The Poet and the Poem
2026-27 Series
Featured Diane Wilbon Parks and Sistah Joy
Click here for Diane Wilbon Parks and Sistah Joy podcast.mp3
Diane Wilbon Parksis an accomplished poet, literary leader, visual artist, and author of two poetry collections and a children’s book. Diane is one of the co-authors of an award-winning Anthology, 100 Poems and Possibilities published in Jan 2026. She has been recognized and brought in as an Expert Consultant to the National Trust for Historic Preservation through a National Endowment for the Arts Grant. She was a finalist in the Atlanta Review’s international poetry contest, and has celebrated the installation of one of her poems and artwork as a permanent sign at the Patuxent Research Refuge, North Tract. Diane is the founder of The Write Blend, a culturally diverse poetry circle; and a member of the Voices of Woodlawn, a poetry ensemble of 4 poets, and is a member of the Ellicott City Poetry and Prose Poets group. Her literary contributions have been featured nationally and internationally in newsletters, online journals, magazines, blog radio, and anthologies. Her interviews includes Sistah Joy’s, Sojourn with Words, Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram’s Blog Radio, Pat Thorton’s Business Hour Radio Programming, and in the 43rd and 44th Anniversary of the former Maryland State Poet Laureate, Grace Cavalieri’s the Poet and the Poem at the Library of Congress. Diane is recently retired as Contracting Sr. IT Program Manager; she is a USAF Veteran, and resides in Maryland with her family.
Sistah Joy Alford is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and has served as President of the Ebenezer AME Church Poetry Ministry since 2003, and Poet Laureate of that church since 2016. She is the Founder of Collective Voices, an activist poetry ensemble known for its social consciousness, inspiration, and empowerment poetry. has authored 4 collections of poetry, Lord I’m Dancin’ As Fast As I Can; From Pain to Empowerment, The Fabric of My Being; This Garden Called Life; and Ordained Work.Since 2005, she has produced and hosted the award-winning poetry-based cable TV show, “Sojourn with Words,” which airs on CTV in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, and which can be viewed globally online. She is a Board Member of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit, The InkWell; a Founding Charter Board Member of The Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts; and a Lifetime Member of the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center. Sistah Joy’s poetry was included among several poetry podcasts selected by former Maryland State Poet Laureate, Grace Cavalieri, from her Library of Congress-based series, The Poet and The Poem, for NASA to send to the moon.
