Blog
With election season upon us, two poems of civic engagement
In thinking about the Presidential election of a lifetime that’s before us, I was reminded of two poems I wrote four years ago, one about waiting in line to vote early in the 2020 election and one written during the violent insurrection of January 6, 2021.
Lit Hub: On Earth Day, Turning to Poetry for Hope
Looking back on this article written several years ago during the pandemic, https://lithub.com/on-earth-day-turning-to-poetry-for-hope/ I am reminded how much has changed in some ways, and yet so little in others, and how poetry and other arts can touch our hearts and open us up to facing and addressing climate change with courage. This was my thesis for Here: Poems for the Planet (Copper Canyon Press, Earth Day, 2019), and it is my thesis to this day.
Interview with Pinhole Poetry
"Content is often unsettling or painful in poems, but form is play, a residue of the fun the poet had while working. Of course, like form and content, pain and fun want to be each other.” That tension is at the heart of the matter of poetry, I think. I mention this quote in the Pinhole Poetry interview.
Rereading the Zen Evening Gatha (While, It’s hard to acknowledge this, hope can give us courage to awaken and act. )
Rereading the Zen evening Gatha, I was reminded of the urgency of waking up to the peril of environmental degradation to life on our beloved planet.
While, It’s hard to acknowledge this, hope can give us courage to awaken and act.
This surprising moment of hope for our democracy and our planet
This moment of unexpected hope for our country and the world is a wonderful time to revisit the possibility of an empowered future for those of us wishing to protect our planet and all its sentient beings.
Elementals Published by Humans & Nature Press
My copy of elementals has arrived, and I am experience the difference between reading about a gorgeous book with brilliant creators online, and holding it in my hand. I have begun my journey through this astonishing land of great, passionate, elemental writing, and already planning all the people I want to give it to, all over our beautiful blue planet. Thank you this bible of the elements, and thank you for letting me be part of it.
I was honored to see “I pledge allegiance” featured in Third Act Upstate New York’s “Poets Corner” in June.
I was honored to see my poem “I pledge allegiance” featured in Third Act Upstate New York’s “Poets Corner” in June. I’m grateful to David Grubin for choosing it.
I am beyond honored to be among the writers in this extraordinary five-volume collection, that offers essays, poetry, and stories illuminating the dynamic relationships among all of life.
This is an extraordinary collection, with two great editors, Nickole Brown and Craig Santos Perez. I am beyond honored to be among all these great poets Center for Humans & Nature.
Honored to be long listed in the @surgingtidemag summer writing contest in 2023. Their 2024 summer writing contest runs July 1-July 31.
I was honored to be long listed in this beautiful poetry journal @surgingtidemag summer writing contest in 2023. Their 2024 summer writing contest runs July 1-July 31.
Thrilled and gratified to come upon my poem on the beautiful and important https://poetsforscience.org
Many thanks to poet Jane Hirshfield & @DAVIDWICKPOETRY for the gorgeous showcase & many poetry treasures https://poetsforscience.org
@ucsusa @coppercanyonprs
Co-author Michael J. Palmer discusses locations photographed (the subjects of the poems) in “Autumn in a Solitary Time. “
The poems and photographs in this chapbook reflect the isolation, loneliness, and fear many of us felt in that solitary time. It was as if Autumn leaves, that annual death and decay, symbolized the tragedy unfolding. At the same time, we found great comfort in the natural world.
Classical Guitar at Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center
I have been playing the classical guitar for many years, and it give me enormous pleasure to play the guitar for patients, families and staff at Memorial Sloane Kettering. It is also, each week, a moment of connection with my parents.
Delighted to have two new poems in TCU’s descant, vol. 62
I am honored to have two poems in the beautiful new issue of descant, “Sitting Next to You at the Hospital on East 68th Street, I Read about the History of our Galaxy" (which they’ve nominated for a Pushcart Prize!) and “On a porch in the Catskills during the Pandemic’s second spring.” @descanttcu @descantTCU
Reading “Berry Branches” from Autumn in a Solitary Time
This poem read from Autumn in a Solitary Time, The Hudson Valley, 2020 (Audience Askew Chapbooks), a collaboration with photographer Michael J. Palmer played on Planet Poet), describes three invasive plants (Lenape was the language spoken by the original, indigenous inhabitants.) @sharonisraelcucinotta
Reading the last poem, “The Gathering of Seeds,” from Autumn in a Solitary Time
Here I read the last poem, The Gathering of Seeds, in the photography/poetry collaboration with Michael J. Palmer, Autumn in a Solitary Time (Audience Askew Chapbooks, 2023) on the podcast Planet Poet. @sharonisraelcucinotta
Michael J. Palmer discussing his process for our photo/poetry collaboration
Here’s Michael J. Palmer discussing his process of photographing the plants in situ on special paper for our photography/poetry collaboration, Autumn in a Solitary Time (Audience Askew Chapbooks, 2023) with Sharon Israel, poet, on her podcast Planet Poet Words In Space.
The First Poem in the Chapbook, Autumn in a Solitary Time, Read Aloud
Pleased to share my reading of the first poem in Autumn in a Solitary Time, The Hudson Valley, 2020 (Audience Askew Chapbooks 2020), a collaboration with Michael J. Palmer, played on Planet Poet, Sharon Israel’s poetry podcast.
Quotes that Inspire Me
I am so pleased to share some writing , art, music, creativity and mindfulness quotes I’ve collected over many years. This is a new addition to my website; please come back and visit as I’ll be updating it.
I’ve used these quotes in teaching mindfulness, and as inspiration for my own mindfulness, writing, music, art, and advocacy practices. And I hope you might find them inspiring and helpful!
This page is in part inspired by A Certain World, A Commonplace Book by W.H. Auden (Viking, 1970)
https://www.elizabethjcoleman.com/quotes
Poetry Reading at Word Up Community Bookshop
Above is a clip from “Pizza Day” (f.k.a “Joy Had No Use for E”), which I had the pleasure of reading at @wordupbooks on October 23. Poets Patricia Brody, Lucille Lang Day, and Alicia Ostriker also read poems inspired by the theme “Why Poetry Matters” in this challenging time. (October 2023 at Word Up Community Bookshop at Amsterdam & 165th St.)
“Breton Summer” and “Note to Self,” Two New Poems in American Religion Journal
Published semiannually, American Religion offers a forum for intellectual and creative engagement with religion in the Americas. As the journal explores the boundaries of both “America” and “religion,” and ways in which the two intersect.