Words as Seeds
Poetry for Change
Three things on this bright cold February day:
1. The February Poetry Post goes out on the 15th!
What is the Poetry Post, you ask? Once a month, paid subscribers of Art & Soil will receive a poem and letter in the mail. If you love snail mail, poetry, and holding something real in your hands, this is for you.
To receive the post, become a paid subscriber by the 10th of the month.
Subscriptions are either $7/month or $70/year (two months free!). Poems will be mailed by the 15th of each month.
Paid subscribers must fill out this form to receive the Poetry Post.
2. Join me and fellow poet-farmer Taylor Mardis Katz at the NOFA-VT Winter Conference for a workshop titled Words as Seeds: Poetry for Change
This is one of my favorite events of the year! NOFA-VT brings farmers, gardeners, and homesteaders together just as the earth tilts again toward the sun and light stretches over the land for 10 hours a day again – a tipping point for growth.
This year, Taylor and I are co-leading a workshop on poetry for change. Here’s the official description:
In times of change, words can serve as roots that hold us steady and seeds that foster new possibilities. This workshop explores poetry as a tool for activism, highlighting poems that spark imagination and social action. Participants will write a collaborative poem and experience how the act of creating together forms a mycelial network that strengthens connection and inspires collective action.
Register for the conference and join us on Saturday, February 14.
3. I’m a participating artist in the March Arts Marathon – a fundraiser for the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network (CVRAN).
This fundraiser supports asylum seekers and refugee families in Vermont with housing, living expenses, and legal fees.
At a time when our country is being rocked by fear and violence, we need more ways to creatively take care of each other. The March Arts Marathon is a generative way to connect with local artists while supporting CVRAN’s work — I hope you’ll join me!
When you donate to the fundraiser, I’ll send you a poem a day in March.
That’s 31 poems! You can donate any amount - from $5 to $15 to $50 or more.
All money raised will go toward housing, living expenses, legal fees and other support services for the asylum seekers and refugees whom CVRAN supports in Central Vermont. Together, we can show how many people are weaving a network of support. Like mycelium through the soil, we can create a foundation for growth and nourishment.
Here’s a poem I wrote in last year’s marathon:
May we open our doors, feed each other, and grow a world of belonging.