MY TWO CENTS ON AI, CANCER, AND POETRY
Writing about cancer survivorship now and then for Cure Today, I mine my personal experience and sometimes reflect on cancer experiences within my family of origin with hopes I can help others coping with cancer. With the advent of the Chatbot controversy, I asked, "Do I need to be human to write about cancer?" In this blog, "A Case for the Human Cancer Survivor in a World of AI," I compare an AI-generated poem with a poem of mine, both composed in response to the same prompt. As I say in the blog, I am egotistical enough to think mine is better. Still, we will learn more about what it means to be human as we learn to interact ethically with AI.
Writing about cancer survivorship now and then for Cure Today, I mine my personal experience and sometimes reflect on cancer experiences within my family of origin with hopes I can help others coping with cancer. With the advent of the Chatbot controversy, I asked, "Do I need to be human to write about cancer?" In this blog, "A Case for the Human Cancer Survivor in a World of AI," I compare an AI-generated poem with a poem of mine, both composed in response to the same prompt. As I say in the blog, I am egotistical enough to think mine is better. Still, we will learn more about what it means to be human as we learn to interact ethically with AI.
WRITING THE LANDS: Virginia
I have joined the Writing the Lands Project, which pairs poets with land trusts to create anthologies serving special sites, in my case within Virginia. Virginia Outdoors Federation, working with the Writing the Lands Project, has offered me the opportunity to serve as "poet protector" of the historic White's Mill (Abingdon, Virginia), a working grist mill, which means I will immerse myself in the history of this mill and also visit at intervals to document the mill and its landscape. I am intrigued to work with this project because I love to write poetry as documentary and also because many years ago I coded the mill's first website, visiting and documenting through photography, as a service project within a class I taught at Emory & Henry College (trying to be a role model for students also composing websites); for many years, there has been a professional website you can visit to learn more (linked above). The Virginia anthology will be released in 2024.
I have joined the Writing the Lands Project, which pairs poets with land trusts to create anthologies serving special sites, in my case within Virginia. Virginia Outdoors Federation, working with the Writing the Lands Project, has offered me the opportunity to serve as "poet protector" of the historic White's Mill (Abingdon, Virginia), a working grist mill, which means I will immerse myself in the history of this mill and also visit at intervals to document the mill and its landscape. I am intrigued to work with this project because I love to write poetry as documentary and also because many years ago I coded the mill's first website, visiting and documenting through photography, as a service project within a class I taught at Emory & Henry College (trying to be a role model for students also composing websites); for many years, there has been a professional website you can visit to learn more (linked above). The Virginia anthology will be released in 2024.
MEMORIALIZING OUR PETS: ASPCA Benefit
A poem I wrote to serve as an obituary for a pet named Charles the Cat is included in the April 2023 release The Dead Pets Anthology edited by Damian Ward Hey and Rick Christiansen. Proceeds will benefit the ASPCA. I adopted Charles the Cat from an unofficial trash dump on the side of a road, where he had been left to die after being buckshot and tossed away in a bag; his sister did not make it a year but had a sweet few months being fed and pampered. Charles weighed in at 1.3 lbs when I found him but grew for nine years to a healthy 21 lbs, living the great life. I vowed I would never get another cat after he died, but I think he arranged for a feral cat to move in with me during his cat hospice days because the day I buried Charles a cat showed up hungry at the back door.
The Dead Pets Poetry Anthology is exactly that: a thoughtfully curated collection of contemporary poets writing about their lost pets, with love, pathos, and a touch of humor. Although every pet and their person have a unique relationship, losing a pet has some common, shared experiences. There is the “jingle of unseeable collar tags… like a bell calling me to morning prayer.” Or “I keep waking early/to walk the dog, / but there is no dog.” And yet we choose to open our hearts again and again, even knowing the inevitable end. This book will remind you why we do this, and to give your beloved pet (whatever it is!) an extra helping of gratitude today. Elizabeth S. Wolf, author of Did You Know? and A Collection of Partings
A poem I wrote to serve as an obituary for a pet named Charles the Cat is included in the April 2023 release The Dead Pets Anthology edited by Damian Ward Hey and Rick Christiansen. Proceeds will benefit the ASPCA. I adopted Charles the Cat from an unofficial trash dump on the side of a road, where he had been left to die after being buckshot and tossed away in a bag; his sister did not make it a year but had a sweet few months being fed and pampered. Charles weighed in at 1.3 lbs when I found him but grew for nine years to a healthy 21 lbs, living the great life. I vowed I would never get another cat after he died, but I think he arranged for a feral cat to move in with me during his cat hospice days because the day I buried Charles a cat showed up hungry at the back door.
The Dead Pets Poetry Anthology is exactly that: a thoughtfully curated collection of contemporary poets writing about their lost pets, with love, pathos, and a touch of humor. Although every pet and their person have a unique relationship, losing a pet has some common, shared experiences. There is the “jingle of unseeable collar tags… like a bell calling me to morning prayer.” Or “I keep waking early/to walk the dog, / but there is no dog.” And yet we choose to open our hearts again and again, even knowing the inevitable end. This book will remind you why we do this, and to give your beloved pet (whatever it is!) an extra helping of gratitude today. Elizabeth S. Wolf, author of Did You Know? and A Collection of Partings
A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens
I am thankful to those who are helping me to spread the work about this new book from Wising Up Press. (The pink phlox, seeded from my mother's garden years ago, is referenced in the poem "Inheritance.")
