“The Long Way Home” Book Review

This review by Michael Tidemann was originally published in Des Moines Register. Book review: Memoir redefines meaning of home “The Long Way Home,” a memoir about how travel eventually brings us home, is the April featured selection for Writers and Writing. Author Tom Montgomery Fate is a native of Maquoketa...

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BEI and Cutthroat Journal at AWP Writer’s Convention

On March 9th, our BEI family presented with Cutthroat Journal at the AWP Writer’s Convention. We’ve tracked down the live stream footage from the event, and wanted to share it with all of you! We’ve attached a link to the video, as well as a timestamp marking for when everyone...

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AWP Offsite Reading Program

BEI + Cutthroat @ CAM / AWP 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Thursday 3/9/23 Join The Black Earth Institute at Common AREA on March 9th at 2:30 pm for an incredible reading with 17 authors, artists, and scholars. BEI readers, along with special guests from Cutthroat, are coming from across...

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Recordando Como La Historia Se Repite Poetry Reading

This post was originally featured on Facebook.com. Our monthly poetry series continues with the February 2023 edition, which has the theme “Remembering How History Repeats Itself.” This month we will also have a featured poet, Teresa Dzieglewicz, whose first book is forthcoming this spring. Titled Something Small of How To...

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Ann Fisher-Wirth

Ann Fisher-Wirth wins 2023 Governor’s Arts Award

Join us in Congratulating Ann Fisher-Wirth on her momentous achievement! Senator John Horhn and Senator Nicole Boyd on Thursday, February 2, 2023, presented Dr. Ann Fisher-Wirth of Oxford, with Senate Resolution 21, for being named a recipient of the 2023 Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Literature & Poetry. The...

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Petra Kuppers

Professor embraces disability through movement

This article was originally published by The University of Michigan. During Ypsilanti’s first Pride Festival in 2017, Petra Kuppers set up a booth called the “QueerCrip Pussy Poets’ Rest Stop.” Kuppers and her wife, poet and dancer Stephanie Heit, offered those attending a place to relax and explore poetry by...

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Mary Swander Play to Tour Summer 2023

Squatters on Red Earth A peaceful encounter in the midst of the U.S. white settler land grab. Squatters on Red Earth explores the positive relationship that the Amana Colonies have had with the Meskwaki Indigenous people. The Amana Inspirationists fled religious persecution in their homeland in Germany only to become part...

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Why Write Children Books by Brenda Peterson

To read Brenda’s original publication, click here. “Why write for children?” a friend asked me rather dismissively when she heard I was mulling over writing a book for kids. “Isn’t that like dumbing down?” “Because adults still don’t get it,” I answered, keeping my voice low so as not to...

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Paradise Is Jagged—Available for Pre-Orders

To pre-order Ann Fisher-Wirth’s newest collection, click here. In this extraordinary collection, Ann Fisher-Wirth looks levelly at mortality, grief, and memory, and reckons with what it is to be urgently alive, bringing her incisive nuance to subjects ranging from the loss of a beloved sister to Mississippi’s Parchman Penitentiary to...

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Center of Gravity Pushcart Prize Nominations

We are proud to unveil our 2022 pushcart nominations from the About Place Journal Issue Center of Gravity. These nominations were selected by the issue’s editors, Gerald L. Coleman, Orchid Tierney, and Marjory Wentworth. Join us in congratulating Cristina Correa, Kari Gunter-Seymour, and M. Brett Gaffney   Cristina Correa, “The...

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Pam Uschuk’s Refugee receives recommendation from Orion Magazine

This article was originally published by Orion Magazine. Orion poetry editor Camille Dungy and friends are back at it, bringing you recommendations on some of the best recent books on animals, trees, time, refugees, place, bewilderment, grief, and Babyn Yar. ANN FISHER-WIRTH RECOMMENDS:  REFUGEE by Pamela Uschuk The first line of Pamela Uschuk’s extraordinary...

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Center of Gravity

We are incredibly excited to launch the next About Place Issue: “Center of Gravity.” We think this issue demonstrates justice as the center of gravity and resistance as getting us there. We hope you will join us in celebrating these artists’ eclectic, daring interpretations of the theme. Let us know...

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Tom Montgomery Fate Book Signing Event

This event was originally published by PrairiePathBooks.com.   Prairie Path Books 255 Town Square Wheaton, IL, 60189 Thursday, December 8, 2022 @ 6:00 PM- 7:00 PM Meet Literary Local, Tom Montgomery Fate, for a reading, discussion, and signing of his new book, The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries. Tom...

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Black Earth Institute emblem

Giving Tuesday!

