Dargan Ware
President
Dargan M. Ware is a poet and attorney who was an over-the-road truck driver until he decided to go to law school at 35. A friend once described him as a “high-functioning drifter,” and he has been unable to come up with a better description. He practices consumer protection law, trying to fight the good fight for regular folks against big corporations. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife Kristi and their 17-year-old triplets, where he enjoys trivia, cooking, and attempting to get a turn on the computer. He is the author of two novels, The Legend of Colgan Toomey and Old Soldiers Never Die, and has published poetry in The Wild Word, Cagibi Lit, and Artefact Nouveau.
Dr. Jessica Temple
Jessica Temple earned her PhD in poetry from Georgia State University and currently teaches at Northwest Florida State College. She attended the 2019 Sewanee Writers' Conference as a contributing participant in poetry and was Alabama State Poetry Society's 2019 Poet of the Year. Her work has appeared in Thema; Crab Orchard Review; Canyon Voices; and Stone, River, Sky: An Anthology of Georgia Poems from Negative Capability Press, among others. She is the author of two poetry collections, Seamless and Other Legends (Finishing Line Press, 2013) and Daughters of Bone (Madville Press, 2021). Find out more at jessicatemple.com.
Recording Secretary/Treasurer
Second Vice-President (Contests)
Rita Aiken Moritz
Rita Aiken Moritz is first a Christian, then a writer, poet, blogger, editor, and inspirational speaker. Her life verse is Jeremiah 29:11. She is the founder and president of Writers Anonymous, & started and continues to coordinate the Mid-Winter Writers Conference, both in Pell City. Rita is the author of Precious Poems: A Journey of Hope, which was published in 2013 and So You Love a Prodigal, which was published in 2016. She has won numerous awards for her poetry and was the Alabama State Poetry Society’s “Poet of the Year” for 2017. Rita has lived in Pell City for 13 years with her husband Harry.She i s a member of the Alabama Writers' Cooperative, Alabama Writers Forum, and the Ala. State Poetry Society along with poetry societies in other states.
Second Vice-President (Contests)
Jerri Hardesty
Jerri Hardesty lives in the woods of Alabama with husband, Kirk, also a writer. They run the nonprofit organization, NewDawnUnlimited, Inc., dedicated to poetry publishing, production, performance, promotion, preservation, and education (NewDawnUnlimited.com). She attended the University of Montevallo (BS, MA), where she was also briefly an adjunct professor. Jerri has won more than 2400 awards and titles in both written and spoken word/performance poetry and has had around 700 poems published. She was the 2009 ASPS Poet of the Year.
Jerri Hardesty
Tabitha Bozeman is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College where she is the editor of the Cardinal Arts Journal, an art and literature journal. She has degrees from Jacksonville State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is completing an EdD from Sam Houston State University. She is a poet, writer, and speaker and her poetry has been published in journals such as the Birmingham Arts Journal, Southern Women Writers Review, Mud Season, and Here Poetry. Her work has also been included in The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume X: Alabama from the Texas Review Press. Speaking to students, and local and state groups as a Mental Health advocate is also dear to her heart. She lives in Gadsden, AL, with her husband and 4 children.
Tabitha Bozeman
Corresponding Sec / Newsletter
Tabitha Bozeman is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College where she is the editor of the Cardinal Arts Journal, an art and literature journal. She has degrees from Jacksonville State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is completing an EdD from Sam Houston State University. She is a poet, writer, and speaker and her poetry has been published in journals such as the Birmingham Arts Journal, Southern Women Writers Review, Mud Season, and Here Poetry. Her work has also been included in The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume X: Alabama from the Texas Review Press. Speaking to students, and local and state groups as a Mental Health advocate is also dear to her heart. She lives in Gadsden,
AL, with her husband and 4 children.
Dr. Deidra Dees
Historian/Social Media
“A Poet with Savage Authenticity,” KINSMAN QUARTERLY announced Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees as a winner of the 2023 Native Voices Award. Mvskoke and Scottish descent, she descends from Hotvlkvlke (Wind Clan) following Mvskoke stompdance traditions. She is the author of Vision Lines: Native American Decolonizing Literature. A Cornell and Harvard graduate, she works at the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and teaches Native American Studies at the University of South Alabama. Mvto.
Mike Wahl
Webmaster
Mike Wahl is retired from a 48-year career as an Aerospace Engineer, but continues working at gardening & cattle farming on his organic farm, plus writing poetry, in Limestone County of northern Alabama. As a farmer-poet, Mike writes about the surrounding wonders of nature, but also about interrelationships in families, politics, spiritual concepts, and emotional struggles. He is the author of 3 published poetry works: Living Adverbially, released March 2020 by Finishing Line Press, Rooted in Christianity, released October 2021 by Kingdom Winds Press, and In Harmony with Homophones, released December 2021 by Finishing Line Press. He has a fourth manuscript in the publication queue with Seven Points Press, with a release date sometime in 2025.
ASPS, the Alabama State Poetry Society, is always looking for new members, and for members who are willing to serve in leadership roles. New officers are elected periodically, and serve strictly on a volunteer basis. They have lives of their own, and get worn out, just like everyone does. To help spread the load, and keep ASPS as responsive to members as possible, please consider volunteering some of YOUR time and talents, and always invite anyone interested in poetry to join our group.
Interested in learning more about joining our Board?
Contact us at AlabamaPoets@gmail.com
to learn more.