What happens when four poets, friends for years, gather in a beautiful place to sit on a porch to talk, live, breathe, create poetry for days at a time? These friends all have led workshops and presented poetry and stories to audiences for many years. All are well-known and well respected practitioners and teachers of their craft. But these poetry days were different. These days offered the poets a chance to take a deep, reflective dive into their own approach to the art, at their own pace, with sharp, insightful input from each other. Not only were their skills examined, but also their relationships to the work, to the landscape around them, to the poems that seemed to spring from the mountain air as they laughed, cooked, mused on the porch swing, and absorbed the creative juices surrounding them in that special place. The result is this remarkable chapbook containing some of the output of those sessions over a period of several years. The poems each have distinctive voices, but they are not attributed in the text to the individuals, emphasizing the exceptional bond these poets established with each other and with their surroundings. A lovely and intriguing book.
Connelly Holstein, Susanna: - Susanna Connelly Holstein's work has appeared in the poetry anthologies "Fed From the Blade" (Woodland Press), "Voices on Unity: Coming Together, Falling Apart" and "Diner Stories" (Mountain State Press) as well as in short story anthologies and online journals. She was a columnist for 10 years for the regional magazine "Two-Lane Livin'" and has been blogging since 2007. A traditional storyteller and ballad singer, Susanna has performed for national venues and to audiences across West Virginia. In 2015 Susanna was named a West Virginia History Hero. When not writing or performing, she sells antiques and works in her gardens in Jackson County.
Denise, Cheryl: - Cheryl Denise grew up in Elmira, Ontario. She went to the red brick Mennonite church beside the white clapboard Old Order Meetinghouse. After nursing school, she went into Voluntary Service and worked as a public health nurse in La Jara, Colorado. She fell for her future husband while helping to make suppers at the Homeless Shelter where he was volunteering. Now they live in the intentional community of Shepherds Field, near Philippi, WV, in a timber framed home they built when they were young and brimming with energy. Cheryl is the author of the poetry books, "Fences" (2022), "What's in the Blood" (2012), and "I Saw God Dancing" (2005), all published by Cascadia Publishing House, DreamSeeker Books, Telford, PA. She has a spoken word poetry CD, "Leaving Eden" (2012) available on Amazon. She enjoys hiking, canoeing, biking, and cross-country skiing with her husband, Mike Miller. Visit her on Facebook at Cheryl Denise, poet.
Judd, Kirk: - "Kirk Judd, founding member of West Virginia Writers, Inc., has lived, worked, trout fished and wandered around in West Virginia all his life. Kirk was a member of the Appalachian Literary League, a former president (and JUG recipient) of West Virginia Writers, Inc., and is a founding member of and creative writing instructor for Allegheny Echoes, Inc., dedicated to the support and preservation of WV cultural heritage arts. Author of 3 collections of poetry "Field of Vision" (1986), "Tao-Billy" (1996), and "My People Was Music" (2014), and a co-editor of the widely acclaimed anthology, "Wild, Sweet Notes - 50 Years of West Virginia Poetry 1950 - 1999", he is widely published. He has been featured three times on American Public Radio on "The Poet and The Poem" with WV native Grace Cavalieri and has appeared on the acclaimed public radio show Mountain Stage. Kirk was honored to be one of 5 readers selected for the installation ceremony of Louise McNeill Pease as WV Poet Laureate in 1979. He is internationally known for his performance work combining poetry and old-time music and has performed poetry in Ireland and across West Virginia at fairs, concerts, and festivals since the 1970s."
