Biographies of Poets
Written by Kerry Zagarella

Gerrit Lansing was born in Albany, New York, in 1928, and grew up in Northern Ohio. Educated at Harvard and Columbia Universities, he has taught at Bard College. For many years Lansing has lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In the early 60's, Lansing edited and published two issues of SET, a literary journal that fused Modernist poetic experiment with occult and spiritual themes and served as a precursor of and influence upon the subsequent counterculture.  In 2003, Pressed Wafer published A February Sheaf, collecting his essays and criticism. Lansing's recent publication is entitled, Heavenly Tree, Northern Earth the first in a series published by North Atlantic Books.
 
After failing miserably as a rock star, Derek Richards began submitting his poetry.  Over 130 of his poems have appeared in over seventy publications, including Lung, Breadcrumb Scabs, MediaVirus, Calliope Nerve, tinfoildresses, Opium 2.0, Dew on the Kudzu, Sex and Murder, Splash of Red and fourpaperletters. He has also been told to keep his day job by Quills and Parchment. Happily engaged, he resides in Gloucester, Massachusetts, teaching his puppy, cat and two ferrets the importance of writing direct, honest and one day, lucrative.
 
Kerry Zagarella has been involved in the greater Boston poetry scene for 15 years, and has most recently turned her attention to playwriting and acting.  In addition to her poetry performances across New England, Kerry was a featured performer at  Boston’s First Night celebration and toured as  a member of Boston’s first Poetry Slam Performance team.  Kerry has organized many poetry events for the community and was the founder of the annual multi-media arts celebration, “Arts in the Park” held annually in Beverly, Massachusetts.  Her work has been published in The Stone Soup Quarterly,  Borderline Magazine, Wail Magazine, This Magazine, a chap book entitled, ”Cardboard Soul“, published by This Poets Press, “A tribute to Brother Blue” published by Yellow Moon Press and on a CD entitled, Beat Night at the Electric Café’.  In the fall of 2004, Kerry won the New Hampshire Writer’s Project poetry Slam Master award, and remains reigning champ.  Kerry Zagarella’s “The Odor of Existench” won a place in the 2004 New Works Festival at the Firehouse in Newburyport.  Her recent play, The Last Dance, will be part of the 2010 New Works Festival at the Firehouse in Newburyport. 

Neal Zagarella has been reading, writing and publishing poetry since his days at North Shore Community College as  editor of the Pennon.  Neal was  cofounder of WAIL! Magazine, which was published as a labor of love for over ten years, promoting the work of local poets and is currently archived at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem as an example of the North Shore Literary scene. Neal  work can be found in The Stone Soup Quarterly, The Naked City News, WAIL! Magazine, This Magazine, a chapbook entitled, "Big Rats Little Babies", and "A Tribute to Brother Blue" published by Yellow Moon press.