The Write Step with R Jeffreys -- Talk Radio -- Live!

The Write Step with R Jeffreys -- Talk Radio -- Live!

Doug Holder 

Co-founder and publisher of Ibbetson Street Press  

Literary columnist for The Somerville News, 

Host of "Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer" 

College writing professor

Listen to the Doug Holder interview archive

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My guest is fellow writer, poet and Bostonian, Doug Holder. Doug writes a literary column for The Somerville News, is the host of his own interview show "Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer" a college writing professor and tireless promoter of fellow poets, writers and the Arts.

His latest book of poetry is "The Man in the Booth in the Midtown Tunnel" (Cervena Barva Press).

Doug Holder co-founded Ibbetson Street Press in 1998 with Richard Wilhelm and Dianne Robitaille. Ibbetson has published over 60 books of poetry and has released 26 issues of its acclaimed literary journal "Ibbetson Street."

Doug conducts a series of interviews with poets and writers on his Somerville, Massachusetts Community Access TV Show "Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer" as well as for his literary column in The Somerville News, and at the Wilderness House Literary Retreat, founded by his friend Steve Glines. Acclaimed poets and writers he has interviewed include Mark Doty, Tom Perrotta, Pagan Kennedy, Claire Messud, Lan Samantha Chang, Afaa Michael Weaver, Lois Ames, Steve Almond, and many more.

He is on the Creative Writing Faculty of Endicott College, and teaches College Writing at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. His work, both poetry and prose have appeared in Rattle, Cafe Review, Boston Globe Magazine, Toronto Quarterly, Endicott Review, Small Press Review and many others. 

The Write Step with R Jeffreys -- Talk Radio -- Live!

The Write Step with R Jeffreys -- Talk Radio -- Live!

Founder and Director, Global Medical Relief Fund for Children

Outstanding Humanitarian and now Author

Elissa Montanti

http://www.elissamontanti.com/

Listen to Elissa Montanti interview

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Our very special guest is Elissa Montanti: Founder and Director, Global Medical Relief Fund for Children and who People Magazine dubbed "the saint of Staten Island"—is changing the world, one child at a time.

I am thrilled to co-host this interview with my dear friend Melissa Studdard, author of the award winning book "Six Weeks to Yehida" and host of the radio show Tifert Talk.

Fourteen years ago, Elissa Montanti was a lab technician in Staten Island. She had, in the span of only a few years, lost her beloved mother, grandmother, and high school sweetheart. Hoping to find a way past her own troubles and the depression and panic attacks that quietly crippled her, she decided to raise money for school supplies for the children of war-torn Bosnia. But at a meeting with the UN ambassador she learned that those children didn’t need pencils. He showed her a photo of a boy who had lost both arms and one leg to a land mine; these children needed a lot more.

She went to Bosnia, brought the boy and his mother back to Staten Island, and arranged for free prosthetic's and medical care. The Global Medical Relief Fund was born.

Elissa Montanti will also be joined by multi-published writer and Psychology Today columnist Jennifer Haupt. Jennifer worked in collaboration with Ms. Montanti in writing “I'll Stand by You” (to be released August 2, 2012) about Elissa’s personal experiences in aiding children who are missing or have lost the use of limbs or eyes, who have been severely burned, or have been injured through war, natural disaster or illness throughout the world.

Elissa founded the non-profit, non-partisan Global Medical Relief Fund. A 501c3 organization, GMRF is supported entirely by private donations and grants. Since 1997, GMRF has brought more than 150 children to the U.S, from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia for treatment, surgery and prosthetic limb and eye fittings. The countries include Bosnia, China, El Salvador, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, the Congo, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Libya .The injured children come from countries or regions that can offer only minimal medical care, poorly fitted prostheses, or none at all.

Elissa Montanti and her story of unconditional love and charity to grievously injured children throughout the world has been widely featured in every media outlet. She has also received numerous awards and honorariums for her outstanding humanitarian work.

Print:

Ms. Montanti has been featured in Parade Magazine, Reader’s Digest, People Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, and numerous other print media’s.

Television:

“60 minutes”, “Life Time Television for Women”, MSNBC, NBC “Today-New York”, CBS “Early Show”, Dr. Phil Show, (presented the first “Heart of a Woman Award “), Hallmark Family Channel, American Morning CNN, Aaron Brown, Anderson Cooper 360 CNN, and all local major news networks.

