetry published ca. 1967 in U.of Mn. student literary mag Ivory Tower under editorship of Garrison Keillor.  Occasional writings in succeeding years but next poems not published until I was E & P of Common Sense: A Northwoods Journal, then the most broadly circulated alternative monthly in Mn.  Other writings as investigative, feature, general assignment reporter/editor for South St. Paul Sun, San Francisco Free Press, Grand Rapids (Mn.) Herald-Review, the Northern Collector antiques & collectibles mag and Plain Talk, my last publishing venture (1998-9).  From 1964-2019, my poetry output, per se, would total perhaps 200 versifications, most of which have not been submitted for publication.  Though my writing began with poetic expressions, indulgence in that medium has been rather sporadic, being situational and mood induced. Alliteration and wordplay are my most frequent devices.

Chris Cull

Hi. I'm a 37 year old white guy from Michigan. I've been at Elkton FCI for about a year and a half. I will be stuck here for at least the next 5 years. I'm a musician and have always thought that good song lyrics are just about the same thing as good poetry. I've always gravitated to the dark, heavy music and poetry but have never really written anything of my own until I took a poetry class here to try to speed time up. I have a son that will be 13 in a week and I miss him terribly. I'm hoping that I can shorten my sentence enough and be out in time to see him graduate high school. That keeps me motivated to stay out of trouble. Thank you for the opportunity to share my work.
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Anthony Kikta

Anthony J. Kikta II has done mostly Christian ministry work in Washington State and is a landscaper by trade. He has always had a passion for creative writing with an emphasis in poetry. He refers to words as "his toys". He enjoys discovering the meanings and origins of words in general. He currently resides in Lisbon Ohio and this is his first time being published.

Danny Evans Jr.

Though his name is Danny Ray Evans, Jr., most people these days call him Tippy. Tippy has been writing poems since he was 16, inspired by the poets on HBO's Def Poetry Jam. He writes to get things off his mind, and it's always been Tippy's dream to be published. He hopes readers enjoy what they find and he thanks them for their time.
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David Richards

David Richards was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He has two daughters and two grandchildren. He's a U.S. Navy veteran, retired with a disability, with an additional ten years of Federal Civilian service. His degree is in Human Resources Development from Notre Dame College of Ohio. He enjoys classic rock (from the 60's and 70's), reading mysteries and thrillers, and writing poetry and short fiction.
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Demitrich Jones

Hi. My name is Demitrich Jones. I’m 21 years old. I've been incarcerated since I was 16. I get out in 11 & a half more years.
I really love to write. Music, poetry. I'm currently writing two books. Writing has been a passion of mine for a very long time, since I can remember. I knew I wanted to be a writer by 3rd grade when my teacher gave us our very first writing assignment. I was in love and I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. #WritingIsLife

Lee Refusal

Lee Refusal is a 47 year old native of southwest Michigan.  He likes to tell people that he was a submarine captain during Operation Desert Storm.  He has spent the last five years exploring caves in Michigan, Kentucky, and Ohio for the Department of Justice.  When not spelunking for the government, Mr. Refusal enjoys calling bingo numbers for charity and delivering Meals on Wheels to the home bound.

Eric Duprey

Eric Duprey is originally from Rhode Island, but has lived in San Francisco, Brooklyn, and New Jersey, and now resides at FCI-Elkton in Lisbon, Ohio. He has degrees in fine arts and a background in communications. He currently teaches Creative Non-Fiction and Memoir and Autobiography Writing to other inmates as part of Elkton's Adult Continuing Education program.
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Gary Fisk

Gary Fisk is from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Like most, he says, he's had his fair share of pain, so he writes. He writes to deal with the pain. He writes because others have pain. He hopes having his work published will help the world with his words.
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James Northrop

James Northrop is 53 years young and is from Zanesville, Ohio. (Go, Bucks!) He has been dabbling in poetry for a little over a year and hopes that his readers enjoy his poems--and that they aren't overly critical! He thanks the readers for "listening."
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Jason Kahler

Jason Kahler has taught writing at various levels for over twenty years. He learned to teach and write at Western Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, and Wayne State University. His work has appeared in Seneca Review, Talking Comics, Bad Subjects, 14 Hills, and other places.
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Jason Lemmon

Jason Lemmon is 33 years old. He graduated from Kent State University in 2017 with a BS in Educational Studies, four months before his arraignment. While attending KSU, he participated in four Alternative Spring Break volunteer trips in Columbiana County and two Cleveland Immersion trips. He was also given the "Most Highly Motivated" certificate at a Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event. He spent a year as a Residence Assistant at Verder Hall, under the wonderful Leah Carothers, the year their team was awarded "Staff of the Year." He would like to give special thanks to Dr. Gruehler in White Hall for supporting him before and during the most difficult semester of his life.
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Jason Rager

Jason Rager was born and raised in rural southwestern Ohio until attending high school and college in northern California. He is a cook, musician and unconventional thinker who's creations and style has been described as plain and disobedient, much like himself. When he is not working on his art he enjoys gardening or spending time with his three amazing children, family and many furry friends.
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Kyle Marrufo

Kyle Marrufo is from St. Louis, Missouri. He enjoys cooking, movies (as long as they're good!), and cats. At FCI-Elkton he works as a librarian. Kyle writes poetry mostly in cards he sends home. This is his first publication.
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Lee Corkins

Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Lee Corkins is a renaissance man who explores many different art form such as sculpture, painting, photography, and poetry. He considers poetry to be the means to express himself. He considers his work to be controversial, pagan art that expresses his political and philosophical viewpoints.
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Michael Killala

Michael Killala is originally from California but mostly from Arizona. He studied Computer Science and graduated from Illinois State University. He writes for the fun of it, sometimes to speak his mind, and he hopes readers can see a piece of themselves in his work.
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Robert Porter

Robert Porter is from Chicago, currently serving an 8 1/2-year federal sentence on drug charges. Forty-years-old, he admits he's made some mistakes in his life, though he's trying to learn from them. After spending some time in state prison in his 20s, finding employment was a challenge, and he always found his way back to the streets. Now he uses writing--poems, short stories, and urban novels--to help him relax and pass the time. He's happy to see some of his work published and shared with the world, maybe to help him make an honest living someday. He's seen too many people close to him killed before his eyes. He appreciates the time his readers take to understand his story and his attempts to move forward. Robert is the father of four beautiful daughters.
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Sam Ortiz

Sam Ortiz., Jr, known to his friends as "Chewie," is from Southwest Detroit. He's been drawing since 2017 when he created "a really messed-up picture of Jesus." Today, Chewie draws portraits, creates paper floral arrangements, and is learning how to paint.
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Steven Beauchamp

Steven Beauchamp, 45, from Louisville, Kentucky, has been writing poetry since 1992. Some of his poems have been well-received on websites like writing.com. He has a blog entitled BleedingSoulPoetry.blogsopt.com which features nearly 100 of his poems. He has been married to Cathy for four years. They have two children and five grandchildren.