Parallax Poetry Salon #17 - Ryan O'Connell and Suchismita Ghoshal

Join our poetry Salon and Open Mic

Ryan O'Connell 

Ryan is a composer, harmonium player, and trumpet player from the United States. Music has been apart of his life since the age of four, although his formal training on the trumpet began nearly 15 years ago. His current work explores the intersection of improvisation, meditation, spoken word poetry, and electronics. His work also seeks to challenge how others interact with art and the role sound plays in one’s spiritual journey.

As a freelance trumpet player, Ryan’s playing spans various styles. In 2025, he played at the International Yoga Festival with such artists as MC Yogi, Sivamani, and Runa Rizvi. In 2022, he performed the world premiere of Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter’s opera Iphigenia at the Majestic Theater in Boston, MA that was in the ‘third stream’ style; he performed alongside Esperanza Spalding, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, and Jeff “Tain” Watts. During that same time, he also completed the world-premiere performance of Linda Chase’s oratorio, ‘For Our Common Home’, which received praise from the Vatican. Aside from these performances, Ryan has played with numerous orchestras, big bands and pit orchestras at the Palace Theater, the Grand Ole Opry, Jordan Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and others.

In the United States, Ryan was also an active educator: he served on faculty at the New England Conservatory Prep School and taught private trumpet for ten years. Utilizing a strong sense of creativity and mindfulness are significant parts of his teaching philosophy; he believes that to fully engage learners, especially young learners, one must be present enough to fully understand their needs, and curious enough to develop creative solutions to make learning fun. Ryan’s spiritual quest for a deeper truth led him to India, where he has lived since September 2024. While here, Ryan has played Kirtan in Rishikesh, Ganga Aartis at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, and recently, improvised sound meditations at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi. 

He holds a MM from the New England Conservatory and a BM from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Suchismita Ghoshal

 Suchismita Ghoshal is a devoted poetess, philosophy aspirant and literary artist, nurtured in the rich soil of Bengal’s literature, art, and music. Currently, she is deeply immersed in the intricate study of folklore heritage and cultural traditions. Her journey into creativity began with a profound reverence and love for the Bengali language and culture.

At 27, Suchismita expresses herself through poetry and creative writing with the heartfelt intention of touching the realms of sincerity, connection, and human experience. She has been featured as a co-author in over a thousand national and international anthologies and has been published in numerous renowned journals and web magazines.

Her solo books—Fields of Sonnet, Emotions & Tantrums, Poetries in Quarantine, Ombrophilous Feelings, and Semicolon, Sentiment & Saffron—have been well-received by readers. Internationally, she has performed spoken word poetry on various stages across the USA, UK, Canada, and different South American countries.

She co-authored An Ecstatic Renaissance Between Greece and India Through Poetry with Greek children’s author Eva Petropoulou Lianos, which received recognition at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Her recent collaborative projects include Ageless Rainbow (Nigeria), Love for Humanity Penetrates Differences (Papua New Guinea), and Euphonious Echoes (India & Bangladesh), among others.

Beyond literature, Suchismita is a humanist, spiritual seeker, and change-loving thinker. Guided by the light and shadows of contemplation and faith, she continues her journey with hope and anticipation toward the miraculous dimensions of life.