Stick Figure Poetry Showcase

Join a curated selection of poets from the virtual pages of Stick Figure Poetry Quarterly and beyond.

R.Sen is a New Jersey based spoken word artist,writer, and poet who found love for writing at the age16. She has since used this passion in many readings/performances, both online and in-person, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during this time of uncertainty, that she found the power in her voice to speak her words. Her belief in poetry being therapy and the feedback from peers motivated her to begin composing her first collection, Introspectrum, ( which is available for purchase now) so that she can not only empower her own life, but the lives of others around the world. With love and empowerment as a focus topic, her work is tailored to resonate with those who have struggled in life with heartbreak, loss, self-empowerment and self worth.

R.Sen writes for her readers to find healing, strength, hope,and ultimately, self love by guiding them with poetry through her own personal journey and views. To stay in touch with her and her work, you can follow her on Instagram @R.sen_thepoet

Bryan Franco is a gay, Jewish poet from Brunswick, Maine who competed in the 2014 National Poetry Slam in Oakland, California. He has been published in the US, Australia, England, Germany, Holland, India, Ireland, and Scotland and has featured in the US, Canada, England, Ireland, and Scotland. He performed at the New York City Poetry Festival in 2022 and 2023. He was a finalist in the 2022 and won the 2023 NAMI New Jersey Mental Health Poetry Contest and is a Best Of The Net nominee. He has facilitated poetry workshops for Brunswick High School, Tumblewords Project, and Phynnecabulary. He hosts Café Generalissimo Open Mic, is a member of the Beardo Bards Of The Bardo poetry troupe, painter, sculptor, gardener, and culinary genius. His book “Everything I Think Is All in My Mind” was published in 2021.

Christopher Moore is a rural Pennsylvania poet who began writing poetry in 2013 and had his first poetry book self-published in 2018. Although Christopher had small early successes with publication, it was a post-pandemic 2020 world that helped him get his poetry out there to other poets. Between 2021 and 2023, Christopher was a featured poet in several online poetry open mic Zooms, sometimes as the soul feature, other times as co-feature. He has been published in various literary journals such as Le Spectre Journal and Beyond Words, both in regular issues and collected anthologies. His recent title, August Lent, is available for purchase through Amazon and is currently working on another book of collected poems titled Marionetteville.

Magnus is a poet from the Lehigh Valley area and has been performing live since 2018. The pandemic caused them to take a respite from attending events during 2020-2022, but she has blown back up on the scene upon returning to the mic this year. Magnus has been published in the 2023 Pennsylvania Bards East Anthology and hopes to publish her collection of poetry either as chapbooks or full length publications. They’ve recently joined the list of rotating guest hosts for Noble Quills in Bethlehem, PA and started to explore more of the NJ Renaissance.

Bryan Franco is a gay, Jewish poet from Brunswick, Maine who competed in the 2014 National Poetry Slam in Oakland, California. He has been published in the US, Australia, England, Germany, Holland, India, Ireland, and Scotland and has featured in the US, Canada, England, Ireland, and Scotland. He performed at the New York City Poetry Festival in 2022 and 2023. He was a finalist in the 2022 and won the 2023 NAMI New Jersey Mental Health Poetry Contest and is a Best Of The Net nominee. He has facilitated poetry workshops for Brunswick High School, Tumblewords Project, and Phynnecabulary. He hosts Café Generalissimo Open Mic, is a member of the Beardo Bards Of The Bardo poetry troupe, painter, sculptor, gardener, and culinary genius. His book “Everything I Think Is All in My Mind” was published in 2021.

Nancy Scott’s over 950 essays and poems have appeared in magazines, literary journals, anthologies, newspapers, and as audio commentaries. Her latest chapbook appears on Amazon, The Almost Abecedarian. She won First Prize in the 2009 International Onkyo Braille Essay Contest. Recent work appears in *82 Review, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Braille Forum, Chrysanthemum, Kaleidoscope, One Sentence Poems, Pulse Voices, Shark Reef, Wordgathering, and The Mighty, which regularly publishes to Yahoo News.

Her poetry chapbook Hearing the Sunrise (Anderie Press, 1996) was exhibited in 1997 by The Very Special Arts Gallery in Washington, D.C. Two of the poems from Hearing the Sunrise appear in the disability anthology Staring Back (Plume, 1997). Her second chapbook, Leveling the Spin, was published in 2006, and she has collaborated with artist Maryann Riker to create several chapbooks including The Nature of Beyond (2010) and The Almost Abecedarian (2015).

She recently served as assistant editor for Parisian Phoenix Publishing’s non-fiction anthology, Not an Able-Bodied White Man with Money.