About

Origin Story

Back in the early 1980’s, a teaching-artist visited my third grade classroom and told us something to the effect that poetry is not about good or bad or right or wrong, but about touching someone’s heart. Now I know it is more nuanced than that, but at that moment, in the midst of statewide testing and evaluations, I was in. 

Later that year, my bestie gave me a fuzzy black poetry journal embossed with a unicorn and I started to write poetry, thoughts, and letters to myself. 

Here is one of the first poems I wrote: 

Years later, when I was a high school student at the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities, I spent many lunch hours wandering the halls looking for a safe space to eat lunch while kids gossiped, fought and got drunk. One afternoon, I passed by a room with a sign that read, “Poet’s House.” 

I was intrigued.  

After walking in and explaining how much I liked poetry and how I was intimidated by the craziness of the lunchroom, the Executive Director, Lee, let me eat lunch at Poet House and even munch on leftover crackers from author readings. I explored the shelves of poetry books and discovered the work of Anne Sexton, Langston Hughes, Margarate Atwood and on and on. 

Little did I know then that Poets House would become one of the largest poetry libraries in the world and also, that I would one day, work for them as one of their Poet-in-the-Branches teaching artists. 

Amazing how our life story unfolds…

Integration

After studying creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh, I moved back to NYC. By day I worked in commercial film editing, and by night, went to open mics. I became a slam champion at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and made the rounds as a featured poet in what was a burgeoning spoken word scene. I published in journals, published a book… and did what may be considered the right things to do to become a “successful poet.” However, I wanted to take it all a step further. 

I have always wanted to integrate what I considered to be fragmented consciousness and assembly line ways of being and learning. You know, connect the dots… 

So when I finally made the decision to figure out how I could make poetry my creative pursuit and also my “bread and butter,” I went at it from as many angles as I could imagine —

• I spent nights reading poetry at the infamous Strand Bookstore. 

• I got into NYU’s Graduate Creative Writing Program. 

• I performed at dinner parties, dance performances, art gallery openings, shabbat services, and political events. 

• I started several reading series. 

• I took a teaching-artist training course. 

• I worked…no, hustled…as a teaching-artist and educator for most every arts organization in the NYC area and taught in every setting imaginable – underserved community centers in the Bronx, senior centers, libraries, corporate workshops and college creative writing programs. 

Skipping Ahead

After years of teaching poetry I changed my focus to become a certified Holistic Health Coach and start a health coaching practice with my husband. I had spent years empowering people to express themselves through poetry, but after seeing so much ill health, I realized that I wanted to also empower people to reconnect to their bodies. And mine as well.  

After struggling to conceive, my husband and I gave birth to our first son. I thought I would keep going as was expected of me to not “give anything up.” but instead I decided to dedicate myself to motherhood and to cultivating sustainable family life.

Eventually we moved to a small river town in Pennsylvania where I was selected as the Poet Laureate of Bucks County, PA. This rekindled my writing and public life, but after my second son was born, I, again, withdrew into mothering, homeschooling, and traveling with our kids in a sprinter van– but that is a whole other story. 

2020

Then in 2020, as most of us know,  the world shut down. In many ways, this is where this part of the story begins. I sat with myself and the story of my life in a way I never did before. In addition to beginning my studies in Nonviolent Communication, and meditating daily, I realized that I had healing to do, and needed to become strong in a deeper way. 

Yoga

One of my best friends had gone from someone who struggled with alcohol and depression to a vibrant and thriving yoga teacher. I had always loved yoga, but the cost of classes and the whole schedule thing made it a haphazard practice for me. When I asked her if she had any recommendations she said, “Oh, I always love some Yoga with Adriene.” When I checked out the Youtube channel, I was hooked and became what could be called an “at home yogi.” 

Since then, it has become an integral part of my health, my sense of community, and also part of a deeper mind-body-soul integration and awakening.  

A Poem for Every Pose

Last year, I was called to write a poem for every pose. I recently finished the book of 84 poems and am searching for a publisher. As I do this, I am going to share a poem a week here, the story behind them, and any related insights or links. 

If you like the idea of this, please subscribe so I can keep you up to date and gift you with weekly poems.

And if you think someone else will like this, please feel free to share!

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