Radio:

BBC World News, WBAI, “Democracy Now” World Vision Radio, Senator Bill Bradley radio program, “American Voices”, Voice of America, WCBS.

Books:

“I'll Stand by You” “Why good things happen to good people” and “Being the Change”

Newspapers:

The NY Times, Washington Post, N.Y Daily News, New York Post, Newsday, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Kuwait Times, UK Herald, Jesuit Provincial, Catholic New York

Honors/ Notable Mention

People Magazine voted Elissa Story “the Saint of Staten Island” one of the five best stories of the year

Amnesty International “Modern Day Saints”

Dr. Phil and his wife Robin Presented “Heart of a woman” award

HOC (Humanitarian Operating center) in Kuwait, awarded Elissa for her bravery and humanitarian work in Iraq.

Beliefnet.com, Voted one of the 12 most inspirational people of the year.

First woman Grand Marshall in the Staten Island Columbus Day parade, given the honor by Borough President James P. Molinaro.

Athena Award. The Woman’s Coalition Organization in Staten Island.

American Legion

The Circle of Friends Award. The Staten Island children’s Museum

ACIM American Committee on Italian Migration

Circle of Friends, Mount Manresa

“To Walk Without Fear”. Documentary Produced by Miracle Mile Films. Premiered at the United Nations, Nov.16^th 2006. Sponsored by the UN Correspondence Association and the Prince of Jordon

Inducted in her New Dorp High School Hall of Fame

Shriners Humanitarian award

Woman Of University Award

St Johns University presidents Medal

Soon to be honored:

The Salvation Army

The Urban League

Staten Island Woman Of achievement

For further information visit: www.gmrfchildren.org

The Write Step with R Jeffreys -- Talk Radio -- Live!

Mutli-talented, Actress, Voice-Over Artist, Poet,

Translator/Interpreter, Lyricist and Teacher/ Language Coach

Helene Cardona

http://www.helenecardona.com/

http://www.imdb.me/helenecardona

Listen to Helene Cardona interview

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My celebrated and award winning guest this evening is Helene Cardona.

Helene Cardona's glorious poems have appeared in The Los Angeles Review, Mythic Passages, The American Center for Artists, Askew, Barnwood Mag, Spillway, Pirene’s Fountain, Mediterranean Poetry, qarrtsiluni, Maintenant 5: A Dada Poetry Journal, Saint Julian Press, From the Fishouse, THRUSH Poetry Journal, Maintenant 6, Poetry International, Washington Square and the Warwick review.

In the anthology Illuminations: Expressions of the Spiritual Experience (Celestial Arts, 2006), Helene Cardona is in such phenomenal company. This beautiful book gives voice to a worldwide collective of truth seekers, including Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, peace activist Fatima Gailani, and bestselling authors Julia Cameron and Marianne Williamson. Helene's emotionally evocative poetry is also published in the anthologies Dogs Singing: A Tribute Anthology (Salmon Poetry, 2011) and Fermoy International Poetry Festival Anthology (2012).

Ms. Cardona is the author of three books of poems: THE ASTONISHED UNIVERSE (Red Hen Press, 2006); DREAMING MY ANIMAL SELVES (Salmon Poetry, 2013); and LIFE IN SUSPENSION (forthcoming from Tupelo Press.)

She graduated from the Music Conservatory in Geneva with the 2nd prize in piano and from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Helene earned a Master’s degree in American Literature from the Sorbonne. She attended Hamilton College, New York, where she was also assistant professor of French and Spanish. She has taught at the Ecole Bilingue in Paris and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles..

Helene is the author of children stories. With John FitzGerald, she co-wrote the screenplay Primate, based on his novel. She translated the Lawrence Bridges film Muse of Fire for the NEA, What We Carry by Dorianne Laux, and the poetry of her father José Manuel Cardona, Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire, Aloysius Bertrand, Jacques Crickillon and Jean-Claude Renard into English. Her studies have included English Philology in Cambridge, England; Spanish at the International Universities of Santander and Baeza, Spain; and German at the Goethe Institute in Bremen, Germany and received fellowships from the DAAD and the University of Baeza, Andalusia.

Ms Cardona has been a Guest Lecturer at Brown University and U.C. Irvine, featured poetry reader at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, the West Hollywood Book Fair, the Geffen Playhouse, the Orange County Poetry Festival and on national radio and is a Member of the National Foreign Language Honor Society.