The Legend of Alan Johnson

Other poets’ first impressions of Alan Johnson

I did not know Alan that long, and then only by way of his group.  He called me one day and we had a lovely chat.  He said he was promoting a special on narrating poetry, as I had listened to several of his narrations, I was in.  He narrated about 6 or 7 of my poems, a couple on SoundCloud.  I thoroughly enjoyed his video walks with Willow.  He was dedicated to bringing poet’s words to marvelous life.  I will forever be grateful that he called me that day and introduced me to his wonderful work.  My sister was gracious enough to put the. Idris on one video for me.  I pull that video out from time to time and listen to Alan bringing my words to visual beauty and life with his amazing talent.  Rest in Peace, my friend.

© Marie Harris

I met Alan when he was offering a special only amount of poems he would do for one price. Annette Tarpley geared me in his direction. He did it behind the willow tree for me. I would love the poem forever. And I have already said, I would love it each time I see a willow tree.

I was never able to join the trending poet’s group. Apparently, in the past, I had accidentally deleted about 20 poetry groups. Allen spent about an hour and a half of his time attempting to get me back into the group. He seriously took all that time.

He certainly was patient. I have a few other funny stories, but they would be too long to share. I’m not sure if anyone saw Allen’s podcast and I happen to be on the show. There were three of us on the podcast, me, another poet, and his wife.

The reason I’m sharing this is that Alan showed his sense of humor, as he began the show, he said  “Well, I didn’t expect anyone to be on the show with me when I said, I hope you all be with me, I meant I hoped would all be watching.”

I had a few other conversations and interactions with Alan that were pleasant and helpful. It was nice to get to know him in such a short time. And thank you all for being so welcoming.

© Shealy Shealy

I only learned of Alan, when, suddenly, I found myself in the original Trending Poets group. I don’t know where he found me. I was amazed and felt so appreciated. Amazing man he was. For all of us. He certainly meant worlds to me, Benn! He was a person who mainly cared for everyone else, and not himself. He was an amazing and unforgettable man! We must push his spirit, achievements, and legacy, to infinity and beyond!

© Kathy Jo Byrant\

Thank you Benn Johnson  Indeed your father will be such an inspiration for poets for a long time to come… His words of praise and encouragement will echo in my mind every time there is even an inkling of doubt or the threat of disparity… Alan will be there saying “You are a poet… you can do this…”

We are forever grateful for his voice, his talent, and above all his support… We are all so lucky to have had such a friend  He is so missed…

© Tim Law

Thank you, Ben. Your father was such a wonderful person, selfless and so into poetry, music, and helping poets around the world spread their words and thoughts. It’s very rare when you meet and then become friends with such a marvelous person. I regret that I didn’t know him longer, but the year I did was wonderful. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, and to everyone who knew Alan

© Kerry L. Marzock

I was still new to the Poetry world when I met Sir Alan, I don’t know if I joined the group or if Sir Alan invited me On TRENDING POETS. We were only a few members before. He always encourages us to post on the page. I love writing but because of my wrong grammar and tenses, I caught his attention. He messaged me on messenger on March 22, 2022, at 9 p.m. (Hong Kong time) offering his help on some wordings on my poem. Since then, every time I write a poem, I always send it to him for reading first and asking his opinion. He is straightforward with me saying my grammar is wrong and there are so many mistakes in my poem..and I always said thank you to him for mentoring me…. I am always grateful if someone is telling me my mistakes or correcting me because I believe only in that way I can learn. So I never felt bad if he corrected me instead I appreciated his help. He edited for me the “Birds of Paradise” I wrote in Kariel’s poetry form and recited it. He sent the audio and I am very happy because he gave life to my poem. I  asked him how to put that on video and he said he would do that too, and sent me the  video and link on his YouTube channel..”The  Poets Lounge. It’s the only poem he recited for me but it means a lot to me. And I am always forever grateful to Sir Alan Johnson.

