The Hoot with Dennis Camire & Johnathan Riley

Dennis Camire is the author of the poetry collections, Anthology of Awe and Wonder (Deerbrook Editions, April 2024), Combed by Crows (Deerbrook Editions), and Stone by Stone (Finishing Line Press). An Intro Journal Award Winner and Pushcart Prize nominee, he teaches and tutors writing at Central Maine Community. The former director of Maine Poetry Central and the founder of The Portland Poet Laureate Program, his work has appeared in The Mid-American Review, Poetry East, Spoon River Review, Lothlorien Review, Alluvium, Amethyst, Café Review, Canary, Hamilton Stone Review, Speckled Trout Review and on Maine Public Radio. Of Franco-American origin, he lives in an A-frame in West Paris, Maine. He is also the “spokes-poet” for the mom-and-pop owned company, “Soil Foods,” which farms worms for worm castings.

Johnathan Riley is an award-winning poet, journalist, photographer, and educator from Damariscotta, Maine. A graduate of Florida State University with degrees in English and Political Science and an MFA in Writing from the University of New Hampshire, he has taught poetry and writing in North America and Asia. Currently a reporter for The Lincoln County News, Riley’s journalism has earned multiple Maine Press Association accolades, including Community Columnist of the Year, and Best News Photo. His poetry has received the Granite State Poetry Prize Finalist honor, the Dick Shea Memorial Award, and in 2018 he was Florida State University’s Poetry Literati. His journalism appears weekly in The Lincoln County News. At the same time, his poetry can be found in publications like Passengers Journal, The Kudzu Review, The William and Mary Review, and Vellichor Magazine.