AlzAuthors
Claire Matturro and Southern Literary Review
Clifford Garstang, "I Have a Question for Felicia Mitchell"
Henry McCarthy, "Poets & Writers, WEHC"
Carolyn Wilson, "Mother's Journey with Dementia Leads Former Professor to Write Heartwarming Book"
Monica Hoel, Emory & Henry College Alumni Office
The Arts Depot, Abingdon (VA)
A! Magazine for the Arts (VA)
Kingsport Public Library (TN)
Friends of the Library, Washington County Public Library (VA)
Mary Sue Dean Poetry Series, Richlands Honey Festival (VA)
I am thankful to those who are helping me to spread the work about this new book from Wising Up Press. (The pink phlox, seeded from my mother's garden years ago, is referenced in the poem "Inheritance.")
AlzAuthors
Claire Matturro and Southern Literary Review
Clifford Garstang, "I Have a Question for Felicia Mitchell"
Henry McCarthy, "Poets & Writers, WEHC"
Carolyn Wilson, "Mother's Journey with Dementia Leads Former Professor to Write Heartwarming Book"
Monica Hoel, Emory & Henry College Alumni Office
The Arts Depot, Abingdon (VA)
A! Magazine for the Arts (VA)
Kingsport Public Library (TN)
Friends of the Library, Washington County Public Library (VA)
Mary Sue Dean Poetry Series, Richlands Honey Festival (VA)
On April 12, 2023, A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens: Journeying Together Through Dementia joined the community of AlzAuthors, a rich resource with for those dealing with dementia. As the AlzAuthors' Management Team writes on the website, "We at AlzAuthors strive to raise awareness, reduce stigma and lend encouragement to those whose lives have been touched by dementia through sharing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia books, blogs and stories. We hope we can make life a bit easier for those living with dementia, caregivers and families."
The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume IX: Virginia
Thanks to William Wright, J. Brush Fuller, Amy Wright, and Jesse Graves, The Southern Poetry Anthology volume focusing on contemporary poets of Virginia is available for pre-order from the Texas Review Press and other outlets such as Amazon. From the editors: "Home of the first settlement in the United States and known as Old Dominion and The Mother of Presidents, the state of Virginia’s artistic output proves among the most fecund in the nation, evidenced in this ninth volume of The Southern Poetry Anthology. This collection includes well-known, established, and celebrated poets such as Charles Wright, Claudia Emerson, Gregory Orr, Ellen Bryant Voigt, R. T. Smith, Forrest Gander, and Rita Dove, and the editors have dedicated equal focus on newer, diverse poets who continue to broaden and enrich the literary legacy of this beautiful state." The collection includes five of my poems. Virginia is both my adopted home and the home of some of my forebears who played complex roles, some good and some less good, in a complex history of this "new world." One of these, an early Mitchell of modest means, moved on to South Carolina via North Carolina early on. Another's family spent several generations in this state before a daughter hailing from some of the "first families of Virginia" (truly, we know who the real first families were) moved to South Carolina to marry. Publication Date: November 15, 2022
Thanks to William Wright, J. Brush Fuller, Amy Wright, and Jesse Graves, The Southern Poetry Anthology volume focusing on contemporary poets of Virginia is available for pre-order from the Texas Review Press and other outlets such as Amazon. From the editors: "Home of the first settlement in the United States and known as Old Dominion and The Mother of Presidents, the state of Virginia’s artistic output proves among the most fecund in the nation, evidenced in this ninth volume of The Southern Poetry Anthology. This collection includes well-known, established, and celebrated poets such as Charles Wright, Claudia Emerson, Gregory Orr, Ellen Bryant Voigt, R. T. Smith, Forrest Gander, and Rita Dove, and the editors have dedicated equal focus on newer, diverse poets who continue to broaden and enrich the literary legacy of this beautiful state." The collection includes five of my poems. Virginia is both my adopted home and the home of some of my forebears who played complex roles, some good and some less good, in a complex history of this "new world." One of these, an early Mitchell of modest means, moved on to South Carolina via North Carolina early on. Another's family spent several generations in this state before a daughter hailing from some of the "first families of Virginia" (truly, we know who the real first families were) moved to South Carolina to marry. Publication Date: November 15, 2022
Close Up: Poems on Cancer, Grief, Hope and Healing
From the creators: Close Up: Poems on Cancer, Grief, Hope and Healing is a new collection of poetry that recognizes the depth of human spirit in the face of some of life’s greatest hardships.This sequence of poetry features voices of those who have experienced, or who are currently experiencing, cancer. Alongside these are contributions from carers, friends and family, health professionals, and those who offer their support from afar.
From me: The anthology includes the poem called "Bald Felicia" in A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens titled "Reflections from Hospice" in this collection. When my mother was in hospice, I was undergoing cancer treatment; she was a solace to me as I might have been to her. Thanks to Hannah and Kirsty Osborn for their work on this collection. Published as a fundraiser in Australia, the book is also available internationally via Amazon.com. Publication Date: September 24, 2022.
From the creators: Close Up: Poems on Cancer, Grief, Hope and Healing is a new collection of poetry that recognizes the depth of human spirit in the face of some of life’s greatest hardships.This sequence of poetry features voices of those who have experienced, or who are currently experiencing, cancer. Alongside these are contributions from carers, friends and family, health professionals, and those who offer their support from afar.
From me: The anthology includes the poem called "Bald Felicia" in A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens titled "Reflections from Hospice" in this collection. When my mother was in hospice, I was undergoing cancer treatment; she was a solace to me as I might have been to her. Thanks to Hannah and Kirsty Osborn for their work on this collection. Published as a fundraiser in Australia, the book is also available internationally via Amazon.com. Publication Date: September 24, 2022.
