Contributions
- Four Poems by Sarah E N Kohrs
Read four poems by poet Sarah E N Kohrs, our second of six biweekly poets of the Spring 2025 issue, along with a few words about the poem “What We Create Together.”
About the Contributor
Sarah E N Kohrs writes to grapple with human injustices, as much as to savor fireflies. She has 75+ poems in journals worldwide, including Arboreal, Culinary Origami, Elevation Review, Flyway, Kitchen Quarterly, Louisiana Literature, Lucky Jefferson, Poetry Society of Virginia anthologies, West Trade Review. She’s received numerous honors, including the Peter K. Hixson Award in poetry. Her chapbook, Chameleon Sky, won the 2022 Kingdoms in the Wild Poetry Award. Surrounded by Shenandoah Valley, Va, mountains on land that belonged to the Manahoac, SENK is also a photographer, potter, and educator. She has a BA from The College of Wooster, Oh.
Author Website
Chapbook
Chameleon Sky (Kingdoms in the Wild Press, 2023)
Chameleon Sky shimmers with the surreal that the last two years have held for the world, cradling loss and how we relate with everything, everyone, no matter where we are in a world that sometimes feels unsafe to enter. It’s like the sky’s transitioning from now to then: dense clouds one moment, sunlight before the vespertine another time, hope always mingled in the asperity.
Winner of the 2022 Kingdoms in the Wild Poetry Prize.
Recent Poetry
- “The Gilding of Peace” (GROUND Journal)
- “Wavesong of a Marsh” (Chariot Press Literary Journal)
- “An Axion” (Wild Roof Journal)
- “Beyond the Window” (The Bluebird Word)
- “A Curse or a Gift” (Stoneboat Literary Journal)
Contributor Q & A
Can you share a little about your life and interests?
My husband and I fell in love on Santorini, during a study abroad with The College of Wooster. I didn't know what path our lives would take then, but 27 years later, we navigate life the best we can, raising three children. I've been an educator that long, too - first as a tutor of ancient Greek and Latin in college, then as a Latin teacher at a public high school, a homebound instructor, and now a homeschooling mother. Everything I do revolves around my children and my crazy quilted attempt to keep creating pottery and fine art photography, as well as writing. It's a life of little sleep, constant noise and motion, but moments of real beauty and wonder. I love nature - so everyday holds something to savor and something to encourage me on this journey through life.
How long have you been a writer and how did you get started?
I fell in love with poetry in 4th grade. Shel Silverstein was a favorite. In high school, I turned to Langston Hughes, e.e. cummings, and Pablo Neruda. I still love these poets, but have more of a fondness for Mary Oliver, Anna Limón, Maya Angelou, and Joy Harjo, now. I mourn that, as a child, I wasn't exposed to many female poets, excepting Emily Dickinson, especially during a time when I recognized that poetry was a tool for self-expression in a conservative, rural area where children were denied freedom of voice, especially in public school. I've kept a love of poetry through the asperity and joys of life. Poetry helps me grapple with the world. Although I had a poem chosen for publication in Poetry of Virginia anthology when I was in high school, I didn't begin submitting seriously to publications until the Internet made it more feasible to find calls for writing. I was pregnant with my fourth child, which ended in a second miscarriage, when a literary journal picked up several of my poems - it was affirming and gave me the confidence to keep submitting. I'll be forever grateful to From the Depths for giving me that confidence and to my friend, Rebekah, who encouraged me to submit and celebrated those publications with me so beautifully. I've had some amazing moments - literary journals that formed their entire issue's theme around my work, literary journals that have nominated my poetry for a Pushcart, Kingdoms in the Wild choosing my first chapbook, Chameleon Sky, for their poetry award in 2022, and several first place awards that have encouraged me. Each one is a professional break amid the sea of rejections writers are all too familiar with - having affirmations like waves breaking on a shore is important to writers.
What’s an accomplishment in your writing life that you’re proud of and a goal that you still have?
I wanted to publish a book of poems - so having Chameleon Sky published in 2023 was a huge accomplishment. I wanted my sons to know working hard toward a goal is always worthwhile - even when it takes a lot of time and you're not paid for the work you put into it. I don't write to live, I live to write. Other passions I hope to fulfill: hiking the Appalachian Trail one day; encouraging more positive, community-building, and inclusive public schools for my sons; and seeing my sons discover their passions and matching them with however they can best help others in a world that is in desperate need of true peace-makers.
What do you look for in a book? Who are your favorite writers?
