Episodes

  • Parallax Poetry Salon #17 - Ryan O'Connell and Suchismita Ghoshal
    Jun 25 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manualRyan O'Connell Ryan is a composer, harmonium player, and trumpet player from the United States. Music has been apart of his life since the age of four, although his formal training on the trumpet began nearly 15 years ago. His current work explores the intersection of improvisation, meditation, spoken word poetry, and electronics. His work also seeks to challenge how others interact with art and the role sound plays in one’s spiritual journey.As a freelance trumpet player, Ryan’s playing spans various styles. In 2025, he played at the International Yoga Festival with such artists as MC Yogi, Sivamani, and Runa Rizvi. In 2022, he performed the world premiere of Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter’s opera Iphigenia at the Majestic Theater in Boston, MA that was in the ‘third stream’ style; he performed alongside Esperanza Spalding, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, and Jeff “Tain” Watts. During that same time, he also completed the world-premiere performance of Linda Chase’s oratorio, ‘For Our Common Home’, which received praise from the Vatican. Aside from these performances, Ryan has played with numerous orchestras, big bands and pit orchestras at the Palace Theater, the Grand Ole Opry, Jordan Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and others.In the United States, Ryan was also an active educator: he served on faculty at the New England Conservatory Prep School and taught private trumpet for ten years. Utilizing a strong sense of creativity and mindfulness are significant parts of his teaching philosophy; he believes that to fully engage learners, especially young learners, one must be present enough to fully understand their needs, and curious enough to develop creative solutions to make learning fun. Ryan’s spiritual quest for a deeper truth led him to India, where he has lived since September 2024. While here, Ryan has played Kirtan in Rishikesh, Ganga Aartis at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, and recently, improvised sound meditations at Sri AurobindoAshram, Delhi. He holds a MM from the New England Conservatory and a BM from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.Suchismita Ghoshal Suchismita Ghoshal is a devoted poetess, philosophy aspirant and literary artist, nurtured in the rich soil of Bengal’s literature, art, and music. Currently, she is deeply immersed in the intricate study of folklore heritage and cultural traditions. Her journey into creativity began with a profound reverence and love for the Bengali language and culture.At 27, Suchismita expresses herself through poetry and creative writing with the heartfelt intention of touching the realms of sincerity, connection, and human experience. She has been featured as a co-author in over a thousand national and international anthologies and has been published in numerous renowned journals and web magazines.Her solo books—Fields of Sonnet, Emotions & Tantrums, Poetries in Quarantine, Ombrophilous Feelings, and Semicolon, Sentiment & Saffron—have been well-received by readers. Internationally, she has performed spoken word poetry on various stages across the USA, UK, Canada, and different South American countries.She co-authored An Ecstatic Renaissance Between Greece and India Through Poetry with Greek children’s author Eva Petropoulou Lianos, which received recognition at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Her recent collaborative projects include Ageless Rainbow (Nigeria), Love for Humanity Penetrates Differences (Papua New Guinea), and Euphonious Echoes (India & Bangladesh), among others.Beyond literature, Suchismita is a humanist, spiritual seeker, and change-loving thinker. Guided by the light and shadows of contemplation and faith, she continues her journey with hope and anticipation toward the miraculous dimensions of life.

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    57 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #16 - David Leo Sirois
    May 26 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manualDavid Leo Sirois is a Canadian-American poet published 161 times, in 27 countries. His work has been translated into 13 languages (such as Hindi, Bengali, French, Spanish, Greek, & Romanian). He hosts Spoken World Online, the Zoom arm of SpokenWord Paris. His first collection is called Humbledoves (Poems to Pigeons & Plants). He won Third Prize in Winning Writers' Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest. Sirois has been honored for his “admirable contribution to world literature” by The Fertile Brains, a renowned literary group in India. He teaches workshops online for The Bombay Review, as well as The Poetry Academy of Poetry Global Network. His poetry has appeared in journals such as The Bombay Review, Artemis Journal, Angles: New Perspectives on the Anglophone World, The Poetry Village, One Hand Clapping, Poetry Super Highway, & Terre à Cièl (which also publishes his translations of French poetry, & his poems in French). Sirois has been featured on countless international programs, podcasts & interviews. His poetry has been featured in films & music. He is also a singer/songwriter, radio DJ (Channel X Radio, Maine/New Brunswick/Quebec) as well as a film/TV/theater actor. He is currently submitting 5 finished manuscripts for publication, & writing several more.