It’s Giving Tuesday and the Black Earth Institute needs your support. BEI through the projects of its fellows, its About Place Journal, and the ongoing work of its emeritus fellows and scholar/advisors brings art to bear on promoting social justice, protecting the earth, and honoring an inclusive spirit. We are...

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Navigations: A Place For Peace Pushcart Prize Nominations

We are proud to unveil our 2022 pushcart nominations from the About Place Journal Issue Navigations: A Place for Peace. These nominations were selected by the issue’s editors, Allison Hedge Coke, Jasmine Elizabeth Smith, Katy Gurin, and Travis Hedge Coke. Join us in congratulating Brandy Nālani McDougall, Cristina Eisenberg, and...

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Amanda Reavey

Cento for Orphanhood by Amanda Reavey

The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets originally published this poem. I. In the beginning there were no orphans. God created the sky and You lived, because a divine hand saved you from an accident. You lived Though it’s an exaggeration to maintain that he must be an angel. II. In the...

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Ann Fisher-Wirth

Ann Fisher-Wirth wins Excellence in Literature & Poetry

The following article was originally published on yallpolitics.com. The 2023 recipients will be recognized at the 35th Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony on Feb. 2, 2023, at 6 p.m.  This week, the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) announced the recipients of the 2023 Governor’s Arts Awards, which are given to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding...

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Remember Patricia Monaghan- Black Earth Institute

To donate to this amazing campaign, click here! On November 11th, 2012, Black Earth Institute co-founder Patricia Monaghan died. On this the 10th anniversary of her death, we ask for your support in helping us continue and grow her vision. BEI provides a sanctuary, a magnification of voice and community to artists who seek...

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Fourteen Poems

The following collection was originally published by PersimmonTree.org.  Featured BEI poets include Pam Uschuk, Patricia Spears Jones, and Ann Fisher-Wirth. Rejecting Despair: Poems of Lament, Rage, and Resistance by Cynthia Hogue, Poetry Editor We who fought during the era of Second Wave feminism have lived to see our success curtailed,...

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Pain and Joy on the Land: A Disability Culture Offering Virtual

To register for this event, click HERE. Thursday, October 27, 2022, 12:00PM to 1:15PM (EDT) ONLINE | Pain and Joy on the Land: A Disability Culture Offering Virtual Two white queer cis women, one woman of size, Petra Kuppers, with yellow glasses, shaved head, pink lipstick, and a black dotted...

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Letter: Censorship of books is never a good idea

This opinion piece was originally published in Grand Folks Herald. Libraries are the last home of democracy in our country; they’re places where all are welcome, services are provided, and books, those wonderful houses of stories, knowledge, and information, are accessible to all. By Taylor Brorby   Last week, while returning...

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AgArts Podcast: A Nail Pulling Party

This podcast was originally found on AgArts.com. Season #2, Episode 39: A Nail Pulling Party Host Mary Swander puts out a call to listeners for critter stories and gives instructions to make a pitch on the website: www. agarts.org. Swander tells the story of Old Order Amish neighbor Abram Yutzy demolishing...

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ASLE Conference in Portland, Oregon

ASLE & AESS in 2023: Portland, Oregon The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) and The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) are excited to announce that they will hold their next conference jointly in Portland, Oregon on July 9-12, 2023 at the Oregon Convention Center....

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Allison Hedge Coke Contender for National Book Award for Poetry

This piece was originally found in nationalbook.com. The ten contenders for the National Book Award for Poetry Find The New Yorker’s announcement here. The National Book Foundation announced the Longlist for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry. The Finalists in all five categories will be revealed on Tuesday, October 4. Three...

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Lauren Camp is the second New Mexico Poet Laureate

This article was originally published by the Albuquerque Journal. Lauren Camp has a way with words. The northern New Mexican poet becomes the state’s second Poet Laureate. “I am humbled and grateful to serve as New Mexico’s second Poet Laureate,” says Camp. “I fell in love with New Mexico 28...

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Loving and mourning in the kingdom of decay

Loving and mourning in the kingdom of decay was recorded earlier in the year at a TEDx event at DePaul University. The talk was led by BEI Resident Scholar Advisor Liam Heneghan. According to Liam “The talk is especially meaningful to me because it was prepared and given shortly after...

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Petra Kuppers wins 2022 ASLE Book Award

This post was originally made by ASLE.org. Judges have announced the winners of the 2022 ASLE Book Awards. The awards, in the categories of ecocriticism and environmental creative writing, have been given biennially to recognize excellence in the field. The 2021 awards were postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic. This year,...