STORMS OF THE INLAND SEA
Poems of Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiving
I am happy to be in excellent and compassionate company with two of my poems included in the Storms of the Inland Sea: Poems of Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiving, an anthology edited by Margaret Stawowy and Jim Cokas for The Chrysalis Project and published by Shanti Arts. One of these, "My Cheating Heart," also appears in A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens. The other, one of the frankest poems I ever wrote, is called "Notes on the Lost Art of Seduction." Read a review in Kirkus (which mentions "My Cheating Heart"). Visit Shanti Arts to learn more and to buy the book. Publication Date: September 13, 2022
Poems of Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiving
I am happy to be in excellent and compassionate company with two of my poems included in the Storms of the Inland Sea: Poems of Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiving, an anthology edited by Margaret Stawowy and Jim Cokas for The Chrysalis Project and published by Shanti Arts. One of these, "My Cheating Heart," also appears in A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens. The other, one of the frankest poems I ever wrote, is called "Notes on the Lost Art of Seduction." Read a review in Kirkus (which mentions "My Cheating Heart"). Visit Shanti Arts to learn more and to buy the book. Publication Date: September 13, 2022
ARTEMIS 2022
"The Flock," by Steven Kinney, graces the cover of the latest issue of Artemis, which is beautifully edited by Jeri Rogers, Julia Fallon, Donnie Secrets, Adam Gnuse, Page Turner, and Zephren Turner to include poetry and art. The theme this year is "for the love of the book." Along with regional poets, it includes work by Natasha Trethewey and Nikki Giovanni, among others. "Showy Orchid on the Virginia Creeper Trail," a poem I drafted while sitting on the side of the trail with an orchid, is included. Learn more at the Artemis website about how to purchase a copy and about the book release event at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, featuring Nikki Giovanni, on September 2, 2022.
And in related news, Artemis is going to the moon with Artemis 1, with launch date first projected to be August 29 and now projected to be September 3, the day after the Artemis launch! Artemis 1 is part of the Nasa process that will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon.
"The Flock," by Steven Kinney, graces the cover of the latest issue of Artemis, which is beautifully edited by Jeri Rogers, Julia Fallon, Donnie Secrets, Adam Gnuse, Page Turner, and Zephren Turner to include poetry and art. The theme this year is "for the love of the book." Along with regional poets, it includes work by Natasha Trethewey and Nikki Giovanni, among others. "Showy Orchid on the Virginia Creeper Trail," a poem I drafted while sitting on the side of the trail with an orchid, is included. Learn more at the Artemis website about how to purchase a copy and about the book release event at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, featuring Nikki Giovanni, on September 2, 2022.
And in related news, Artemis is going to the moon with Artemis 1, with launch date first projected to be August 29 and now projected to be September 3, the day after the Artemis launch! Artemis 1 is part of the Nasa process that will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon.
THE POET, a magazine and initiative based in the United Kingdom, works toward "uniting the world through poetry." The Winter 2020 double issue edited by Robin Barratt addresses the theme of childhood, with poets from all around the world contributing. I am happy to say that two poems based in my childhood appear. One, "Fairytales," is about my two grandmothers, Ruth Brown McClary and Felicia Heckel Mitchell, though they are not named. This poem was inspired by memories of Big Mama (Felicia) reading to me from the Brothers Grimm. The other poem "Baby Doll" is a memory of making clothes for a Black doll given to me by a great aunt. As I have aged, and come to know the prejudices associated with the history of the south, my relationship with this doll has as well as, but my earliest memory of how much I loved this doll remains untainted. The first volume includes poets from the United States; the second, from around the world. Both are available as print or Kindle editions.
Volume 36, 2020, of the James Dickey Review (print) is now available for reading, both in print and in an electronic download. You can click on the link shared here to buy to see the wonderful writers included in this issue so carefully edited by Mark Roberts. And maybe you will be inspired to purchase a copy, which will fund Volume 36, 2021, which we all know is bound to be a collection of writing that will be important. My two poems are entitled "For Anya Silver, Write," a memorial poem, and "With Howard Finster in the Taubman Museum," a poem that shares how I felt in a room full of work by Howard Finster. I lived in Georgia 1979-1983, and the experience of seeing Finster's art in my new home state was inspiring, as art often is for me. I am honored to be included in this issue with many other fine writers, including Philip Lee Williams, who was an editor at The Athens Observer when I worked there as a typesetter.
REWILDING. POEMS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Crystal S. Gibbins edited this book of poems, released in July 2020 and already sold out, to be sold as a limited edition as a fundraiser for Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, a nonprofit environmental organization. Within the pages, 116 poets (including me) explore how the environment shapes our lives and how we shape the environment. Contributors include 12 poet laureates including Joy Harjo, poet laureate of the United States, and Minnesota’s poet laureate Joyce Sutphen, the work of renowned poets such as Elizabeth Bradfield, Kimberly Blaeser, Fleda Brown, Camille T. Dungy, Sean Hill, Ted Kooser, Ada Limón, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Craig Santos Perez, Karen Solie, and many more (including me). Rewilding features a considerable range of voices, styles, and approaches from a diverse group of contemporary poets. Readers will find poems that are explicitly activist in their political dimensions, some more implicitly so, raising ethical and philosophical questions about responsibility and community.
