Announcing the Masters of Verse: Winners of the Breathing Poetry Contest

With great honor and excitement, we announce the crowning jewel of our Breathing Poetry contest—the winner, whose words have left an indelible mark on our hearts and minds.

SAMUEL PISCITELLI - DANIEL

Nottingham, England-based writer Terry Miller honed his writing skills as a creative director for several advertising and creative agencies. Lately, a successful game inventor, Terry, has utilized his skills to create evocative, funny, and sometimes disturbing poetry. Written in an accessible form, Terry's poetry is deceptively complex, often tackling topical issues and exploring deep emotional issues. Terry's poems have been featured in several international poetry anthologies. https://www.instagram.com/terrymillerartist/

We are thrilled to announce the remarkable achievement of our First Runner-Up. This talented wordsmith has demonstrated exceptional skill, weaving verses that resonate with emotion, insight, and sheer poetic brilliance.

TERRY MILLER - INTO WINTER

Nottingham, England-based writer Terry Miller honed his writing skills as a creative director for several advertising and creative agencies. Lately, a successful game inventor, Terry, has utilized his skills to create evocative, funny, and sometimes disturbing poetry. Written in an accessible form, Terry's poetry is deceptively complex, often tackling topical issues and exploring deep emotional issues. Terry's poems have been featured in several international poetry anthologies. https://www.instagram.com/terrymillerartist/

With great pleasure, we announce the outstanding achievement of our Second Runner-Up. This talented poet has captivated us with their evocative verses, weaving narratives that stir the soul and ignite the imagination.

CRYSTAL BARKER - SUNRISE SISTERHOOD

Crystal E. Barker grew up on a farm in the hills of Kentucky. She earned a bachelor’s in nursing from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, and went on to earn her master’s in nursing at California State University, Los Angeles. She serves veterans as a registered nurse at the VA Medical Centre. Her poetry is award-winning and has been published in county, state, national, and international works. She wishes to have her poetry inspire others while illustrating our connectedness to human suffering, joys, hopes, and dreams, no matter our culture or geographical location in the world.

To all our finalists, your words have woven a tapestry of beauty and meaning, enriching our souls and inspiring our hearts.

AJ CHILSON - BREATHE

A.J. Chilson is an award-winning author of over 30 books; some of the books are poetry collections, but most of them are children's works. He currently lives and works in Winnsboro, Texas, where he hopes to inspire others.

SOMDEEP DATTA - COMET

Somdeep Datta hails from the city of Kolkata, India. His works are heavily influenced by experience gained from time spent in Shillong. A computer science engineer, Somdeep has a passion for travel, writing, and photography. His poems have been published in anthologies by Wingless Dreamer Publisher and Poets Choice. His photographs have been featured in The Wire, Thomas Cook India, and Times Travel, among others.

BRIAN SAIBORE - TO SEE WHAT EXACTLY

Saibore Bundi was born in 1995 in a small town in Nairobi, Kenya. He realized he could write early on but kept it to himself, assuming that everybody scribbles imaginary musings in secrecy. Ever since he learned it was not so, he sank deeper into the craft and embraced it relentlessly. When not painting the world, Saibore will be found taking scenic walks, watching vintage films, or playing with one of his three bands.

JAMES B. NICOLA - CONFESSION AND OFFERING

James B. Nicola, a frequent contributor, is the author of eight collections of poetry, the latest three being Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense, Turns & Twists, and Natural Tendencies. His nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Actor’s Guide to Live Performance won a Choice magazine award. He has received a Dana Literary Award, two Willow Review awards, Storyteller's People's Choice magazine award, one Best of Net, one Rhysling, and eleven Pushcart nominations—for which he feels stunned and grateful. A graduate of Yale, James hosts the Writers' Roundtable at his library branch in Manhattan; walk-ins are always welcome.

GAVIN BOURKE - JANUARY BLOOMS

Gavin Bourke grew up in the suburb of Tallaght in West Dublin. Married to Annemarie and living in County Meath, he holds a B.A. in Humanities from Dublin City University, an M.A. Degree in Modern Drama Studies, and a Higher Diploma in Information Studies from University College Dublin. His work broadly covers nature, time, memory, addiction, mental health, human relationships, inner and outer life, creating meaning and purpose, politics, contemporary and historical social issues, injustice, the human situation, power and its abuse, absurdism, existentialisms, human psychology, cognition, emotion, and behavior, truth and deception, the sociological imagination, illness, socio-economics, disability, inclusivity, human life, selfishness and its consequences, as well as urban and rural life, personal autonomy, ethics, commerce, science, grand schemes, and the technological life in English and to a lesser extent in the Irish language.

CHIBUIKE UKAH - IF IT WERE NOT FOR DARKNESS

Jonathan Chibuike Ukah lives in the United Kingdom with his family. His poems have been and will soon be featured in The Pierian, The Cortland Review, Space and Time Magazine, Wingless Dreamer, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere. He is a winner of the Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest 2022 and a finalist for the African Diaspora Award in Poetry 2023. He has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2024 Edition