© Janet Rose Licudo

For Alan and his family.
The First Thought
The first thought every day,
The first breath upon wakening,
The first step onto the floor,
will be about him.

There is no shame, no blame, no pity
in this, for however long it lasts.
Everyone left behind
has a different capacity for survival.
But the scar, whether healed or healing
will stay always, as it should,
as a reminder of a flame that burned
so brightly and
a spirit that will never leave you…

Hank Beukema 2007

Alan Johnson

I met a lovely gentleman, Alan Johnson was his name, through my friendship with the founder of the Passion of Poetry, Trending Poets was not his only claim to fame And wow what a wonderfully gifted man, he was unique at his game, but now we are all left with his momentous memories, and although he has left his huge legacies to last a lifetime, his sad passing is such a crying shame…

Copyright @Jill Tait

07.11.23’

Melissa R. Mendelson

I think a year or so ago, I asked a friend if they could introduce me to Alan. I was looking for someone to narrate my poetry, and he had done an amazing job narrating their writing. The introduction was made, and at first, it was all business. Then, Alan and I began talking about things, life, art, his dog, and his passion for poetry. I spoke to him before that Wednesday when he was going for I guess chemo. He said he was scared, but I told him everything would be okay. I was saying a prayer for him. I still am.

Around 2019, I met a lady named Eva Marie Ann Cagley in one of my groups. I was going through a rough time, with my father’s death and a still raw separation from my toxic husband. We messaged back and forth for a while. We talked about the loss of her parents, my father’s recent death, and Jesus. She told me about her poetry and that she had hired a man with the voice of an angel to narrate some of her poems. I listened to them on YouTube and cried some and then asked, “Who is this man and how do I contact him?” The rest is history.

I became friends with Alan and we would message back and forth at odd hours, typically when neither one of us could sleep for one reason or another. We talked about TV series we enjoyed and about our kids and I told him I wasn’t a poet but I would love to send over some things for him to consider narrating.

He read the things I sent over and told me I was a poet with a very distinct and different style and I hired him to narrate Till Death Do Us Part. It was a painful story of betrayal in my marriage.

After that, he ran a contest on Trending Poets, only it was called something else back then. He posted a beautiful piano piece and asked the group members to send him a poem to go with the piece. The winner would receive the rights to the piece of music and he would narrate the winning piece. I won with my poem, Her Chair.

He went on to narrate several poems and short stories and every bit I paid him went straight to his charitable organization. He always put everyone else first and had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known.

I regret that I didn’t take the time to message him how I was praying for him and let him know how much he meant to me and the poets’ community at large. I know he is smiling down on all of us from heaven, finally out of pain and breathing easy. He was my friend and a big part of who I am as a person and “poet” today.

© Lisa Huffins Owen

A story I wanted to share about how Alan touched my heart and my husband’s.

I asked Alan to create this SoundCloud as a gift for my husband Buzz. You see, Buzz has been struggling with MS for many years and there are times when these struggles take him on an emotional and physical rollercoaster ride.

Buzz and I met through our love for poetry ten years ago.

Some of you might remember AOL chat rooms and we both were part of the LNP chat room. Late Night Poetry.

Buzz would cast his poem ‘Lullaby’ out to the ladies like bait on a fishhook and we would have this admiring smile in our hearts. Well, I suppose you can guess where this story trailed.

Buzz has one of those smiles that light up a room and folks gather around him as if he were tossing silver dollars into a crowd. He always speaks in whispers and is easy on the eyes.

Last year Buzz lost his smile for months.

Sadly, the spark in his eyes became a sad puppy stare and I had no idea how to ignite a flame.

Over several years I found other poets on Facebook and became friends with them so I could enjoy their words and offer support, quietly. And then one glorious day I heard this mesmerizing voice narrating a poem for a poet. Oh my gosh, I was immediately smitten. Alan’s voice appeared like a matador in an amphitheater.

A candle flickered in my mind. I knew how to make Buzz smile again.

