Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA

Poet • Educator

Poems

Poetry helps me find “the place beyond words.” We poets use words to point ourself and others toward those ineffable places. When this water of 'being' is running through me, I write for the joy of participating and the hope of learning something new. If my words then touch others I am rewarded a second time.

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Nature of Our Times

Liberty Bell @ Washington Pass

I’m thrilled to have a poem, Into the Rift, in this new anthology, The Nature of Our Times. The website of the same name, originated by the Wick Poetry Center, hosted over 1300 poems and the editors chose a little over 200 for this print edition.

“The Nature of Our Times is a shared initiative, bringing together the joint efforts of Paloma Press, Poets for Science, United By Nature, and Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University, and is made possible with grant support from the Ohio Arts Council, the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture and Arts Commission, and the Woodward Foundation. This anthology serves as a companion to the first national assessment of U.S. lands, waters, and wildlife.”

The book features poems from some of the country’s best-known poets, including:

  • Jane Hirshfield
  • Diane Ackerman
  • Camille Dungy
  • Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Arthur Sze

and many more.  Please purchase a copy.

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Photo Poems

I’ve been experimenting with taking photos and writing haikus or prose pieces to accompany them. Here are a few examples.

The Climb

Burnt Totem 

A prickly heart pairs well

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Poems in the World, Readings, Teaching

It’s been a minute since I’ve written. But I’m here to share some links to poems and other work and opportunities.

Poetry:

First, a poem out very recently in MER Folio. Spells and Prayers Before Antimatter. Lots of great writing here too.

And in the recent journal Naugatuck River Review, my poem, Blood of the Peony Bed, was a finalist in their narrative poetry contest. Please buy the journal as it’s quite wonderful too.

I have a few more poems coming out soon that I’ll link as they arrive.

Teaching:

I’m teaching 4 workshops in collaboration with a visual artist, Carol Rashawnna Williams, for kids living with an autoimmune disease and their caregivers. Autoimmune diseases include but are not limited to: Juvenile Arthritis, Juvenile Myositis, Crohn’s, diabetes Type 1, Lupus, IBD, etc.  The first one is coming up Saturday, March 18th at SandPoint Learning Center (affiliated with Seattle Children’s Hospital) and more to follow in May and June. I made a little video about the workshops too. See it here and please register . It is called The Kaleidoscope of Autoimmune Disease workshop.

Reading:

I’ll be reading poems in support of Donna Spruijt-Metz’s new book, General Release from the Beginning of the World, along with Heidi Seaborn, on Monday, March 20th at Elliott Bay Bookstore starting at 7 pm.

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Book Reviews–Since the House Is Burning

A book review is a gift from the reviewer to the reader and writer. It is a conversation in which the writer is allowed into someone else’s perceptions of their words and it is a way for potential readers to learn about a book they might want to read.  It is also a labor of kindness since very few reviewers get paid for their work.

I am grateful to both Claudia Putnam whose review of my book appears in MER online (aka Mom Egg Review) and to Risa Deneberg for her words in River Mouth Review.