Ray McNiece is the author of eight books of poems and monologues, most recently Love Song For Cleveland (Red Giant). The Orlando Sentinel reporting on Ray’s solo show at the Fringe Festival called him “a modern day descendant of Woody Guthrie. He has a way with words and a wry sense of humor.” He toured Russia with Yevgeny Yevtushenko where he appeared on Good Morning, Russia and performed at the Moscow Polytech, the Russian Poets’ Hall of Fame where he was dubbed the American Mayakovsky. He has toured twice in Italy with Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He has received many awards and honors, including the Creative Workforce Fellowship from CPAC, and Academy of American Poets Fellowship 2022-2023. He is a three time Haiku Slam Champion.