"No matter what your memorable moments with nature and wilderness, no matter what your race or gender, you’re going to love this extraordinary collection of poems. ” —STEPHEN WILBERS, AUTHOR OF BOUNDARY WATERS HISTORY: CANOEING ACROSS TIME
Crystal S. Gibbins edited this book of poems, released in July 2020 and already sold out, to be sold as a limited edition as a fundraiser for Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, a nonprofit environmental organization. Within the pages, 116 poets (including me) explore how the environment shapes our lives and how we shape the environment. Contributors include 12 poet laureates including Joy Harjo, poet laureate of the United States, and Minnesota’s poet laureate Joyce Sutphen, the work of renowned poets such as Elizabeth Bradfield, Kimberly Blaeser, Fleda Brown, Camille T. Dungy, Sean Hill, Ted Kooser, Ada Limón, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Craig Santos Perez, Karen Solie, and many more (including me). Rewilding features a considerable range of voices, styles, and approaches from a diverse group of contemporary poets. Readers will find poems that are explicitly activist in their political dimensions, some more implicitly so, raising ethical and philosophical questions about responsibility and community.
"No matter what your memorable moments with nature and wilderness, no matter what your race or gender, you’re going to love this extraordinary collection of poems. ” —STEPHEN WILBERS, AUTHOR OF BOUNDARY WATERS HISTORY: CANOEING ACROSS TIME
MOUNTAINS PILED UPON MOUNTAINS.
APPALACHIAN NATURE WRITING OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
Mountains Piled upon Mountains, edited by Jessica Cory (West Virginia University Press, 2019), features nearly fifty writers from across Appalachia sharing their place-based fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry. Moving beyond the tradition of transcendental nature writing, much of the work collected here engages current issues facing the region and the planet (such as hydraulic fracturing, water contamination, mountaintop removal, and deforestation), and provides readers with insights on the human-nature relationship in an era of rapid environmental change. In the pages of Mountains Piled upon Mountains are celebration, mourning, confusion, loneliness, admiration, and other emotions and experiences rooted in place but transcending Appalachia’s boundaries. I am thrilled to have two of my poems in the company of the other writing: "Landscape with Shoes, Stewarts Creek" and "Towhee." Order from WVU Press, your favorite independent bookstore, or an online bookstore.
APPALACHIAN NATURE WRITING OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
Mountains Piled upon Mountains, edited by Jessica Cory (West Virginia University Press, 2019), features nearly fifty writers from across Appalachia sharing their place-based fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry. Moving beyond the tradition of transcendental nature writing, much of the work collected here engages current issues facing the region and the planet (such as hydraulic fracturing, water contamination, mountaintop removal, and deforestation), and provides readers with insights on the human-nature relationship in an era of rapid environmental change. In the pages of Mountains Piled upon Mountains are celebration, mourning, confusion, loneliness, admiration, and other emotions and experiences rooted in place but transcending Appalachia’s boundaries. I am thrilled to have two of my poems in the company of the other writing: "Landscape with Shoes, Stewarts Creek" and "Towhee." Order from WVU Press, your favorite independent bookstore, or an online bookstore.
WOMEN SPEAK: 10th Anniversary Collection
Released February 20, 2019
In this 10th Anniversary edition featuring literary and visual artists associated with WOAP, the stories of women in Appalachia are loud and clear. Here, in this splendid collection, reside the stories, essays, songs, and images that combat the tired stereotypes that continue to plague our region. Here, 90 artists from nine states within the Appalachian region share their traumas, threats, and grief as well as their delights and celebrations. Here, stories of drug addiction sit next to religious ceremonies; destitution keeps company with the unconditional love of family; ecological damage surrenders to manicured backyard gardens, and anarchy and uprising keep house with cultural traditions and rituals. These schisms were well known to the audacious women who helped settle our region. In the pages of this special anniversary collection, women are still battling those contradictions, resisting stereotypes, and forging the way to a more equitable, benevolent, and diverse Appalachia. “We believe that all women are capable, courageous, creative, and inspired.” This is another maxim of the Women of Appalachia Project, and this big-hearted collection of words and art proves that motto in action. We are the only ones who can tell our own stories. Marianne Worthington, co-founder and poetry editor, Still: The Journal. This anthology, available from Amazon, includes "Craig County, Virginia," a poem I wrote and performed for the Women of Appalachia Project during the 2017-18 tour.
Released February 20, 2019
In this 10th Anniversary edition featuring literary and visual artists associated with WOAP, the stories of women in Appalachia are loud and clear. Here, in this splendid collection, reside the stories, essays, songs, and images that combat the tired stereotypes that continue to plague our region. Here, 90 artists from nine states within the Appalachian region share their traumas, threats, and grief as well as their delights and celebrations. Here, stories of drug addiction sit next to religious ceremonies; destitution keeps company with the unconditional love of family; ecological damage surrenders to manicured backyard gardens, and anarchy and uprising keep house with cultural traditions and rituals. These schisms were well known to the audacious women who helped settle our region. In the pages of this special anniversary collection, women are still battling those contradictions, resisting stereotypes, and forging the way to a more equitable, benevolent, and diverse Appalachia. “We believe that all women are capable, courageous, creative, and inspired.” This is another maxim of the Women of Appalachia Project, and this big-hearted collection of words and art proves that motto in action. We are the only ones who can tell our own stories. Marianne Worthington, co-founder and poetry editor, Still: The Journal. This anthology, available from Amazon, includes "Craig County, Virginia," a poem I wrote and performed for the Women of Appalachia Project during the 2017-18 tour.
SURPRISED BY JOY. A WISING UP ANTHOLOGY
Edited by Charles D. Brockett and Heather Tosteson
Update: Surprised by Joy is now available as an ebook for Kindle or other reader.