I wish you could have seen Buzz’s eyes sparkle, and his dimples grow into little mountains upon his cheeks as he recognized his whispering gentle words being narrated by a captivating force of nature.

Without a doubt, Alan has touched countless lives in various ways. And even though I am a distant wave upon Alan’s ocean I am forever grateful I had the opportunity to ride upon one of his waves and to witness his love for words, family, his extended family of poets and to take virtual walks with him beside an old stone wall with his best friend Willow.

Until then, I will be listening to Alan’s voice as he passionately honored and touched the depths of countless poets.

©Melinda Owen

THE DAY I HEARD “THE VOICE” (Alan Johnson)

I remember the day quite vividly, as if the memory is always standing motionless in time, awaiting recollection. I clicked on a link posted by Brenda Mohammed and was led to a YouTube site, where Alan had published Brenda’s poem in the form of one of his audio-video masterpieces. Not only was his voice mesmerizing, but his mastery of delivery, timing, and inflections was astounding.  I immediately contacted Brenda, asking who was this man with this incredible voice.  Within just A few short minutes I was conversing with Alan, and inquiring whether he could create a production for me as well.  In just a few short hours he has compiled my first video, “Message in a Bottle.”  It would be the first of many he would create for me, and each holds a special place in my heart.  He breathed life into my poems, and more importantly became an endearing friend who would teach me about compassion and selflessness.  He left us with his legacy, and through his works he will attain a level of mortality, that few shall ever achieve…

© Annette (Wengert) Tarpley

I first met Alan about 2 years ago after watching some of Annette Tarpley’s words in a video and voice-over. I soon became friends with this great selfless man. He narrated my poem (The Memory Tree) and it was superb. I joined Alan’s group and he wanted us to all recite a poem we had written.

Having a very bad speech impediment I knew this was impossible for me. Alan rang me up and we had a lovely chat and he told me I could do it. 15 attempts took me and I was so grateful to Alan. He knew I was an alcoholic ( 6 ) years into recovery and that I lacked self-love and self-worth and advised me to get help with it. I stumbled across a self-love self-worth course ( 12 weeks on Zoom meetings ). It was world-class and changed my life . My stammer has just about gone and I am very confident now.

This is due to Alan as he got the ball rolling. He always said on the phone that he had a huge admiration for me and my poetry.

There will never be another Alan Johnson. Such a selfless beautiful man whose passing broke the hearts of the modern-day poetry world.  I had a rottweiler and used to regularly watch Alan and Willow in the fields and meadows

Heaven will be a better place with this wonderfully talented man and friend.

His legacy shall live on always.

Special love to his wife Jean and their three sons Benn Johnson and Marty Johnsy and Sam other immediate family members

Michael Dulake

11/11/2023

How Alan Johnson Came Into My Life

I first heard of Alan Johnson through Sarfraz Ahmed. I had heard a few narrations on POP and then in autumn 2022 I had joined Trending Poets and enjoyed the storyboard shows. I narrated my poem twice and listened to the show each week! It was a unique idea and worked impressively well!!

Alan told me he really liked my narrated voice and he could see me doing narrations for other people like he did. We had a good chat about it too and he gave me some narrating tips.

We didn’t get the chance to produce narrations together however, Alan gave me confidence that I could do this for others! Who better to inspire you than someone who was a pro at narration!

Even though I only knew Alan for a very short time, his impact has been everlasting. I thank Alan for his words of wisdom, kind heart, and for being the genius poet narrated musician that he was!

With love Pratibha

As you can see these are just a few stories of the impact Alan Johnson had on others’ lives! His narration is a gift he left to us all. His legacy will continue to thrive and go on throughout history and he will continue to mesmerize those who listen. 

© Eva Marie Ann Cagley

Alan Johnson’s son, Benn, is raising money for Spring-Hill Hospice and Christie’s Charity, both of which offer excellent care to patients with cancer. PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK to get the full story regarding the donations and the story behind it.

Your comments and testimonials about Alan Johnson would be appreciated…