Author of Dear God: A Collection of Poetry from My Thoughts and Heart.

Until life ends you will be thrown into some troublesome situations: grief, depression, loneliness, loss of love and for some of us, incarceration. Adam believes a strong personal connection to God is the key to overcoming these battles. He writes to encourage others in hope and love. He aims to touch souls suffering from grief and hardships. He writes to uplift others in hopes they find something in his words to help arouse their faith and reignite the drive needed to overcome.

He has twice been a Key Note Speaker at John Carroll University. He has been a featured poet for Station Hope at Cleveland Public Theatre, Land Before Rhyme, T.O.P. Collective, Freedom of Speech! Poetry Slam, Half Of Stack Slam Holiday Edition, BiG Money Slam, The Boom Boom Room, Shore Center Culture, Pillar Of Faith Christian Center, and many more.

Author of Sagittariusly Blunt

Danielle initially turned to writing as therapy, but realized some of what was coming out was poetry. Now she uses her poetry to document culture and, as the last of her family branch, to pay homage to her family.

She has won the Music 2 Poetry Slam and The Activist Vince Robinson’s Slam. She took third place at the Cincinnati Poetry Slam in 2019. She was a 2020 Baldwin House resident with Twelve Literary Arts. She recently won the Akron Soul Train artist residency.

Author of I Am a Dahomey Warrior!

After the sudden death of her mother, Ms. Hunter was raised by her widowed father, who strove to raise her to be self-reliant and proud of her African American heritage. He also encouraged her to read; and read she did, everything including poetry, sci fi, horror and romance. She fell in love with the art of storytelling and would spend hours weaving adventurous tales to entertain her siblings.

As a United States Navy Veteran, mother of 2 and grandmother of 4, Ms. Hunter has gravitated to Spoken Word as an expression of her emotions and ideals.

Ms. Hunter has had her spoken word videos selected for screening at the 9th International Video Poetry Festival in Athens, Greece, and the 2021 Raleigh Films and Art Festival in North Carolina. She was awarded 3rd place for Best Spoken Word Performance at the Monologues & Poetry International Film Festival 2021 for “I Can’t Breathe.”

Gretchen Pleuss is a midwestern songwriter whose "vocal delivery and skillful finger picking call to mind the folk singers who graced the stage of the Gaslight Café during the 60's Greenwich Village folk renaissance. Fans of Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, and other folk luminaries will appreciate Gretchen's gorgeous arrangements and thought-provoking songwriting" - Dan Jarvis, Midwest Action.

Hailing from a lower middle-class upbringing along the Ohio River and Rustbelt, Gretchen’s lyrics weave her personal experiences into larger reflections of society and self. Though her messages are equal parts emotional and heady, Gretchen’s soft vocals and infectious melodies allow listeners to resonate even when they may not personally relate.

To date, Gretchen has played at an array of prominent venues throughout the United States, Canada, the UK, and Ireland and opened for acts such as Lisa Loeb, Loudon Wainwright III, Chely Wright, Damien Jurado, Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), and Bill Payne (Little Feat, the Doobie Brothers). Her discography consists of three L.P.'s, including the much anticipated Daughter of the Broader Skies, which was produced by Jim Wirt and released on Sun Pedal Recordings in 2019.

An Akron native, Jim Ballard has long been a part of the Northeast Ohio music scene. He has recorded and released 16 albums and continues to write and record new music.

Having traveled the country playing and singing his songs, Jim has worked with a diverse list of artists from Pete Seeger and Odetta to Gordon Lightfoot and Ten Thousand Maniacs. Joined by his band The Strangs, Jim brings a well honed set and sense to the audience, graced by the playing of the Strangs, all seasoned musicians in their own right.

Be it a club, a concert, opener or a feature, Jim Ballard and The Strangs’ mix of rock, indie, americana, and singer/songwriter will keep the audience there and bring them to their feet. From uptempo rocers to fiery topical songs to ballads where you can hear a pin drop, Jim Ballard and The Strangs should be seen…

And heard.