A Wising Up Edition, Surprised by Joy was released August 2018, with three of my poems based on experiences in the natural world: "By the Clinch River, St. Paul"; "Joy in the Afternoon"; and "Boureé with Goldfinch" (first published in Young Ravens' Literary Review). From the book's website: JOY. It's out of our control—unpredictable, illogical, transitory, all-consuming. It can shatter our most basic assumptions. It can heal. It isn't an idea. It is far more than a body state. It can come to us at the strangest times—in the depths of despair or the height of frustration, when we're most lonely or when we're most fully embraced, or just absently mindedly staring off into space. It is transforming, but it does not take us out of ourselves or our situations. It is, in itself, an answer that gives birth to very different questions, ones we may not have known how to ask—about the real, but unpredictable, good in us and the world around us. But it is easy in times of tumult and anger to forget that this experience of joy—and what flows from it—may be more lasting than our outrage. In this anthology forty-three contemporary writers help us explore, through fiction, poetry, and memoir, how experiences of joy help shape us and our relationship with the world around us.
The anthology is available from Universal Table and online bookstores or by request for order from your local independent bookstore (ISBN 1732451400).
Edited by Charles D. Brockett and Heather Tosteson
Update: Surprised by Joy is now available as an ebook for Kindle or other reader.
A Wising Up Edition, Surprised by Joy was released August 2018, with three of my poems based on experiences in the natural world: "By the Clinch River, St. Paul"; "Joy in the Afternoon"; and "Boureé with Goldfinch" (first published in Young Ravens' Literary Review). From the book's website: JOY. It's out of our control—unpredictable, illogical, transitory, all-consuming. It can shatter our most basic assumptions. It can heal. It isn't an idea. It is far more than a body state. It can come to us at the strangest times—in the depths of despair or the height of frustration, when we're most lonely or when we're most fully embraced, or just absently mindedly staring off into space. It is transforming, but it does not take us out of ourselves or our situations. It is, in itself, an answer that gives birth to very different questions, ones we may not have known how to ask—about the real, but unpredictable, good in us and the world around us. But it is easy in times of tumult and anger to forget that this experience of joy—and what flows from it—may be more lasting than our outrage. In this anthology forty-three contemporary writers help us explore, through fiction, poetry, and memoir, how experiences of joy help shape us and our relationship with the world around us.
The anthology is available from Universal Table and online bookstores or by request for order from your local independent bookstore (ISBN 1732451400).
Photo by Charles T. Mitchell
Poetry Society of Virginia Metrorail Art Project
The Greensboro Metro Station of the Dulles Corridor (near Tysons Corner and Mclean, Virginia) is open to the public now with art and poetry installations designed by David Dahlquist. My poem "Up from Tumbling Creek," which won an award in 2011 for this project that was orchestrated by Claudia Emerson during her time as Poet Laureate of Virginia, is on the first of the four light pillars you see to the left here.
I am thrilled that a hike I took with my son in the Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area of southwest Virginia, when he was much younger, is now immortalized in a poem for commuters to read as they go about their day.
The Greensboro Metro Station of the Dulles Corridor (near Tysons Corner and Mclean, Virginia) is open to the public now with art and poetry installations designed by David Dahlquist. My poem "Up from Tumbling Creek," which won an award in 2011 for this project that was orchestrated by Claudia Emerson during her time as Poet Laureate of Virginia, is on the first of the four light pillars you see to the left here.
I am thrilled that a hike I took with my son in the Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area of southwest Virginia, when he was much younger, is now immortalized in a poem for commuters to read as they go about their day.
Women Speak: Volume 3 edited by Kari Gunter-Seymour is a collection from the Women of Appalachia Women Speak Project, with poems selected from the 2017-18 series. Cover art is by Jessica Malone. The anthology is available for $12 from Amazon, with both the cover art and title here linked to the site (but be sure to switch to smile.amazon.com if you are supporting a charity with your purchases). From the blurb: Women writers from eight states throughout the Appalachian region come together to share their work, raw and unfiltered, openly celebrating their heritage and culture, throwing open doors to their experiences and ideals and challenging the stereotype; inviting readers to consider that preconceived prejudices need no longer be the gauge by which society judges women from the Appalachian region.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
ABOUT PLACE JOURNAL, a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society, released its Rewilding issue May 2018. As editor Tammy Melody Gomez says in her introduction, "... as a carefully-curated assemblage of possibility and hope, this issue includes artists who suggest myriad ways we may carve helpful paths of coexistence while also struggling to remember what keeps us human and what we risk losing of ourselves if we just look away and forget." My "Lesson, Big Laurel Creek" is in the section entitled "In the Presence of Other Living Creatures." If you click to read my poem, you can click over to read many other fine works. Click here.
The 25th anniversary issue of Artemis, with cover art by Toanoke artist Tricia Scott, is available, with the theme "Women Hold Up Half the World." This year’s theme, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky,” reaches back to the journal's feminist beginnings to acknowledge and honor the contributions women have made in the arts. The journal includes my poem "The Alchemy of Bird Nests" along with many fine work by writers such as U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, Nikki Giovanni, Jeanne Larsen, Judy Light Ayyildiz, Marly Youmans, Adrian Blevins, and many more. The issue also includes art by Betty Branch, Lucy Hazlegrove, Donna Polseno, Gina Louthian-Stanley, Michele Sons and other Southwest Virginia artists. Order here.
