Nathan M. Richardson is a poet/author/literary consultant and the founder of Spiritual Concepts Publishing.  He is a co-founder and co-host of one of the premier poetry open mic venues in Hampton Roads, Virginia - The Java Poetry Open Mic.  Poetry, Prose and Pizza is Nathan's latest open mic project.  The quarterly event is now syndicated in the cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk with other cities like Hopewell in the works.  Through partnerships with libraries, and pizza parlors, poetry in those communities is flourishing. 

Mr. Richardson serves as the primary coach for the Hampton Roads Youth Poets Slam Team (HRYP).  HRYP is comprised of some of the area's best young poets ages 13-18 years old. In addition to performing at a variety of events throughout Hampton Roads, the team also represents Virginia each year at the annual Brave New Voices - International Poetry Slam. The 2011 HRYP slam team made their best showing ever - making it to the Semi-Final round at BNV in San Fransisco California. 

Nathan's poetry has vivid imagery which pairs seamlessly with other art forms like theater, music and the visual arts. He has worked in a variety of summer arts programs including the Attucks Theater's - "Camp Rise" and the Chrysler Museum's - "Camp Chrysler". His poetry has also been commissioned by the Chrysler and Delaware Museums of Art to accent nationally touring events like the Gordon Parks: Bare Witness Photography Exhibit and the Jason Miccolo Johnson: Soul Sanctuary Photography Exhibit.   Nathan is currently one of the literary consultants for the 30 Americans Art Exhibit coming to Hampton Roads Virginia in March 14 through June 17, 2012.

Browse the Client List on this web site to see Mr. Richardson's impressive list of domestic and international performances.  He has been a featured author at literary conferences such as the Christopher Newport University, The Hampton Roads Wrters, and James River Writers Conferences.  Richardson has had multiple appearances in the Tidewater Community College and Paul D. Camp Cummunity College Literary Festivals.  Much has been written about this poet, including more than 25 appearances on radio and television and volumes of pages written in newspaper and magazines.  The diverse themes which run throughout Nathan’s poetic prose, have earned him critical literary acclaim including nominations for the prestigious Alli Award from the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads and the 2005 Book of the Year from NUSPA, the National Underground Spoken Word/Poetry Awards 

Mr Richardson’s poetry has been adapted to film and stage. One of his best known poems, "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was commissioned by Old Dominion University’s Governors’ School of the Arts as part of a play titled Walking with Walker. The multi-faceted play about the life of civil right activist Wyatt T. Walker debuted at The Roper Theater on the Norfolk campus of Tidewater Community College. The play has toured stages throughout Virginia and is also available on DVD.    

Born April 18th 1960 in Suffolk, Virginia, his early influences come from many sources including jazz music greats like, John Coltrane and Ronnie Laws; poets like Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Billy Collins and Baxter Black. Many women who have influenced Nathan including his mother (Della Mea Richardson), grandmother (Theresa Hollimon), Corretta Scott King and Congresswoman Elenor Holmes Norton.

Nathan is a retired veteran of the Army and Virginia Army National Guard; is a life-time member of the Poetry Society of Virgnia; and has been a past board member of the following oragnizations; the JUNETEENTH Festival of Virginia, The Suffolk Arts League, and the Christopher Newport University Writers Council.

Please explore the photo gallery and links pages on this web site and get to know the many talented poets, artists and organizations that Mr Richardson has been so proud to work with. Check out the calendar of events for details of his many poetry readings, workshops, lectures. We look forward to seeing you at a venue sometime in the near future!