New Classic Poems – Contemporary Verse That Rhymes

New Classic Poems
Poets’ Biographies
Adrienne Kurtz is another 22 year old college
student, who lives in the State of Maryland, USA.
She says, “I started writing poetry in the sixth
grade. Nature is my inspiration. My future goals
include working in the U.S. park service, where I
can spend time outdoors and write poetry on the
side. My poem, The Other Side, came from the
realization that people often aren’t satisfied with
what they have achieved, looking towards others
for the perfect, unattainable life.” This poem
first appeared in a self-published collection in
2001.
Albert Lawrance, Ph.D. is a respiratory
therapist who holds a doctorate in Physiology.
He has traveled extensively, practicing his skill in
the far corners of the world. He has been
writing as a hobby for many years. “Poems
about heartache came naturally,” he says, “as I
seemed inclined to meet such a fate on more
than one occasion. However, as with my poetry,
there is hope for discovery and recovery …”
And, we should say, a good chance for laughter,
too. Dr. Lawrance’s wry sense of humor shines
in his deliberately terrible Edinburgh – a clever
parody of a typically wretched work by
Scotland’s infamous 19 th Century “Baird of
Rubbish,” William Topaz McGonagall.
Nancy Lazariuk is a yoga teacher, who says
that she loves rhyme. She has been
concentrating on children’s poems lately, of
which her Halloween poem, A Chance Just to Be
Me, is an excellent example. She writes: “Had a
few months free last autumn, so I sat down in
front of the computer and started typing. A
children’s novel popped out (Amy Sylvester and the
Fairly Wisdom) along with several short stories.
Then came poems and more poems. I try too
write out of joy and fascination rather than from
external influences and pressure.
Wayne Leman says, “I grew up in a commercial
fishing family in Alaska. Both my father and
mother gifted me with a family environment that
focused on words – words in different languages,
attentive word usage, and word play. Since 1975
I have used that verbal heritage working as a
linguist for the Cheyenne Indians of Montana
and Oklahoma. From time to time I write poetry.
I like what poetry does to me, calming me,
helping me see beauty in life that I might
otherwise miss because I work too hard. I prefer
writing poetry in a neoformal style. My wife and
I have four children, who came as two sets of
twins. We have five grandchildren.” His poems
were previously printed in a self-published chap
book, Morning Song.
Jonathan Levitt, who was born and raised in
Montréal, Québec, Canada, usually writes his
poems and short stories under the nom-deplume
“Max Waxman.” However, because he
had become the proud father of newborn son
Lucas by the time this anthology went to press,
Mr. Levitt (Sr.) preferred to use his real name
for his family-oriented poem, The Waiting Game.
His other hobbies include photography and
visual media production.
Eric Linden writes: “The year 2004 will see 58
bones in the bag, still slim and fit. British
Columbia, Canada has been home for most of
my life After high school I roamed and rambled
a few years before getting my trades qualification
in the electrical field. This career has provided a
variety of experiences in diverse regions of
Canada’s Provinces and Territories. Writing
poetry started seriously in 2001, following a
fascinating trip to Hong Kong. Before that, I
had written advertising and travelogues, having
acquired some writing knowledge from seminars
and courses at colleges. My work is featured on
the Internet, in the UK (Poetry Life and Times),
and in several Canadian publications produced
by Richard Vallance of Ottawa. Soon, I hope to
have a book in print, containing sonnets, ballads
and more.”
Irene Livingston is one of the most
“decorated” poets in this collection: in 2001 she
received Canada’s prestigious Leacock Prize for
Poetry; and she has won and placed in many
other poetry contests in Canada. She says that
she was a teacher in her younger years. She is
the mother of three daughters. She began
writing for children in 1996, and in 2003 Tricycle
Press published her picture book, Finklehopper
Frog, which won the Oppenheim Gold Book
Award. In 1998 Ms. Livingston began writing
adult poetry and prose, which has now been
published in Canada, the USA, England,
Australia and New Zealand. She has completed
a novel, Naked in a Glass-Blue Lake, a poetry
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