Blue Fifth Review: Blue Five Notebook Series (July 2017 #10) presents a tribute to Kathryn Stripling Byer. I also reflect on the passing of Byer in a Cure column (June 2017): "When the Bell Tolls for Another Loss to Cancer." (Since writing that essay, I was reminded that my friend Anne F. Richman, who wrote about Byer in my collection Her Words. Diverse Voices in Contemporary Appalachian Women's Poetry, could have been included in this reflection as well.)
The spring 2017 edition of Ink & Letters, a curated multimedia journal of art, creativity, and Christian faith, focuses on "in black and white." One of my poems about making sense of a childhood story told and retold, "History Lesson on the Bishopville Highway," is included. You may order the journal by clicking here.
Terri Kirby Erickson's Becoming the Blue Heron (Press 53), includes an introduction I wrote for the collection. Learn more about Erickson's poems here.
ABOUT PLACE JOURNAL, a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society, released its Rewilding issue May 2018. As editor Tammy Melody Gomez says in her introduction, "... as a carefully-curated assemblage of possibility and hope, this issue includes artists who suggest myriad ways we may carve helpful paths of coexistence while also struggling to remember what keeps us human and what we risk losing of ourselves if we just look away and forget." My "Lesson, Big Laurel Creek" is in the section entitled "In the Presence of Other Living Creatures." If you click to read my poem, you can click over to read many other fine works. Click here.
The 25th anniversary issue of Artemis, with cover art by Toanoke artist Tricia Scott, is available, with the theme "Women Hold Up Half the World." This year’s theme, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky,” reaches back to the journal's feminist beginnings to acknowledge and honor the contributions women have made in the arts. The journal includes my poem "The Alchemy of Bird Nests" along with many fine work by writers such as U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, Nikki Giovanni, Jeanne Larsen, Judy Light Ayyildiz, Marly Youmans, Adrian Blevins, and many more. The issue also includes art by Betty Branch, Lucy Hazlegrove, Donna Polseno, Gina Louthian-Stanley, Michele Sons and other Southwest Virginia artists. Order here.
Blue Fifth Review: Blue Five Notebook Series (July 2017 #10) presents a tribute to Kathryn Stripling Byer. I also reflect on the passing of Byer in a Cure column (June 2017): "When the Bell Tolls for Another Loss to Cancer." (Since writing that essay, I was reminded that my friend Anne F. Richman, who wrote about Byer in my collection Her Words. Diverse Voices in Contemporary Appalachian Women's Poetry, could have been included in this reflection as well.)
The spring 2017 edition of Ink & Letters, a curated multimedia journal of art, creativity, and Christian faith, focuses on "in black and white." One of my poems about making sense of a childhood story told and retold, "History Lesson on the Bishopville Highway," is included. You may order the journal by clicking here.
Terri Kirby Erickson's Becoming the Blue Heron (Press 53), includes an introduction I wrote for the collection. Learn more about Erickson's poems here.
Earth Blessings: Prayers, Poems and Meditations
Edited by June Cotner
This serene new anthology from June Cotner published by Viva Editions includes "Bear Calls," first published in Waltzing with Horses (Press 53, 2014). From news release: In this book of poems and prayers, you will find not only beautiful prose, but illuminating passages and reflections on the condition of the Earth and humanity's place on this beautiful planet. Cotner and her contributors contemplate every aspect of the environment, from grasslands to ocean, to desert and mountains, with gorgeous meditations on the world around us. Earth Blessings features work both from ancient tomes and from modern, award-winning writers about how we are nurtured by nature, and the relationship of humankind and the environment. Earth Blessings fosters environmental awareness and insight, and it inspires individuals to view the Earth as sacred and cherish it as they explore writings about the relationship of humans and the environment. The selections in the book remind readers of the necessity for sharing and conservation. The overriding intention of Earth Blessings is to create an ecological celebration of inspiring poems, interfaith prayers, and spiritual prose. By nature of the spiritual focus of Earth Blessings, the selections energize readers to recognize and embrace environmental stewardship.
Edited by June Cotner
This serene new anthology from June Cotner published by Viva Editions includes "Bear Calls," first published in Waltzing with Horses (Press 53, 2014). From news release: In this book of poems and prayers, you will find not only beautiful prose, but illuminating passages and reflections on the condition of the Earth and humanity's place on this beautiful planet. Cotner and her contributors contemplate every aspect of the environment, from grasslands to ocean, to desert and mountains, with gorgeous meditations on the world around us. Earth Blessings features work both from ancient tomes and from modern, award-winning writers about how we are nurtured by nature, and the relationship of humankind and the environment. Earth Blessings fosters environmental awareness and insight, and it inspires individuals to view the Earth as sacred and cherish it as they explore writings about the relationship of humans and the environment. The selections in the book remind readers of the necessity for sharing and conservation. The overriding intention of Earth Blessings is to create an ecological celebration of inspiring poems, interfaith prayers, and spiritual prose. By nature of the spiritual focus of Earth Blessings, the selections energize readers to recognize and embrace environmental stewardship.
The Phoenix Soul: Reborn (January 15, 2016)
The Phoenix Soul: Reborn (issue #51) is now available for purchase online.Created, edited, loved by Amanda Fall, The Phoenix Soul collects heartfelt and heart-touching writing. As she says, "WHAT IF YOUR SOUL COULD BE RENEWED, REVIVED, REBORN WITH EVERY BREATH?" Click on the image to purchase ($6 via PayPal). This issue includes my poem "Cancerversary," which is a celebration of life and motherhood.
