Tag: Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Spotlight: Deep Thought the Lyricist

Today, we are spotlighting the winners of our 2024 poetry contest!

Next is Arsenio Sorrell, better known in these poetic streets as Deep Thought the Lyricist!

I met Deep on Clubhouse back when we were in these COVID trenches, and after hearing him speak, I followed him and some other dope poets on Instagram.

About the Lyricist:

Known on his social media as Deep Thought The Lyricist, Arsenio has a popular following for his work. He is the 2-time Floetry Poetry Sensual Slam Champion, Purple Poetry Slam, Improv Poetry “24 Hour Prompt” Slam Finalist, and now, YAPC Finalist. He has also won The 2024 Golden Poet  Award’ for Poetic Excellence’, the ‘Resilience’ Award, and The 2024 Social Media Breakfast ‘Rising Star Award. 

As you can see, Arsenio is a productive and passionate poet, hosting Sensational Saturday as a member of the Illbejacy Poetry Club.

His winning poem, Hope Moon and Joyful Skies, came in second place for its profound use of poetic technique and imagery. You can watch the replay of our interview right now on Instagram under @yecheilyah where he also recites his poem.

Learn More About Why We Call Him Deep Thought by Diving into his Work at the Links Below:

IG: Deepthought_thelyricist

FB: Deep thought the lyricist 

Threads: Deepthought_thelyricist

Tik Tok: Deep thought the lyricist 

Link: www.Deepthoughtthelyricists.com

Stay glued for details on Yecheilyah’s 8th Annual Poetry Contest 2025, including this year’s theme!

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2024

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Spotlight: Dondi Springer

Today, we continue spotlighting the winners of our 2024 poetry contest! Next up is my good brother, Dondi Springer!

D.A. Springer walks between worlds as a poet-philosopher and visionary, weaving introspective verse and transformative wisdom into a tapestry of awakening. As a creator, D.A. Springer crafts portals of possibility where personal revelation meets universal truth.

His works—from the raw thunder of “Virus Verses” to the soul-stirring Poetic Paradigm—speak to seekers and dreamers, Gen X warriors, and old souls dancing on the edge of becoming. Through poetry that pulses with both shadow and light, D A. Springer guides readers to reclaim their power and voice their own declarations of change.

His winning poem, Echoes of Joy, came in at number three and will be recited during his live interview this afternoon!

Find his illuminated words across these digital platforms:

Instagram/Threads: @Napalmjax

Facebook: @DSpringer76

YouTube: @Napalmjax

Support Him Here:

https://shop.beacons.ai/daspringer/d6705f5b-e196-4376-b11d-c3e97c30c88e

Stay glued for details on Yecheilyah’s 8th Annual Poetry Contest 2025, including this year’s theme!

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2024

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Spotlight: Trevita Johnson

Today, we are kicking off our spotlight series of the winners of our 2024 poetry contest!

First up is our first place winner, Trevita Johnson!

I have known Trevita for years but did not know she was a poet! Her poem “Her Journey to Joy” inspired and spoke to our hearts. It stayed true to the theme and was easy to understand and digest.

You’ll hear her recite it live this afternoon (1/21/2025, 11:30a) on Instagram Live! You will also read her piece, but details will be provided later. We’ve got something special up our sleeves for that!

About Mrs. Johnson:

Trevita Johnson lives in North Carolina with her husband of almost 24 years, Austaniel Johnson. They have three young men, ages 25, 21, and 19. Johnson graduated from East Carolina University and is a former middle school math and science teacher of fifteen years. She has traveled along her creative path for several years, starting her UrNaturalLocs brand by doing natural hair, locs, and braids. She started creating and selling natural hair clothing, expanding her brand name to UrNaturalLocsGear.

UrNaturalSkinTreatz

Trevita currently sells homemade soaps, sugar scrubs, head-to-toe body wash, and body butter online through her Etsy shop, UrNaturalSkinTreatz. She has been creating skincare under the name KardaYah’s Kreations since 2017 but rebranded in 2020 as UrNaturalSkinTreatz. She uses natural ingredients such as shea butter, coconut, and avocado oil to create healthy skincare.

Trevita enjoys journaling, reading, listening to audiobooks, traveling, and spending time with her grandbaby.

IG/TikTok: UrNaturalSkinTreatz

FB-Trevita Johnson

Website: urnaturalskintreatz.etsy.com

Stay glued for details on Yecheilyah’s 8th Annual Poetry Contest 2025, including this year’s theme!

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2024

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest: Finalists Revealed

Introducing Our 2024 Poetry Contest Finalists and Prize Package Winners!

I am so incredibly proud of this year’s winners! Please help me congratulate these fantastic poets, who are now winners of Yecheilyah’s Annual Poetry Contest, Season 7!

