162. Aerik Francis (Phaentompoet)

164. Lighthouse Writers Workshop Lit Fest 2026 - The Poets Special Edition

Today is a special edition of The Poets, and comes to you thanks to Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Lit Fest 2026. I was privileged to be invited to set up a table during LitFest on June 18th, 2026, and I brought a microphone with me. This episode features writers I met at Lit Fest who were kind enough to share their work with me, and with all of you, on the show. All of them will also most likely be featured in full episodes some time in the coming months, so stay tuned. Because some, but not all of them, said their name in the recording, I’ll start off by listing them here, and then we’ll get into their work.  Thanks very much to Bridget Gwyn, festival and events manager, and Jasper Burak, Program Coordinator for Lighthouse, for allowing me to be a part of this event. Thanks to those who featured on this episode:  Bridget Gwyn Joe Santini Jean-Marc Saint Laurent Malinda Miller Fin Thomas J. Diego Frey Mary Robinette Kowal Joshua Robinson and Therese Samson And of course, thank you all for listening.

163. Ashlynn Salazar

If you are going to describe Ashlynn in 3 words it would be “five foot menace”. If you want a longer description it would go like this. Ashlynn is a recovering overachiever people pleaser who loves to complain in her poetry. When she’s not battling imposter syndrome, she is your Denver Mercury Grand Slam Champion. Other fun facts include Ashlynn likes talking about slavery, blush blindness, flirting with avoidant people and telling people she’s close to graduating with her history degree . If you find her to be cute and are under 25 or if you are into a poetry vibe similar to Solange coming out the elevator after fighting Jay-Z, you can follow Ashlynn at @yourstrulyashlynn [https://www.instagram.com/yourstrulyashlynn/]

162. Aerik Francis (Phaentompoet)

Aerik Francis, the current Poet Laureate for Adams County, rejoins the show to discuss his recently released collection BODYPOLITIC and a wide range of topics. Aerik Francis is a poet & teaching artist based in Denver, Colorado, USA. Francis is currently serving as poet laureate of Adams County, Colorado (2025-2027). Francis is the author of three poetry chapbooks: BODYPOLITIC (Abode Press, March 2026 ), MISEDUCATION (New Delta Review, May 2023), and BODYELECTRONIC (Trouble Department, April 2022 [out of print]). Francis has received poetry fellowship support from SAFTA, the Chrysalis Institute, CantoMundo, Letras Latinas, and The Watering Hole. They are also a poetry reader for Underblong poetry journal. Francis has poetry published widely, links of which may be found at linktr.ee/aerik [http://linktr.ee/aerik] as well as their website phaentompoet.com [http://phaentompoet.com] . Find Aerik on social media @phaentompoet. Aerik said photo credit is most likely Stone (@persephone_stone [https://www.instagram.com/persephone_stone/]/@thewriterstone [https://www.instagram.com/thewriterstone/])

161. Tomi Wakefield

A divorced rat bastard in my mid thirties. An on and off again poet, healing through poetry. New to Denver. New to being openly queer. New to loving myself in ways I've always needed.

160. Maxwell Gold

Maxwell I. Gold is a Jewish-American author and poet with an extensive body of work comprising over 350 poems and nine poetry collections since 2017. His work has appeared in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies. Maxwell’s work has earned nominations for two Bram Stoker Awards, the Eric Hoffer Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Rhysling Award and others. Find him and his work at www.thewellsoftheweird.com [http://www.thewellsoftheweird.com/]. Maxwell's book Neurotica is available for purchase here. [https://shortwavepublishing.com/catalog/neurotica-a-poetry-collection-by-maxwell-i-gold/] Find Maxwell on Instagram, Bluesky, and Threads @cybergodwrites [https://www.instagram.com/cybergodwrites]