In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Deb Baker about her poem “Be Opened.” Deb lives in New Hampshire and works for a climate justice organization and in a hospital. She is a poet and spiritual director, Contemplative Practices editor at Vita Poetica, and writes about what she’s reading at bookconscious.wordpress.com.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviewed Steven Peterson about his poem “A Famine of Words.” Steven is a poet and playwright living in Chicago. His recent poems appear in Alabama Literary Review, America Magazine, The Christian Century, Dappled Things, First Things, The Windhover, and other journals. His plays have been produced around the USA. He is currently a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists. His first collection of poetry, Walking Trees and Other Poems, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Caroline J. Simon, PhD, about her poem “After Denise Levertov’s Essays.” Caroline is provost emeritus of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, where she served as executive vice president and chief academic officer for seven years. She taught at Hope College in Holland, Michigan for twenty-five years. She is a philosopher and ethicist who currently lives and writes in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Lila Robinett Tindall about her poem “On Absolution.” Lila is a poet from East Texas whose work concerns issues of femininity, faith, and domesticity. She has been published in Ekstasis Magazine, Five South, Bicoastal Review, and elsewhere.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Betsy Howard about her poem “Grafting Apple Shoots.” Betsy serves as an assistant professor of modern literature at Bethlehem College in Minneapolis, MN and as an affiliate researcher at the University of Minnesota with the Center for the PreModern World. Her recent academic work has included essays in Religion and the Arts and Victorian Poetry. Her creative essays have appeared in Between Two Cities (Anselm House) and Writing in the Margins (University of St. Thomas) and my review of Joseph Bottum’s Second Spring recently appeared in Eikon. She has published poems in Ekstasis, Ad Fontes, The New Verse Review, Summit Avenue Review and Tower Light.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Marci Rae Johnson about her poem “Winterscape with Hair Gel and Citrus.” Johnson works as an editor for a book publisher, and in her previous life she taught college English. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Image, Mid-American Review, Moon City Review, The MacGuffin, Rhino, The Louisville Review, and 32 Poems, among others. Her third full-length collection, Questionable Baggage, was recently released by Main Street Rag.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the Poetry Edition, Rose Postma talks with Janet Ruth Heller about her poem “Annunication.” Heller is the president of the Michigan College English Association. She has a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago. She is a past president of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. She has published three poetry books: Exodus (WordTech Editions, 2014), Folk Concert: Changing Times (Anaphora Literary Press, 2012), and Traffic Stop (Finishing Line Press, 2011); a scholarly book, Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama (University of Missouri Press, 1990); a middle-grade fiction chapter book for children, The Passover Surprise (Fictive Press, 2015, 2016); and a fiction picture book for children about bullying, How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale, 2006; 6th edition 2018), that has won four national awards, including a Children’s Choices award.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Sarah Watkins about her poem “The Jar the Woman Left Beside the Well.” Sarah is an educator by trade and a writer by necessity. She currently resides in northeast Arkansas with her husband.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Joshua Patch about his poem “Malchus.” Patch is a teacher residing in southern Michigan, and his poetry has appeared in Solum Journal and The Borough.
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma interviews Paul J. Willis about his poem “Michigan Spring.” Paul is professor emeritus of English at Westmont College and a former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California. Paul has published eight collections of poetry and the most recent is entitled Losing Streak.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Caroline Liberatore about her poem “Manual Labor.” Liberatore is a poet, editor, and librarian from Cleveland, Ohio. Her vocations indicate what she cares most deeply for: the written word, artistic excellence, embodied presence in local communities, commonplace beauty, and the tangible redemption of Christ. Caroline serves as Editor at The Clayjar Review and writes regularly on her Substack, Dog-Eared Inquiries.
In this week’s episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews William D. Howden on his poem “Wrapped and Laid.” Howden is an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Now retired, he lives in San Antonio with his wife, Jan Davis, and their cats. He holds degrees from Milligan University (BA) and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv and PhD). Bill’s essays, sermons and poetry have been published in various journals. He and Jan also produce a free bi-monthly newsletter, Soul Windows: Reflection (www.soulreflection.org).
