Q and A with Poet Matthew M Monte I recently had the pleasure of getting to know a new book of poems by Matthew M Monte, a San Francisco based poet. All Tomorrow’s Train Rides (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2023) employs “poetic cartography,” rich and complex language and images that shimmer in memory long after you…
Author: Joanell Serra, Author
Become Echo: Q and A with Robbin Farr, Poet
Consider the poems as threads, and it is your task to weave the threads together to make a tapestry.
Guacamole — New Prose Poem
Were any humans harmed in the making of this avocado?
Epiphany, 2022
I love January 6th (despite the mess that happened last year) because it is the epiphany. While I’m not particularly religious, my Catholic upbringing installed deep roots through my unconscious, stirring my soul on certain special dates. Epiphany translates from Greek as “revelation from above” and my child-mind blended my own life long search…
The Palo Verde Trees Beguile Us
we come to the desert seeking sun, the kiss
of honest conversations,
a swollen river of memories
Valiant (A car, or a poem for my father)
I wrote this poem years ago, about my father, Joseph Serra. Sharing this again today, on his birthday. He would have been 98. We were blessed with his gregarious, loyal and brave presence until he was almost 83. He did a lot of wonderful things in his life – raised by a single mother who…
Recovery/récupération
On Sunday I will host an event of writers from the NY/NJ area who have essays in the (Her)oics Anthology, which I co-edited. It is called “Tales from the Epicenter” as these stories took place in March-May of 2020, when NYC was the epicenter. In thinking through the various stories that will be shared, I…
Untold Story #15: Christine Shields Corrigan, NJ Memoirist, Two Time Cancer Survivor
Christine, I’ve read your inspiring memoir, Again. What made you decide to write this piece? During the initial lockdown from March to May 2020, I kept seeing posts on social media or hearing friends say, “When we get back to normal . . .” Each time I heard that expression, I cringed because it reminded…
Untold Story #14, Camille Beredjick Brooklyn Writer
There are peaks, valleys, and devastating spirals, and it can be hard to make sense of those setbacks when you feel like you’ve already come so far. But in writing the essay, I had a reason to think clearly and intentionally about what I was going through and how I could make sense of it moving forward, and I’m proud of what I was able to do.
Two very special (Her)oics events in one week!
We will have two special events this week. Here’s more details, including excerpts from the essays written by these brave writers. Sign up by clicking on the event link. All events are free and online, and last approximately an hour and 15 minutes. For a copy of the book (so nice to have it ordered…