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Brenda Peterson and Ed Young’s “Crane Maiden”

Brenda's second illustrated book, with master Chinese illustrator, Ed Young, CRANE MAIDEN, is out now from Chin Music Press as a digital book first! Since Ed created his shadow play art on a light table (moon) with paper collage and feather, CRANE MAIDEN, comes gloriously alive on screen. The book...

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The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries- Review

The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries Andrew Taylor-Troutman reviews Tom Montgomery Fate’s new book.   Tom Montgomery Fate Ice Cube Press, 168 pages | Published July 15, 2022 In The Long Way Home, Tom Montgomery Fate has written a profoundly moving travel memoir about his experiences across the United States...

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Patricia Spears Jones

Saturnine by Patricia Spears Jones

This poem was originally published at Poets.org. Saturnine Patricia Spears Jones for Karen Taylor We cannot feel microbes in the palms of our hands or hear nanoseconds—we can see the laser slice wind. But  how it shaves beards remains mysterious. This talk of science & biologicals & viral crowns   make...

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John T. Price’s New Book “All is Leaf”

BEI Emeritus Fellow John T. Price has released his new book! It is out NOW and available for purchase! Book Description Drawing inspiration and urgency from the storied Goethe Oak tree at Buchenwald concentration camp–and from the leaf as symbol of all change, growth, and renewal–award-winning essayist John Price explores...

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Navigations: A Place for Peace

We are incredibly excited to launch the next About Place Issue: “Navigations: A Place for Peace.” We think this issue speaks to restoring ourselves to the earth and overall healing. We hope you will join us in celebrating these artists’ eclectic, daring interpretations of the theme. Let us know what...

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Corn and Turns by Lauren Camp

This poem was originally published in The Common Online. By LAUREN CAMP If I won’t remember that I was in Virginia last year without praise of darkness, or the autumn drift I spent in Wisconsin watching a cardinal nip the oak, if I see and forget field thick over field, the...

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Tucson Poetry Festival: Lauren Camp Presents

How to Make Luck: Writing in Praise of the Ordinary with Lauren Camp (Registration Closed) 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM With so many things to worry over, we need to keep finding joy and celebrating gratitude. This feel-good workshop will help you write in praise of small beauties, large events, or anything...

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Mary Swander Podcast- Ask Ruby

Season #2 Episode #29: Ask Ruby “Ruby, why do Amish men shave off their mustaches but still have beards? Do the Amish vote? Do they use binoculars? What are their favorite foods? What is Rumspringa? Can the Amish use solar panels? How do they observe Ascension Thursday?” Find answers to...

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Hearing the Invisible: Lessons from Sentient Beings and Inter-relational Ecosystems

This post was originally featured in The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology. BEI Alums Brenda Peterson, Annie Finch, and Cristina Eisenberg will be presenting at this phenomenal symposium. Check out more information below! 2022 ASWM SYMPOSIUM  “Hearing the Invisible: Lessons from Sentient Beings and Inter-relational Ecosystems” ASWM...

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Patricia Spears Jones honored at The Poetry Project’s 55th Anniversary Gala

The Poetry Project is honored to bring together poets, collaborators, and stewards of the avant-garde for our 55th Anniversary Gala in the Sanctuary at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, honoring two iconoclastic, beloved, and inspiring poets: Rene Ricard and Patricia Spears Jones.As we celebrate the incredible influence of these writers on downtown culture, the Gala...

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Mary Swander Podcast on Ukraine

Host (and BEI Emeritus Fellow) Mary Swander highlights stories of Ukraine from Annette Matjucha-Hovland, a listener in Muscatine, Iowa. Matjucha-Hovland tells how she learned to bake paska and cherry varenysky, traditional Ukrainian foods, from her grandmother, or oma. Swander recounts stories of Amish and Ukrainian grandmothers, then reminds the audience...

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Black Earth Institute fellows 2020

CALL FOR NEW FELLOWS

The Black Earth Institute is seeking 8 new fellows for July 2022–July 2025 The Black Earth Institute is a community of creative, committed artists. Established in 2005, BEI is dedicated to supporting art that re-forges the links between spirit, earth, and society, for art and its makers create the space...

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Black is Blessed: The Art of Laura James

BEI Fellow Jacqueline Johnson brought our attention to a magnificent art gallery created by artist Laura James. We were so enamored by her pieces, that we needed to share her art with you! The gallery, which premiered in New York on March 3rd of this year, has been converted to...

