This Sooty Darkness

Paul Cezanne's The Stove in the Studio made me think about the process of art and writing. Read This Sooty Darkness on the site of The Lake.

Future publications

 More of my poems will be published in 2022. Watch for:

Poetry Northwest, Muddy River Review, Bamboo Ridge, The Comstock Review, Penumbric, Wood Cat, Vincent Brothers Review

My Addiction to Impressionist Snowscapes

 Oh, yes, this is true. I can't get enough of snowscapes in the impressionist tradition.  My poem, "My Addiction to Impressionist Snowscapes" appeared only in print in Lake Effect (v26/Spring 2022).

As I Turn Off the Light

 I am pleased and honored to have continuous support from Turtle Island Quarterly for my environmental poetry.  "As I Turn Off the Light" is about moths and moonlight and our sad future. (TIQ #22, 2022)

Apocalypse Women

 My right foot leads with literary poetry, but my left foot follows with speculative poetry. I rarely write from prompts, but I couldn't resist a call for ekphrastic piece that does not exist and is also speculative. I was thrilled to place it in Eye to the Telescope. (Issue #44, April 2022)

Grudge Day

 "Grudge Day" is a fun prose poem with a surreal twist. Published in Coastal Shelf (Spring 2022).

Moonhood

 "Moonhood" is a poem for women without children. Published in Writing in a Woman's Voice (Mar 12, 2022).

I Rock the Ulu

 "I Rock the Ulu" (a curved blade for cutting fish) was published in One Art Poetry ( Mar 9, 2022).

"When in Doubt" and "Bedridden"

 Here are two poems--a ghazal (which seemed appropriate for "Bedridden"), and a light hearted poem about taking chances ("When in Doubt") published in Canada's White Wall Review  on Jan 6, 2022. Be patient scrolling . . .the older posts will show up if you linger on the last entry. 

First publication in 2022!

 What luck to land in the premier issue of Land Luck Review (Issue 1 2022) which published my prose poem  A Russian Scientist in LaunderLand. 

Dead Low Water + Look, Listen, Stop

 https://www.newnotepoetry.com/winter-2021 brought some of my wilder environmental poems to light: "Dead Low Water" and "Look, Listen, Stop."

Home Health Nurse

 "Home Health Nurse" found a home in American Diversity Report (Dec 12, 2021). Alas, it has been archived and I can no longer find it online. (Watch for my next book?)

You Shall Not Muzzle the Ox

 "You Shall Not Muzzle the Ox" is an aberrant sonnet about writing and threshing grain. Published in Cider Press Review 23.5, 2021.

Shouting at Wildflowers in Three Acts

I'm not sure where the line is drawn between science fiction poetry and speculative poetry, but I'm happy so many of my poems are published in qualify sf venues. This poem was published in  Silver Blade (#51, October 2021). 

Freezing on Mineral Creek Trail

I am so honored that Turtle Island Quarterly has published so many of my ecology and nature-related poems.  "Freezing on Mineral Creek Trail" reflects on my visit to Valdez, Alaska in 2000. https://fourdirectionpoetry.wixsite.com/turtleisland/copy-of-20.

KENYON REVIEW!

Saddened by the death of the great Irish poet Ciaran Carson in 2019, I studied his last book of poems (Still Life) which were entirely ekphrastic. As a tribute to Carson, I wrote my own ekphrastic poetry using the artwork he wrote about. Our perspectives are quite different.

"Impossible White Goat" was published in Kenyon Review in print only, May/June 2021, v.53.3.

"When I Can't See" and "Listening My Way Back" came out in Kenyon Review Online in May 2021 which you can find here: https://kenyonreview.org/writer/sara-backer/

Waves

"Waves" is another poem about my father's death, published in the absolutely gorgeous Irish publication Crannóg, issue 54, Spring 2021. Print only. 

Peace Piece

Peace Piece is a tribute to one of my favorite pianists, Bill Evans.  

The best way to read this poem is to find an audio recording of "Peace Piece" online and listen as you read!

You'll have to scroll down to April 2021.

"Into the Closet" and "Games for Children" are two more poems in my four-poem CutBank bonanza issue in April 2021.

Tiresias Plays Chess in Their Spare Time

 Tiresias Plays Chess in Their Spare Time is one of my four-poem bonanza publications in CutBank Literary Magazine online in April 2021. This is an unrhymed sonnet depicting the mythical Greek character of Tiresias as transgender prophet unable to read the future of a chess game.