New Classic Poems – Contemporary Verse That Rhymes

New Classic Poems
Poets’ Biographies
seem worthwhile as those memories blend into
her dwelling and she reads her writing to those
whom she loves.”
Sam Samson is a 17 year old student born and
living in Tampa, Florida, USA. She has already
been writing poetry for at least seven years. Ms.
Samson is the managing Editor of Synapse, the
literary magazine at Blake High School of the
Fine Arts, where she is a senior majoring in
Creative Writing. A chap book of her poetry,
Exit 44, will be published shortly by Yellow
Jacket Press. Her other interests include painting,
costume design and photography.
Richard Scarsbrook, of Toronto, Canada,
teaches, plays music and writes both fiction and
poetry. His novel, Cheeseburger Subversive, (where
Great Unanswered Questions of History first appeared)
was published by Thistledown Press in 2003,
and was short listed for the 2004 Canadian
Library Association Book of the Year Award,
and the Ontario Library Association White Pine
Award. Scarsbrook’s poems and stories have
been published widely in literary journals,
magazines and anthologies, and they have won
several awards including the Hinterland Award
for Prose, two New Century Writer Awards, the
Cranberry Tree Press Poetry Chapbook
Competition, and many others. More about his
writing can be seen at
www.richardscarsbrook.com.
smzang (pen name of poet Sarah M. Zang)
lives in the State of West Virginia, USA. She
began writing poetry early in childhood. She has
been published in an anthology, Poet’s Ink, and in
local journals. She won an award from W.V.
Writers for her collection Roots and Wings.
Robert Stampe is a 61 year old, born and bred
Canadian. He has been writing poetry, short
stories and magazine articles for several years.
Over a 35 year career in the world of aviation
electronics, he has lived in every geographical
area of Canada. A private pilot, avid golfer, poet,
and observer of human nature, Bob has a wealth
of experience, and a myriad of personalities to
draw upon for his writing. He is now semiretired,
living in the Okanogan Valley of British
Columbia, Canada. In recent years his work has
been published in literary journals, in magazines,
and on the Internet. In 2003, one of his short
stories The Chicken Express won the Larry Turner
Award, and was published in the literary journal
The Grist Mill. Notwithstanding his other writing
endeavors, he most enjoys writing rhyme and
meter (R&M) poetry. To say that his poem, The
Birthday Surprise, stinks is no insult! It was the
hands-down favorite of the Editor’s children.
Brenda Tate says: “I am a recently retired
English/Drama teacher living in Nova Scotia,
Canada, with a love of literature, music and good
jokes. I also enjoy writing and directing plays
for young actors. My artistic side is balanced by
an interest in fossil collecting, working with
horses and exploring the natural curiosities of
my home province. I’ve written poetry off and
on since my teenage years, especially formalist
work and narrative pieces. I was a finalist in the
Winnipeg Writers War Poetry Contest in 2003,
and Glimmer Train Poetry Open, Spring 2002;
earned honorable mention in the UAS
Explorations Contest 2002; and won the
Interboard Poetry Competition in May 2004.”
Zachariah Wells is a prolific reviewer and
essayist. His fortnightly literary column, The
Zed Factor, appears at www.maisonneuve.org. He
was born and raised in the Province of Prince
Edward Island, Canada. He has lived in Ottawa,
Montreal and Nunavut, where he worked for
seven years as an airline freight handler and
agent. He now resides in Halifax, for the second
time in his life, where he works for VIA rail as
an onboard service attendant. Wells is the
author of Fool’s Errand (Saturday Morning
Chapbooks, out of print) and Unsettled (Toronto:
Insomniac Press, 2004), a book of Arctic poems.
Aaron Wilkinson is the author of another of
our on-line contest co-winners, Prophet of Sod.
Wilkinson, who lives in North Bay, Ontario,
Canada, states, “I believe that the reign of free
verse should be overthrown. It's heartening to
see there are like-minded individuals who can
appreciate the value of ‘real’ poetry – and I'm in
the mood for a revolution! I remember the day,
in seventh grade, when understanding how to
measure feet in poetry kicked me in the head.
Ever since, poetry has been stumbling peglegged
through my head, and usually in formal
attire. I wrote Prophet of Sod after listening to a
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