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Coffin Honey by Todd Davis

BEI Emeritus Fellow Todd Davis has published his SEVENTH poetry collection, Coffin Honey. You can purchase the publication NOW at this link! Read on to learn more about the collection, and hear its rave reviews! About In Coffin Honey, his seventh book of poems, celebrated poet Todd Davis explores the many forms...

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Allison Hedge Coke reads with Carolina Poets

BEI Emeritus Fellow Allison Hedge Coke will be going live on the Carolina Poets Facebook and Youtube pages as a part of their reoccurring reading series. Allison will be joined by fellow poets Montavis Mooring and Sarah Blackman for this hour and a half long reading. Read on for more...

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Our Voices, Our Resistance! A Reading with Pam Uschuk

On March 8th, BEI Fellow Pam Uschuk will be a featured reader at the anniversary reading for PEN International Women Writers Committee. Fourteen Poets from thirteen different countries will be presenting poetry that seeks to uplift and demonstrate the Power of the Voice. In addition to Pamela Uschuk, Ukrainian poet...

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The 32nd Annual Mardi Gras Conference

Welcome to this year’s Mardi Gras Conference! The 32nd Annual Mardi Gras Conference considers the relationship between environments and communities. The event will feature Black Earth Institute Senior Fellow Ann Fisher-Wirth as a Keynote speaker on February 25th (tomorrow) at noon! How to Attend All panels being held on Zoom...

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Black Earth Institute fellows 2020

CALL FOR NEW FELLOWS

The Black Earth Institute is seeking 8 new fellows for July 2022–July 2025 The Black Earth Institute is a community of creative, committed artists. Established in 2005, BEI is dedicated to supporting art that re-forges the links between spirit, earth, and society, for art and its makers create the space...

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Beyond the Land Ethic: A Lecture by BEI Resident Scholar Advisor Cristina Eisenberg

Beyond the Land Ethic: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Forest Management and Conservation, A Native American Perspective Speaker: Cristina Eisenberg, Graduate Faculty, College of Forestry, OSU Registration is required: Please register here. When: February 16, 2022, 3:30 PM-5:00 PM Where: Via Zoom and 117 Peavy Forest Science Center About the event: Dr....

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Linda Hogan honored by UC Riverside

This article was originally published by UC Riverside: Writers Week. Entering its 45th year, UCR’s Writers Week is the longest-running free literary event in California and features the most renowned authors of our day alongside those at the start of promising careers. The week of events is open to the...

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Allison Hedge Coke Pushcart Nominations

Allison Hedge Coke was Nominated for ‘Poetry/Science: Lab Coats for House Coats’ and ‘Blue Whale.’ Both pieces were published and nominated by The Scarlet Tanager. Poetry/Science: Lab Coats for House Coats I’ll start out with this statement: Science is a natural way of perceiving and witnessing for the purpose of...

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Pam Uschuk’s New Poetry Collection- REFUGEE

REFUGEE is due out May 9, 2022, but will soon be available for pre-order. Black Earth Institute Fellow, Pam Uschuk has howled out six books of poems, including Crazy Love, winner of a 2010 American Book Award, Finding Peaches In The Desert (Tucson/Pima Literaature Award), and her most recent, Blood...

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Bodyfulness: A Seven-Week Course with Petra Kuppers

More information on this event can be found here. Starship Somatics: movement sensations for everyone. Session 2 with Petra Kuppers, Tuesday 11 January 2022, 4.30-6pm GMT In this dream journey/movement practice, we will engage our body-mind-spirits as portals, as trance-mobiles that honour pasts and jet us toward speculative futures. Let’s...

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Submit to About Place Journal- Navigations: A Place for Peace

Seeking work that engages with the essence of sacred spaces/intentional navigations to protect, preserve, & enhance return to Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Native sciences, Indigenous knowledges. Call for Submissions open on January 1, 2022 for our next issue: Navigations: A Place for Peace Editor: Allison Adelle Hedge Coke Assistant Editors: Katy...

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Review of Petra Kupper’s Gut Botany

Entropy Magazine recently placed Gut Botany on their list of the Best Poetry Books of 2020-2021. You can purchase the collection here. In the meantime, read this fantastic review published in The Massachusetts Review. Gut Botany by Petra Kupper (Wayne State University Press, 2020) You might remember, when the pandemic began,...

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Ann Fisher-Wirth Pushcart Nominations

Ann Fisher-Wirth was Nominated for ‘Ironing’ published in The Ilanot Review; and was nominated for ‘Val Corsaglia’ and ‘Science and Poetry: Beyond the Radish Seeds’ by Scarlet Tanager Press. Ironing                  I have the whole of time and space to find again the face...

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