As a mother of three sons, reading for them has been a huge part of my life. I love reading about organic gardening (like Mattus's Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening), random science non-fiction (such as, Clegg's Inflight Science: A Guide to the World From Your Airplane Window), poetry books (esp. Harjo's Poet Warrior), primary source materials about African American and Indigenous history in the U.S., stories that remind me there is still goodness in the world (Reilich & Knell's Upworthy Good People), etc. I homeschool my 5th grade son and we go to the library every week. He will grab a book for me to read (often a fiction novel) and I'll grab a book for him to read - it's important for me that some of the books I read are meaningful to those I love the most. Right now he has me on the Wings of Fire series, but I've also read some great books by Grace Lin, Erin Hunter, etc. It gives me an insight into who my kids are and what they enjoy, and it gives us something beautiful to hold in common. Books do that so well: drawing people together, creating empathy, challenging dogmatic perspectives, and encouraging people to step off their islands and engage with something greater than themselves.
Contents
Book Excerpt: The Prize of Québec by Jennifer Nelson
“I tend to lean into the transconstitutory powers of ekphrasis. … Only in poetry can one go to the moon in a way that critiques the quest for the moon.” Read a poem from Jennifer Nelson’s new collection from Fence Books, On the Way to the Paintings of Forest Robberies.
Chapbook Poem: This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . by Shanta Lee
“This poem explores the levels of our participation in handing ourselves over, often to the people, places, or things that deserve no such delight.” Read a #poem from Shanta Lee’s new book from Harbor Editions, This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . The Slaughter.
Three Poems by Jonathan Fletcher
“Instead of having to choose between religion or the LGBTQ community (which I know many member of the latter feel they have to do), I think it is possible (and maybe even biblical) to integrate both into one’s life.” Read three original poems from Jonathan Fletcher, along with words from the author.
What Happened? On You are Leaving the American Sector by Rebecca Foust
“Rebecca Foust’s new chapbook of poems has a strange prescience. … Foust isn’t alone in making the obvious connection between Trump’s first term and Orwell’s dystopia.” Read the full chapbook review by new contributor Rick Mullin.
‘What if we started creating together? What if we looked at who we are from the side and saw a much more complete and honest perspective?” Read four poems by poet Sarah E N Kohrs, along with words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Challenger by Colleen S. Harris
“If we look beyond the voyeuristic tendency to focus on the tragedy, what might we see? This poem was a chance for me to zoom in on the calm before the storm.” New poem from Colleen S. Harris’s new book from Main Street Rag, The Light Becomes Us, along with words from the poet.
Chapbook Poem: What I Did This Summer by Elinor Serumgard
“I love New Year’s and the promise of a new start, but I like to remind myself that you can start fresh at any point throughout the year.” New poem from Elinor Serumgard’s chapbook from Bottlecap Press, Analogous Annum, along with words from the poet.
Four Poems by Christa Fairbrother
“Since women aren’t allowed the power of our anger, we take it out on each other, and that’s what this poem is hinting at.” Read four poems by Christa Fairbrother, along with words from the poet.
Multilingualism and Metaphor: On Desire/Halves by Jaia Hamid Bashir
“Bashir’s elegant debut collection investigates identity as the result of choices between individual appetites and cultural frames. … [It] announces an exciting addition to the global chorus of contemporary literature.” Read D.W. Baker’s full review.
Five Poems by Jane Ellen Glasser
“In my fantasy world, I would be able to communicate with the animals I see every day.” Read five naturalist poems by poet Jane Ellen Glasser, along with a few words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: Ars Poetica by Leigh Sugar
“[C]ould there be, a poetry that does investigate the body, without explosion? Maybe even with an effort towards reconstruction?” Read an excerpt from Leigh Sugar’s book, FREELAND, from Alice James Books, along with words from the author.
“…she has a sense of style, a modicum of grace, and she recognizes her place in the cosmic order, where revolution rules every other Wednesday and twice, of course, on Sundays…” Read three poems by Bart Edelman along with words from the poet.
Chapbook Poem: I Worry by Flavian Mark Lupinetti
“I can’t begin to imagine doctors in Gaza courageously practicing medicine while intentionally targeted by the Israeli army aided by the United States.” Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for June 2025, “I Worry” from The Pronunciation Part by Flavian Mark Lupinetti.
“Quantum physics leads us to the uncanny and the terrifying. I know people fear black holes, but to me they rearrange our relationship to time and to our own lives.” Read four #poems by Victoria Korth along with words from the poet.