The Phoenix Soul: Reborn (issue #51) is now available for purchase online.Created, edited, loved by Amanda Fall, The Phoenix Soul collects heartfelt and heart-touching writing. As she says, "WHAT IF YOUR SOUL COULD BE RENEWED, REVIVED, REBORN WITH EVERY BREATH?" Click on the image to purchase ($6 via PayPal). This issue includes my poem "Cancerversary," which is a celebration of life and motherhood.
Design by Bill Girsch
Best of Books by the Bed #3 (October 2015)
What Writers are Reading by Lights Out
This bedside book list is like peeking into someone’s medicine cabinet and finding the perfect prescription for years worth of great reading. -- Sandra Cisneros, internationally renowned author of The House on Mango Street and other beloved books
They say the third time’s the charm and Best of Books by the Bed #3 proves it to be true! Another magical collection of the books sitting on our favorite authors’ bedside tables, and most intriguing, why they’ve chosen them—and why you should, too! The Olsens are quickly becoming the literary kingdom’s king and queen of book recommendations! --Sarah McCoy, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Mapmaker’s Children and The Baker’s Daughter
It’s like eavesdropping on the most literary water cooler gossip ever . . . — Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War and other award-winning science fiction
What Writers are Reading by Lights Out
This bedside book list is like peeking into someone’s medicine cabinet and finding the perfect prescription for years worth of great reading. -- Sandra Cisneros, internationally renowned author of The House on Mango Street and other beloved books
They say the third time’s the charm and Best of Books by the Bed #3 proves it to be true! Another magical collection of the books sitting on our favorite authors’ bedside tables, and most intriguing, why they’ve chosen them—and why you should, too! The Olsens are quickly becoming the literary kingdom’s king and queen of book recommendations! --Sarah McCoy, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Mapmaker’s Children and The Baker’s Daughter
It’s like eavesdropping on the most literary water cooler gossip ever . . . — Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War and other award-winning science fiction
ARTEMIS. ARTISTS & WRITERS OF THE BLUE RIDGE AND BEYOND
Artemis 2015 includes three of my poems with ties to Virginia landscapes: “Raphine,” “Karma,” and “Last Walk.” Artemis 2015, $30, is available at the Taubman Museum, Roanoke, Virginia; Alexander Black House and Cultural Center, Blacksburg, Virginia; Jacksonville Center, Floyd, Virginia; and by mail: Artemis, P.O. Box 505, Floyd, Va. 24091. There will be a reading by contributors at Hollins University in the Green Room, 7:30-9:30, on November 10.
Artemis 2015 includes three of my poems with ties to Virginia landscapes: “Raphine,” “Karma,” and “Last Walk.” Artemis 2015, $30, is available at the Taubman Museum, Roanoke, Virginia; Alexander Black House and Cultural Center, Blacksburg, Virginia; Jacksonville Center, Floyd, Virginia; and by mail: Artemis, P.O. Box 505, Floyd, Va. 24091. There will be a reading by contributors at Hollins University in the Green Room, 7:30-9:30, on November 10.
"Writing Informs Thinking, Shapes Futures"
Emory & Henry College Convocation, August 27, 2014
The evening of August 27, on the lawn by Memorial Chapel of Emory & Henry College, I delivered the annual convocation address in a talk that began with "The Coin" by Sara Teasdale and ended with my poem, "I Remember Biscuits." Within the talk, I connected many threads, including memory and the research process, highlighting papers some of my writing students wrote in response to a research paper assignment that led them to explore a family recipe.
WALTZING WITH HORSES NOW AVAILABLE FROM PRESS 53
Waltzing with Horses, which will be released officially on September 1, is now available for purchase a Press 53's website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your favorite local bookstore (just ask). The book is 14.95, 108 pages. It is an enjoyable read. Here is a blurb from the back cover: Felicia Mitchell has the wonderful gift of seeing the world at a slant, or slightly off-center; her view takes in what others leave out. In poems of celebration and mourning, she shows us horses waltzing. "On a day without a poem," she writes, "there is no need for meter— / just the beat of a heart or two / for good measure." Many of these poems are playful. One poem shows us "the angel of death disguised as a park bench." Other poems rescue us from daily hardship, turning it into profoundest grace. This is a book everyone needs to read. --Kelly Cherry, former Poet Laureate of Virginia and author of The Life and Death of Poetry: Poems
Emory & Henry College Convocation, August 27, 2014
The evening of August 27, on the lawn by Memorial Chapel of Emory & Henry College, I delivered the annual convocation address in a talk that began with "The Coin" by Sara Teasdale and ended with my poem, "I Remember Biscuits." Within the talk, I connected many threads, including memory and the research process, highlighting papers some of my writing students wrote in response to a research paper assignment that led them to explore a family recipe.
WALTZING WITH HORSES NOW AVAILABLE FROM PRESS 53
Waltzing with Horses, which will be released officially on September 1, is now available for purchase a Press 53's website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your favorite local bookstore (just ask). The book is 14.95, 108 pages. It is an enjoyable read. Here is a blurb from the back cover: Felicia Mitchell has the wonderful gift of seeing the world at a slant, or slightly off-center; her view takes in what others leave out. In poems of celebration and mourning, she shows us horses waltzing. "On a day without a poem," she writes, "there is no need for meter— / just the beat of a heart or two / for good measure." Many of these poems are playful. One poem shows us "the angel of death disguised as a park bench." Other poems rescue us from daily hardship, turning it into profoundest grace. This is a book everyone needs to read. --Kelly Cherry, former Poet Laureate of Virginia and author of The Life and Death of Poetry: Poems
ARTEMIS. ARTISTS & WRITERS OF THE BLUE RIDGE AND BEYOND
"Revelation at Philpott Lake" (a poem inspired by swimming in Philpott Lake in Franklin County, Virginia, when I was undergoing treatment for cancer) appears in the 2014 edition of Artemis. Artists and Writers of the Blue Ridge and Beyond, which launched the re-emergence of this journal after a 14-year hiatus on May 23 at Community High School in Roanoke, Virginia, with a special poetry reading by guest poet Nikki Giovanni. The journal, edited by Maurice Ferguson (poetry) and Jeri Nolan Rogers (art), was designed by Virginia Lepley. The journal is available in print from Artemus. You may purchase for $20 by writing Artemis, PO Box 505, Floyd, VA,. 24019. Artemis published "Prodigal," "First Love," and "Tumbling Creek, Late Summer Sunday Afternoon" in an earlier journal released in 1991.