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Taylor Mallay about her poem “Every Sunday Morning.” Mallay is a poet and nonfiction writer from Michigan. Her work has previously appeared in Chestnut Review, One Art, and The Dewdrop, among others.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma interviews Mark Hiskes about his poem “It’s About Us.” Hiskes is a retired high school English teacher from Holland, Michigan, who devotes his time to a number of things: three delightful grandchildren, Sylvie, Paige, and Lucy; his beloved wife, Cindy, with whom he rebuilds and refurbishes old furniture for sale in her antique booth; reading ever more great books, old, and new; leading and participating in various book clubs; and doing his best to write things that might, God willing, tell some manner of truth. A collection of his poems, Standing with Alyosha, was published in 2019 by Dos Madres Press.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Margaret DeRitter about her poem “Lost Sheep.” DeRitter is the author of the poetry collection "Singing Back to the Sirens" (Unsolicited Press, 2020), which has been described by Pulitzer-winning poet Diane Seuss as a collection of "achingly beautiful and gutsy poems" that "represent an autobiography of love." DeRitter also won the 2018 Celery City Chapbook Contest for “Fly Me to Heaven by Way of New Jersey.” Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies and has received a Pushcart Prize nomination. She lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she was a newspaper journalist for 22 years and currently serves as copy editor and poetry editor of Encore magazine.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal Podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Patrick T. Reardon about his poem “Table.” Reardon, who was a Chicago Tribune reporter for 32 years, has published six poetry collections, including Darkness on the Face of the Deep and Puddin’: The Autobiography of a Baby, A Memoir in Prose Poems. His next collection Every Marred Thing: A Time in America, the winner of the 2024 Faulkner-Wisdom Prize from the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society of New Orleans, is forthcoming from Lavender Ink. He has been nominated five times for a Pushcart Prize.
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Michael Zysk about his poem “You Said, Let There be Light.” Twice nominated for the 2023 Pushcart Prize, Zysk is a mystical revivalist, whose third poetry collection Sophia's Wisdom will appear in 2024 (Wipf & Stock). His poems, essays, and sculptures have appeared in dozens of journals. He’s an alumnus of the 2022 Kenyon Review Summer Conference and the 2021 Community of Writers. A veteran English teacher-activist and faith leader of a mystical Christian tradition, Michael lives to connect. Reach out to him @michaelzysk or mz@michaelzysk.com.
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma interviews Matthew Pullar about his poem “Life Beneath.” Pullar is a poet based in Melbourne, Australia. He was awarded Young Australian Christian Writer of the Year in 2013 for his unpublished manuscript "Imperceptible Arms: A Memoir in Poems". He has published three books of poetry, including "The Swelling Year: Poems for Holy and Ordinary Days", and has had poetry featured in Poems for Ephesians and Ekstasis.
In this episode of the Reformed Journal podcast, the poetry edition, Rose Postma talks with Sarah M. Wells about her poem "Jesus Son of GOP."
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Sarah M. Wells about her poem “Jesus Son of GOP.” is the author of The Family Bible Devotional Volumes 1 and 2, a memoir, American Honey: A Field Guide to Resisting Temptation (forthcoming), and two collections of poems, Between the Heron and the Moss and Pruning Burning Bushes. Poems and essays by Wells have appeared in Ascent, Brevity, Full Grown People, Hippocampus Review, The Pinch, River Teeth, Rock & Sling, Under the Gum Tree, Terrain.org and elsewhere. Sarah’s work has been honored with four Pushcart Prize nominations. Six of her essays have been listed as Notable Essays in The Best American Essays. She is a 2018 recipient of an Ohio Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Sarah earned her BA in Creative Writing and MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Ashland University. She is a regular contributor to Root & Vine News and God Hears Her, a blog for women, from Our Daily Bread. She resides in Ashland, Ohio with her husband, Brandon, and their four children, Lydia, Elvis, Henry, and Izzy (their Westie).