Kisha Nicole Foster is the recipient of the 2019 Cleveland Arts Prize for Emerging Artist in Literature. She is the author of Poems: 1999-2014 and Bloodwork. Foster has been featured on the Sound of Ideas, and has worked for various literary non-profits in Northeast Ohio. Foster is an alumnus of Cleveland State University-BA English and is in the MFA-Poetry program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Mo is a 30 year old performance poet from East Cleveland, Ohio, currently living in High Point, NC. He began his path to poetry in early 2017 after hosting a series of open mics. He began a transition slowly writing & performing short poems before progressing into slam & feature sets.

Mo is a multi-time slam winner & top 5 finisher: Underground Poetry Slam (Won), Speak Up Poetry Slam (Won), Cruel Summer Poetry Slam (Won), Detroit Poetry Slam (3rd 2x, 5th), Cincinnati Poetry Slam (5th), Music 2 Poetry (Won 1x, 3rd 2x, 2nd 1x), Multi-time Poet of the Year Nominee (Ohio Entertainment Awards 2018 & 2019 Legends Awards 2018 & 2019), Headliner of the 2019 CSU Speak Up Poetry Jam, Larchmere Arts Headliner (2018), 2019 & 2021 Baldwin House Cohort as well as being selected for Bull City grand slam finals in 2022.

His writing incorporates elaborate storytelling with relatable plots & looks to provide the people who feel like the world has forgotten about them as a voice. Mo is a young, budding poet with a bright future.

Lillian "ONI" Toon has a truly GOD given voice. She was born February 25th, 1982 in Smithtown, Long Island, New York. Since the tender age of 4 the Lord has truly nurtured and anointed her voice to sing His praises.

Lillian “ONI” Toon has been delivered through many challenges in her life. She was given a second chance at life after her fall in 2010. During her time of recovery God gave Lillian “ONI” Toon the words to tell her testimony through song and poetry.

Lillian "ONI" Toon is an accomplished singer and poet who has received credits for singing on the Jagged Edge Christmas Cd for their children's foundation (associated with the 581 music group) with her song Only at Christmas Time and she has published a poetry book entitled "Uncrushed Flowers Have No Scent" (available on Amazon). She has also been in many stage productions since the age of 8 performing for the State of New York Cultural Affairs Department in Stonybrook, New York. Lillian "ONI" Toon has performed in various theatrical works within her elementary and middle school years. Lillian "ONI" Toon was part of the cast for 2019's and 2021's production of Black Nativity and is a proud member of South Euclid U.C.C.

Raja Belle Freeman is a teaching artist, performance poet, visual artist, and flautist. She is a teaching artist with Lake Erie Inc., has worked with 12 Literary Arts, and was a member 6 of 12 youth performance poetry ensemble, and one mic open youth poetry slam team.

Temple of Passions is a Cleveland Poetry and Performance Art Platform doing amazing things in the community. All performances and performance sets curated by Kierra McDade.

Nailah Muhammad, aka Vision, is a daughter, mother, sister, and friend. She is also a Spoken word artist, published author, playwright, and blogger. Her love of writing began to take form when she was just 8 years old in the form of short stories that she would write together with her brothers and sister. She began writing poetry over 25 years ago and performing her poetry for over 15 years ago. Eventually, she entered into the realm of competitive slam poetry and she has performed in and won a number of slam competitions across the country.

She is a member of the OAPN (Ohio Arts Professionals Network) recently showcasing at Playhouse Square and her works have been featured in publications such as Neighborhood Voices presented by Literary Cleveland. She has also recently completed her book "With Vision A Collection of Poetry for Women Who Desire to Be Seen".

She believes words can give life, or words can speak death. Vision truly believes that words spoken from the tongue can bring understanding, reflection, and healing to those minds who are open to listen, so she utilizes her poetry to do just that.

The Troubadour of Peace has been writing, recording, and performing for uplift for 25 years, releasing 28 albums. His latest album, Guideline, is a powerful, vulnerable set of music written mostly after the passing of his mother.

He is also a landscape photographer capturing beauty in everyday nature, as well as in the vast and majestic mountains of Wyoming.

Zach was awarded the John T Looney Justice and Peace Award. Akron Life and Leisure has named Zach Humanitarian of the Year, Best Singer/Songwriter, and Local Band of the Year (with his band, The Bright Lights).