Poetry
As If by Magic: Poems 2015-2019
Manifesto
May the oppressed go free
to release the Creation
lying fallow and frozen within.
from As If by Magic
In 2015, in the midst of some life transitions, I took up writing poetry as a creative practice. Showing up to the page (or the magnetic poetry board) every week was challenging, frustrating, cathartic, and fun.
The poems that resulted speak of possibility, hope, transformation, and love amidst struggle in life.
During the quarantine of 2020, I compiled the poems I had written up to that point and made a book.
As If by Magic is available at all online booksellers and by request at your local bookstore.
Signed copies are available for shipping to US postal addresses. Order here.
“Articles of Evolving Faith” — Spoken Word Poem
My response to the question “What do you believe?”
Performed April 27, 2024 at The Arts Depot in Abingdon, Virginia
Poetry is a practice of restoring language as an instrument for illuminating truth and serving all of Life.
You can read SWVA Today’s article about my poetic journey here, and you’ll find information about my poetry endeavors below.
I am available online and in person for poetry readings, writing workshops, book club events, podcasts, and speaking engagements. Contact me for more information.
Play, Practice, Poetry!
I created Play, Practice, Poetry! out of my desire to remove any limiting beliefs about who can create or enjoy poetry. Play, Practice, Poetry! aims to make poetry as fun and accessible to as many people as possible.
I share what I’ve learned in my own process of learning to write poetry, with the approach that if you attend to the process, the results are always exactly what they should be. Play, Practice, Poetry! is for anyone curious about language, poetry, or the creative process.
The emphasis is on cultivating presence, attention, and connection with language and with the world we belong to.
First taught as an online college course, a book version of Play, Practice, Poetry! is currently under development.
Enter your name and email below to be notified about future classes and other updates regarding Play, Practice, Poetry!
Raw Organic Poetry
In her book Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg writes about spontaneous writing booths.
I adapted this idea and took it to the Really, Really Free Market in Carrboro, North Carolina, in September of 2017. I stood with a sign, a clipboard, and an offer to write a poem for anyone who asked.
I came back nearly every month for the next four years and wrote and gave away dozens of poems during that time as my personal practice in non-attachment, non-perfectionism, and trust in an inexhaustible creative Source.
Did I once write a Raw Organic poem for you? I’d love to hear from you!
Article in The Daily Tar Heel about the Really, Really Free Market