"Revelation at Philpott Lake" (a poem inspired by swimming in Philpott Lake in Franklin County, Virginia, when I was undergoing treatment for cancer) appears in the 2014 edition of Artemis. Artists and Writers of the Blue Ridge and Beyond, which launched the re-emergence of this journal after a 14-year hiatus on May 23 at Community High School in Roanoke, Virginia, with a special poetry reading by guest poet Nikki Giovanni. The journal, edited by Maurice Ferguson (poetry) and Jeri Nolan Rogers (art), was designed by Virginia Lepley. The journal is available in print from Artemus. You may purchase for $20 by writing Artemis, PO Box 505, Floyd, VA,. 24019. Artemis published "Prodigal," "First Love," and "Tumbling Creek, Late Summer Sunday Afternoon" in an earlier journal released in 1991.
OYEZ REVIEW
Oyez Review, a publication of Roosevelt University in Chicago, has just released Issue #41, which includes my poem entitled "Iron Mountain Trail" (on page 1). This poem was drafted during a six-mile loop hike consisting of a network of trails near Damascus, Virginia, that includes Iron Mountain Trail. The inspiration for the poem included a sign warning of bear activity posted at the head of the trail. The journal is available in print and Nook formats.
Oyez Review, a publication of Roosevelt University in Chicago, has just released Issue #41, which includes my poem entitled "Iron Mountain Trail" (on page 1). This poem was drafted during a six-mile loop hike consisting of a network of trails near Damascus, Virginia, that includes Iron Mountain Trail. The inspiration for the poem included a sign warning of bear activity posted at the head of the trail. The journal is available in print and Nook formats.
THE NEAREST POEM ANTHOLOGY
Cedar Creek Publishing released The Nearest Poem Anthology in March 2014. A project com Starnes during her tenure as Poet Laureate of Virginia 2012-214, the book includes poems paired with reflections by residents of Virginia who proposed poems. "Empathy," a poem by poet Terri Kirby Erickson of North Carolina, is included along with my reflection. "Empathy" also appears in Erickson's In the Palms of Angels (Press 53). (Read more by Erickson.) From poet Marjorie Maddox, co-editor of Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania: "This anthology touched me as a reader, as a poet, as an anthology editor, as a teacher, and most importantly, as a human being. It reminded me, in new and powerful ways, how an individual poem can change forever the life of an individual. Such first encounters belong to us all."
Cedar Creek Publishing released The Nearest Poem Anthology in March 2014. A project com Starnes during her tenure as Poet Laureate of Virginia 2012-214, the book includes poems paired with reflections by residents of Virginia who proposed poems. "Empathy," a poem by poet Terri Kirby Erickson of North Carolina, is included along with my reflection. "Empathy" also appears in Erickson's In the Palms of Angels (Press 53). (Read more by Erickson.) From poet Marjorie Maddox, co-editor of Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania: "This anthology touched me as a reader, as a poet, as an anthology editor, as a teacher, and most importantly, as a human being. It reminded me, in new and powerful ways, how an individual poem can change forever the life of an individual. Such first encounters belong to us all."
APPALACHIA IN THE CLASSROOM
Appalachia in the Classroom, edited by Theresa L. Burriss and Patricia M. Gantt, is out from Ohio University Press (2013), with 14 essays on poets and writers of the region. My contribution is Chapter 10, "Startling Morals: Teaching Ecofiction with Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer." This essay is based on my teaching of the novel within the college level within the context of an introduction to the concepts of ecofiction and eco-criticism, with advice relevant to high school teachers as well. (Read Prodigal Summer here.) From Appalachian Heritage: “In this book, (Burriss and Gantt) have engaged some of the region’s foremost post-secondary teachers to share their best ideas for teaching about the region. For example, John C. Inscoe on teaching history, Erica Abrams Locklear and Jeff Mann on teaching literature, Ricky L. Cox on teaching the novel, and Grace Edwards on teaching poetry.”
Appalachia in the Classroom, edited by Theresa L. Burriss and Patricia M. Gantt, is out from Ohio University Press (2013), with 14 essays on poets and writers of the region. My contribution is Chapter 10, "Startling Morals: Teaching Ecofiction with Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer." This essay is based on my teaching of the novel within the college level within the context of an introduction to the concepts of ecofiction and eco-criticism, with advice relevant to high school teachers as well. (Read Prodigal Summer here.) From Appalachian Heritage: “In this book, (Burriss and Gantt) have engaged some of the region’s foremost post-secondary teachers to share their best ideas for teaching about the region. For example, John C. Inscoe on teaching history, Erica Abrams Locklear and Jeff Mann on teaching literature, Ricky L. Cox on teaching the novel, and Grace Edwards on teaching poetry.”