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #15 - Red Hawk
    Apr 30 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:
    https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manual
    Red Hawk
    (aka Robert Moore) is not an Indian name, nor was it ever intended to be one or pretend to be one; it is an Earth name, given by Mother Earth many years ago after a 4-day water fast at the Buffalo River in an effort to save my life in one of the darkest periods of my life. Given to me during one of the worst ice storms in recent Arkansas history, it was given as an answer to prayer. It came about through conscious labor, prayer and wish, and was paid for by intentional suffering and remorse. It indicates a deep love & reverence for the Earth and how it has shaped my life. It is an honouring of Conscience and of the source which named me: our Mother Earth. To not acknowledge Her gift would be to disrespect Her and Her power to name and direct the course of my life; I am Her legitimate son. As the illegitimate son of unknown parents, Robert Moore is my adopted name given to me by 2 people who died of alcoholism; I honor it and them by the way I live my life.
    Bibliography
    Recent Books by Red Hawk (Robert Moore):
    Red Hawk. (1996). Ways of Power. Hohm Press.3
    Red Hawk. (1999). The Art of Dying: Poems. Hohm Press.1
    Red Hawk. (2005). Wreckage with a Beating Heart. Hohm Press.1
    Red Hawk. (2009/2013). Self Observation: The Awakening of Conscience: An Owner's Manual. Hohm Press.15
    Red Hawk. (2015). Self Remembering: The Path to Non-Judgmental Love. Hohm Press.1
    Red Hawk. (2020). The Law of the Land. Hohm Press.1
    Red Hawk. (2024). Book of Lamentations. Bitter Oleander Press.4

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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #14 - Scout Rainer Wiley
    Apr 14 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manualScout Rainer Wiley is a ritual artist living on lands traditionally stewarded by the Cherokee. Weaving in threads of animist practice, systems theory, and religious studies, they offer poetic prose to water the roots of an emerging regenerative culture.

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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #13 - JJ Akinlade
    Mar 22 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manualJJ AkinladeI'm a creator with many forms. Through poems, paintings or places for people to play, I nurture novel knowings, to Weave a world of wilder ways.

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    56 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #12 - Fiver
    Mar 7 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manualFiver LewisFiver is an artist based in Incline Village, NV. Her writing—her art as a whole—is a fractured reflection. It’s the expression of a search...a reaching out for Life. She draws on an internal landscape coloured by stretches of time living in different countries. Andalucía, flamenco, the work of Machado, Lorca, Rilke, theSufi poets influence her art. Over the years the medium has changed—fromtraining horses and high-level competition to journalism to dance to working withpeople as a somatic coach. Having published a handful of poems and short stories, she is currently working on a children’s novel.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #11 - Sven Ra (also known as Joel Dietz)
    Feb 13 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic:https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manualSven Ra (also known as Joel Dietz) began writing poetry at a young age with his first complete work "Road to Jerusalem" taking Eliot's Wasteland into the 21st cnetury. He later took up the theme of the Return of Eros with a series of "Erotic Incantations," including several fine art shows for his photography and a full length tarot deck. In a separate and subsequent collection he approached the theme of "Stone Codes," or the wisdom of stone gained from global pilgrimages to Avebury to Machu Picchu. More recently he has returned to the sonnet in his forthcoming collection "Broken Sonnets." He is also a musician, novelist, and academic researcher.

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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Parallax Poetry Salon #10 - Alex Ebert
    Feb 7 2025

    Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic: https://parallax-media-network.mn.co/share/5hSLvQW7bNszFGEo?utm_source=manual Alex Ebert is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician, best known as the charismatic frontman of the indie-folk band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Born on May 12, 1978, in Los Angeles, California, Ebert grew up immersed in music and creativity, with a particular fascination for storytelling and human connection. Early in his career, he gained recognition as the lead singer of the dance-punk band Ima Robot, whose energetic sound contrasted with the soulful, communal vibe he later cultivated with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Ebert’s work with Edward Sharpe brought him international acclaim, particularly for the hit song Home, a jubilant anthem of love and togetherness. The band’s music is characterized by lush instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics that evoke a sense of spiritual exploration. Beyond his work as a bandleader, Ebert has also made his mark in film, winning a Golden Globe for his original score for the 2013 film All Is Lost starring Robert Redford. Ebert’s artistic ethos revolves around fostering collective joy and introspection, often blending personal vulnerability with universal themes. A multi-faceted creative, he continues to explore new avenues in music, film, and philosophy, inspiring audiences worldwide.

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    1 hr and 36 mins