Tzivia Gover is the author of The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep, among other books. Her writing has appeared in dozens of anthologies and periodicals from the Florence Poetry Society’s Silkworm to the New York Times. She is a member of Straw Dog Writers Guild and lives in Northampton, Mass. The Time Why Read More
Pandemic Poetry & Prose Project
Waking Dream (in 4 parts) by Janice Sorensen
Janice Sorensen founded Cloud Saddle Writers and is a member of Straw Dog Writers. She is a published poet and art critic, and works as an artist and interior designer. She lives with her partner, Michael, and a fluctuating number of creatures at Magpie Farm & Art, in Buckland, Massachusetts. Waking Dream (in 4 parts) Read More
“Heavy Heart, Sweet Blossoms” by Lorna Ritz
Lorna Ritz studied under the instruction of painter James Gahagan, (a student of Hans Hofmann), who was a very important teacher for her in the 60’s. She received an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1971, in both painting and sculpture, (welding steel, and casting in bronze and iron). “Heavy Heart, Sweet Blossoms” I Read More
A Birthday Gift for My Daughter by Pam Roberts
Pam Roberts leads Spirit of the Written Word writing workshops for people affected by cancer and for the general population. A writer, artist, and certified yoga instructor, she lives in Franklin County. She just renewed her membership to Straw Dog Writers. www.pamroberts.net A Birthday Gift for My Daughter My daughter’s birthday has snuck up on Read More
And Then I Got Sick by Michael McAllister
Michael McAllister lives in Easthampton. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Normal School, Brevity, and The Rumpus, as well as various anthologies. He has an MFA from Columbia University, where he was nonfiction editor of Columbia Journal, and he’s kept a long-running blog at Dogpoet.com. And Then I Got Sick A completely Read More
Words/Matter by Kevin Hodgson
Kevin Hodgson, of Leeds, is a sixth grade teacher at the William E. Norris Elementary School in Southampton and a co-director with the Western Massachusetts Writing Project. Words/Matter (dedicated to my sixth grade students) It’s the eyes that always give us away — beneath the glitch of static screens — the faded gaze of classroom Read More
In Between by Lesley Schneider
Lesley Schneider is a resident of Florence in Hampshire County. She writes and edits technical manuals for a living and was surprised and delighted to have this poem emerge from her pen. In Between In between the dying, I cook. In between the crying, I plant. In between the outrages, I smell flowers. In between Read More
Exhausted by Michael A. Roche
Michael Allen Roche is an author from Hampden county. He is an active member of Write-Up Springfield. He shares his life and home with his husband, Earskin Sloan. His short stories have appeared in a variety of anthologies. He also enjoys writing memoirs, essays, and prose. Exhausted A pandemic is no time for a civil Read More
Steps by Diane Hicks
Diane Hicks lives and quarantines in Ashfield with her husband, two children and their mixed-up chihuahua. She has worked as a writer, teacher, activist and currently is a therapist. In lockdown she has felt the call of her pen and the stir of storytelling. Steps When my children were young, the idea of being Read More
Bouquet of Lilies by Susan Middleton
Susan Middleton, a Straw Dog Writers Guild member living in Franklin County, writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She is a co-founder of Slate Roof Press, which published her chapbook, Seed Case of the Heart, in 2007. In 2018 she won first prize in the Beals Prize for Poetry. Bouquet of Lilies Because washing chapped hands Read More