Her Journey to Joy
by Trevita Johnson

Hope Moon, Joyful Skies
by Arsenio M. Sorrell, aka Deep Thought the Lyricist

Echoes of Joy
by D.A. Springer

Winners, please look out for an email in the next 24-48 hours with details on how to secure your prized package and the next steps for your interviews.

Each of these poets will receive an individual spotlight on the blog and an interview feature. We are eager for you to hear their winning poems and the inspiration behind their pieces.

Please head over to Instagram and show them some love. The post will go live on my page shortly. View and follow @yecheilyah.

Cool Fun Fact: When we announced the semi-finalists, I didn’t know who the three winners would be. At least not consciously. It wasn’t until we went over the poems with a fine-toothed comb and arranged them that I realized I had placed the winning poets in almost the exact order of the poems we loved most!

Stay glued for details on Yecheilyah’s 8th Annual Poetry Contest 2025 including this year’s theme!

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2024

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest: Semi-Finalists

There was not a single poem I did not personally enjoy.

Everyone contributed something distinct while also teaching us something.

The variety and ingenuity, from visual to audio, were incredible. I appreciate how everyone put their best foot forward. I thank you for participating and sharing your heart with us!

Without further delay, the poets who have made it into the semi-finals and will go on for a chance to win the cash prizes are as follows (in no particular order):

Her Journey to Joy
by Trevita Johnson

Hope Moon, Joyful Skies
by Arsenio M. Sorrell, aka Deep Thought the Lyricist

Joy in the Morning
by Lilanie, aka Kerece Williams

Echoes of Joy
by D.A. Springer

Parable of the Daughter
by Chérie J. Grant

Only three of these five will advance to the finals! That’s right. You are looking at your winners and don’t know it. And nope, they are not in order of placement for all you smart people, tee hee.

The ultimate announcement will be made on Thursday, January 2, 2025! Which of these dope poets made it to the top 3? Stick around and find out!

We pushed it back a day in case some of you return from travel.

As with each year, you can read the winning poems on this blog. We are also interviewing them live, so you don’t want to miss that!

In the meantime, please show these poets some love when you see the post, which goes live on my page shortly. View and follow @yecheilyah.

Be Sure to Visit Us on the Web and Stick Around for Details on Next Year’s Contest Theme and Dates!

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023

Poetry Contest Gear and Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest this year. We will announce the semi-finalists on Friday, December 20, 2024.

In the meantime, the contest hoodies and t-shirts are now available on the website! Your support helps us keep this contest going year after year and keep it free to enter!

They are comfy, like a warm hug, and come in black and dark chocolate colors, with more to come. Sizes go up to 3XL.

The website also has a donation page if you are not interested in the gear but want to help.

SHOP YOUR POETRY CONTEST GEAR HERE

Support with a Donation Here

Hope to see you soon!

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023

Yecheilyah’s 7th Annual Poetry Contest: Time is Running Out!

It is already November 17th!

This is your reminder to submit your poem on or before December 1st to participate in this year’s poetry contest and win cash prizes and promotions.

Your poem must focus on joy in some way and be in our inbox on or before the clock strikes midnight on December 1, 2024!

Email your poem to support@yecheilyahsannualpoetrycontest.org.

Tips for Submitting Video:

Now that the contest is in full swing, you might be wondering how to submit a video of you reciting your poem. As you might recall, we are accepting audio and video submissions. If you choose this, remember you still must send us the written version.

  • You can upload it to YouTube or Vimeo. Set it to private and send us the link.
  • You can send it via Google Drive to support@yecheilyahsannualpoetrycontest.org.
  • You can use Dropbox. I have created a temporary account for us under support@yecheilyahsannualpoetrycontest.org.
  • There is a website that makes uploading large files super easy. It is called We-Transfer, and it’s free to use. Here is the link: wetransfer.com. In the email space, put support@yecheilyahsannualpoetrycontest.org.
  • Another website that allows video files to be sent is Sharefile. Here is the link: www.sharefile.com

Note: Do not upload your video to Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook because there is no way to keep it private (even with a private account). This is a competition. We don’t want anyone’s poetry leaked until the contest ends and the winners are announced. After that, you are welcome to distribute your work far and wide! (This also helps to protect your intellectual property!)

For details on entering, please click the link below and share this with the poets you know!

Click Here For the Entry Rules and Guidelines

If you would like to support our poets with a donation, you may do so by clicking on the website’s donation page here.

Hope to see you soon!

Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2017

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2018

Yecheilyah’s 3rd Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2019

Yecheilyah’s 4th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2021

Yecheilyah’s 5th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2022

Yecheilyah’s 6th Annual Poetry Contest Winners, 2023