Susie Kaufman is a Berkshire county writer and the author of the 2019 essay collection, Twilight Time: Aging in Amazement. Her stories were included in the anthology, Writing Fire, and her work has been published in America and Lilith magazines and the journal, Presence. Kaufman appears regularly at the open mic, IWOW. Chambers The heart Read More
Pandemic
Pandemic Ponderings by Ed Orzechowski
Ed Orzechowski, a Straw Dog Authors Guild member from Hampshire County, is the author of You’ll Like It Here—The Story of Donald Vitkus, Belchertown Patient #3394. His work has appeared in The Republican, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, The Journal Register, Early American Life, Southwoods Magazine, and other publications. Pandemic Ponderings Twice a day with metronomic Read More
A LOVE LETTER TO THE PIONEER VALLEY by Joshua Michael Stewart
photo by Chanel Dubofsky Joshua Michael Stewart lives in Ware, Massachusetts in Hampshire County, and is a Straw Dog Writers Guild Member. His poems have been published in the Massachusetts Review, Salamander, Brilliant Corners, and many others. His first full-length collection of poems, Break Every String, was published by Hedgerow Books in 2016. www.joshuamichaelstewart.com A Read More
Impermanence by Jennifer Delozier
Jennifer Delozier lives in Hampshire County with her husband, Greg and memories of their dog, Jesse. She’s a nature photographer, an organic gardener, and a dedicated writer and poet. Impermanence The fear feels permanent. Now. Not before the pandemic was headed our way. Just now. Mid-Virus leaves no room, no gaps in between the balance, Read More
The Sorrow of Animals and Ourselves by David Giannini
David Giannini’s most recent books include The Future Only Rattles When You Pick It Up; In a Moment We May Be Strangely Blended, and Mayhap ( Dos Madres Press 2018; 2019) He received a 2020 James Hearst Finalist Award from The North American Poetry Review. He lives in Berkshire County. Read More
Semantics by Alice Knox Eaton
Alice Knox Eaton teaches literature and writing at Springfield College. She keeps a blog on occasion, usually in April, at aliceinbloggingland.com. Her memoir is out at contests and a publisher. Semantics I keep seeing articles that assert that what we are experiencing is grief. I resist, feel growly. I don’t like being told what it Read More
COVID-33 1/3 by Scott Hume
Scott Hume is a retired journalist and Straw Dog member living now in Wisconsin following 40 years in Chicago. He holds an M.A. in Literature from the University of Chicago and briefly taught creative writing at Chicago State University before moving to magazine—primarily business-to-business titles—journalism, where he stayed. Each line of his poem is the Read More
House Arrest in the Time of Covid by Margaret Allard
Margaret Allard, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, has thrived in the Hampshire County Hilltowns for more than forty years. While teaching many grade levels and supporting micro businesses at Hilltown CDC, she was immersed in parenting two sons. She writes free verse now. House Arrest in the Time of Covid Stay home. Good. Home. Read More
Contagion by Patricia D. Pin
An alumna of VCFA’s MFA program and a Berkshire resident, Patricia D. Pin explores pandemic and viral language used in media covering COVID-19 as “the enemy”. Her poem, “Contagion” considers an alternate effect of isolation from oneself, with the offer of what conscious natural selection implies within a diverse and evolving ecosystem. Read More
Corona by Kathie Fiveash
Katherine Fiveash is a naturalist, teacher, homesteader, and writer. She divides her year between Florence, Massachusetts (Hampshire County), and Isle au Haut, Maine, a remote, unbridged island in Penobscot Bay. She is the author of Island Naturalist, an award-winning collection of natural history essays, and two chapbooks of poetry. Corona The Chinese horseshoe bat is Read More