Kristin Kowalski Ferragut
Event Host
Kristin Kowalski Ferragut writes poetry, songs, short stories and essays. She lives in Maryland where she teaches, plays guitar, sings, rides her bike, and hosts the DiVerse Gaithersburg Poetry Reading and Open Mic. She is author of the full-length poetry collection Escape Velocity (Kelsay Books, 2021) and the children's book Becoming the Enchantress: A Magical Transgender Tale (Loving Healing Press, 2021). Her poetry has appeared in Beltway Quarterly, Bourgeon, Anti-Heroin Chic, Fledgling Rag, Little Patuxent Review, and Gargoyle Magazine among others. More, including her blog, Poetry & Other Mystical Space.

Kelly C. Bradley
Kelly C. Bradley is a mother, poet, grave tender, and griever. Her first book of poetry, love, loss and the enormity of it all (FootHills Publishing), was followed by a gift (Baeley Atlas Co imprint) and will be followed by and then in 2026.

Kristin Kowalski Ferragut
Kristin Kowalski Ferragut is a poet-mom who teaches, writes songs and stories, rides her bike, and hosts readings and open mics. She is the author of the poetry collections Escape Velocity (Kelsay Books, 2021) and Love Letters from Cuckold Creek (Cyberwit.net, 2025), as well as the children’s book Becoming the Enchantress (Loving Healing Press, 2021).

Bonnie Naradzay
Bonnie Naradzay leads weekly poetry sessions for homeless individuals at Street Sense and Miriam’s Kitchen, as well as at a retirement community—all in Washington, D.C. While attending Harvard University’s Graduate School in the late 1960s, she studied in Robert Lowell’s class on “The King James Bible as English Literature.” In 2010, she was awarded the University of New Orleans Poetry Prize, which included a month’s stay in Northern Italy at the South Tyrol castle of Ezra Pound’s daughter, Mary. Bonnie is a 2017 graduate of the Graduate Institute at St. John’s College in Annapolis. Her book of poems, Invited to the Feast, was published by Slant Books in October 2025; three of its poems were nominated for Pushcart Prizes.

David Alberto Fernández
David Alberto Fernández was born in Miami, Florida, in 1972. He is the author of the poetry collections Flowers Beyond Here (2020) and Mundo se consume / World Consumes Itself (2025). For the past two decades, he has also worked as a librarian at the Library of Congress and currently serves as the poet laureate of Takoma Park, Maryland.