Welcome to the 2020 Mad Poets Festival! We’re taking the show on the virtual road this year because COVID-19 couldn’t keep us from sharing these phenomenal poets and their works with the world. So, sit back, grab a drink, and prepare to be inspired!
View the Group #3 performances here.
Group #3 Bios
Maria Masington is a poet, author, and spoken word artist from Wilmington, Delaware. Her poetry has appeared in over a dozen publications including Adanna, The News Journal, The Broadkill Review, and Earth’s Daughters. She has also had seven short stories published by local and international presses. Maria is a member of The Mad Poets Society and is an emcee and featured poet on the local art scene. She has been a guest on WVUD ArtSounds and a three-time Delaware Division of the Arts fellow for poetry and prose retreats. .
Mike Cohen helps to run the Poetry Aloud and Alive series at the Mt. Airy Nexus and has had his fingers in many poetic ventures over the years. Mike has also appeared as one half of the dueling poets (with Steve Delia) throughout the Philadelphia area.
Missy Grotz graduated with a BA in English Writing from Penn State, then took the gypsy jaunt through careers from fast food to retail therapy to industrial engineering. Her last stop was in civil service, but she baled for health. Now she keeps company with dogs and cats until she she expires or Jim wins the lottery.
Steve Delia has been writing for 43 years and started writing memoirs about 5 years ago. He has recently been exploring essays. He won 1st prize at the PWC in 2015 and has a new book out called Poetry Time. He is one half of the dueling poets with Mike Cohen. The pandemic has halted his interview series that he and Mike Cohen had been conducting, which can be seen on Youtube.
River Adams grew up in the USSR and now lives in Massachusetts. They are a pianist, a religion scholar, a caregiver, and a story-teller. They hold an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College, and their work appears in The Common, The Mad Poets Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, and many other journals.