Mervyn Seivwright

Mervyn R. Seivwright writes to balance social consciousness & poetry craft for humane growth. He is from a Jamaican family and was born in Dulwich, a south suburb of London, England. His childhood started in Ipswich, Suffolk in England and at age 10 he moved to the United States. He later joined the United States Air Force for 22 years leading to his traveling the globe. During this time Mervyn took part in performance poetry and wrote 7 self-published collections of poetry while in these other countries or on deployed service.

Highlights from performance poetry events included an opening for Def Jam's Comedian Bruce Bruce in Florida and Tommy Davison while deployed. He finished in the top 5 in the German American Institute Germany National Invitation Slam in Heidelberg Germany. He was a featured artist in the Paris Connection, an ethnic art collective that holds dinner functions in Paris France. He took first place at Cafe Kraaij & Balder Poetry Slam in Eindhoven Netherlands allowing him to finish in the top 4 at the Netherlands national level for Eindhoven. In England, he featured in Peterborough, Cambridge, and at Oxford’s Hammer and Tongue events. In London, he featured at the Bloomsbury Theatre, Brixton Arts Gallery, The Jazz Café, and placed 5th in England’s first National Poetry Slam.

Since returning to the United States, Mervyn completed an MFA at Spalding University’s School of Writing, Louisville, Kentucky. He has provided guest lectures to the University of Maryland Global Campus, Webster University, Broward College, Wright Patterson Education Center, and Jefferson Community and Technical College.

In addition, Mervyn has appeared or has forthcoming published works in AGNI Literary Magazine, The American Journal of Poetry, Salamander Literary Magazine, Pembroke Magazine, I-70 Review Literary Magazine, Ligeia Magazine, Poetry Online, Constellations Literaray Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue Literary Journal (Canada), The Trinity Review (Canada), African American Review, Voices Israel Anthology, River Heron Review, filling Station Magazine (Canada), Saranac Review, Allium A Journal of Poetry & Prose, Santa Fe Literary Review, The Fourth River, Griffel Literature Review (Norway), Cape Cod Poetry Review, Burningword Literary Journal, The Nonconformist Magazine, Seaside Gothic Magazine, Pangyrus Lit Review, The Lumiere Review, Sixfold Poetry 2022, Mount Island Literature Review, INNSÆI Journal (India), Montana Mouthful Literary Magazine, iō Literary Journal, The Stirling Spoon, Flying Ketchup Press, Arlington Literary Journal, Transom Journal, Flora Fiction Literature Journal, Westward Quarterly, Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, Cry of the Poor 2021 Anthology (Culture Matters Ltd - England), The Bread and Roses Poetry 2021 Anthology (Culture Matters Ltd - England), Black Sunflower Poetry Press (England), Military Experience & the Arts' (M.E.A.) literary journal "As You Were," Willow Wept Review, Z Publishing's Kentucky's Best Emerging Poets 2019, Briefly Zine, Round Table Literary Journal, Common Threads Literary Journal, The Write Launch Literary Journal, Line Breaks Literary Journal, The Black Experience Anthology, The Scribe Literary Journal, Flights Literary Journal, Rigorous Magazine, Prometheus Dreaming Cultural Journal, Wingless Dreamer, and Toho Journal.

He has received recognition in 7 countries as Santa Fe Literary Review 2021 Pushcart Nominee, Second Runner-Up for Mount Island’s Lucy Terry Prince poetry contest 2020, Honorable Mention for Voices Israel's 31st Rose Ruben Annual Poetry Competition, Third Place for the Black in White Poetry Competition, a Finalist for Cutbank Literary Journal Annual Poetry Competition 2021, a Semi-Finalist for the Midwest Review's Poetry Contest 2020, Z Publishing's Kentucky's Best Emerging Poets 2019, listed in Hopkins Press National Poetry Month Collection 2022, and has a poem commissioned by the British Museum, Ipswich, United Kingdom. Mervyn currently lives in Schopp, Germany.