Poetry
I immersed myself the world of poetry after losing the skills, sight and endurance necessary for my visual work. I had written all along, but visual art had been my primary expressive medium. I have been fortunate to find a very supportive and lively poetry scene here in Maine, locally and via zoom. I am working on my first full length book of poetry. I hope to inspire other people with brain tumors and other forms of brain disease and traumatic brain injury to enrich their lives through poetry.
Poetry Bio
Most importantly, I care about—and am fascinated by—the myriad connections between us, and our shared experiences. I find poetry to be an unmatched medium for exploring both, and sparking dialogue. I am also interested in issues of perception, thought processes and memory; the interplay between the mind and the body; and the tangible and the intangible about each of us.
I am an advocate for poetry as a voice for those living with disability, cognitive challenges, marginalization and injustice.
My poetry and other writing have been published in the following, among others:
The Brooklyn Rail, February 2024 Issue, Art Books Section. Review of Mozenter & Perkis’ ar
Maine Sunday Telegram, 4/14/23, Deep Water Column, E3
ENOUGH! Poems of Resistance and Protest 2020 pp.9,42.
Frost Meadow Review Vol.3 spring/summer 2019 pp.57.
Balancing Act 2: An Anthology of Poems by Fifty Maine Women 2018 pp.135,136,137.
The Lewiston Sun Journal
The American Journal of Nursing
My work was also selected for participation in:
Poems From Here 2024
https://www.mainepublic.org/show/poems-from-here
originally broadcast 5/12/24, “Maine Woman Climbs Bald,” read by Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bowsma.
ARTWORD2019: Ekphrasis at the PMA
and again in
ARTWORD2021: Ekphrasis at the Portland Museum of Art.
These are events in which poets select a work from the Portland Museum of Art’s permanent collection or current exhibition, then creates an ekphrastic poem in response. The resulting works are read live in front of the images during special presentation events.
I was featured on the 4/3/22 episode of Litorally Alive! programming, “Changing Lanes: Artists who Cross Media,”
I am a member of the Sandy River Poets Group
I am a member of the Maine Writers & Publishers Association
I led the Wilton Area Poetry Group, which met weekly at the Goodspeed Memorial Library, pre-pandemic.
I have worked with long-term care residents, fostering their own art and word projects.
Dr. Christine LuEmerson, neuro-oncologist:
“When I read your poems in Balancing Act 2, I finally understood what my patients were experiencing.”
This is a photo taken pre-tumor, when I was still able to walk unassisted, and could travel easily on uneven terrain. Poetry takes me there just as easily!