Welcome, word lovers…
…to Raven & Wren Press, a small independent publishing house birthed in 2019 just in time to help feather a nest for the wondrous poetry of Florence Miller. After Rain a Little Girl Straightening Worms is Miller’s second collection of poetry, selected from a lifetime of work. Her “voice of birdsong” will surprise and delight the reader with her quick insights into the human condition, capturing beauty while simultaneously bearing witness to loss. Scroll down to watch videos of Florence reading some of her poems.
Newly released!
Eulogy, a poem composed while feeding my father during Gunsmoke is a moving and intimate poem that began while the poet Kevin Dublin was caring for his dying father. With brilliant imagery and lyricism, Dublin recounts his father’s life and poses questions about what it means to live in a body; to live in a body that moves through the joy and terror of the world we live in? And what does it mean to be a person of color in this world of beauty and horror? A powerful recounting of the racism that continues to destroy our country, and a love letter to the love and resilience found in sharing our stories to “ease the aching.”
Raven & Wren News
Found Video of Florence Miller Reading Her Poems. Those who know the poetry of Florence Miller (October 17, 1922-January 20, 2020) celebrate the beauty she left us every time we read her poems. Thanks to the rediscovery of videos taken by Wulf Losee in March 2019, we can now here a few of these poems read by the poet. “Her voice of shards her voice of spangles her voice of sorrows her voice of sea spume her voice of waterfalls…her voice of birdsong her voice of camphor trees…she sings.”
On Translation: The Perils and the Pleasure, an essay by poet Wulf Losee. This essay is referred to in the craft book HOW TO BEGIN, Poems, prompts, tips and writing exercises from the Fresh Ink Poetry Collective to improve your poetry practice—or start a group of your own (Raven & Wren Press, 2020) where you can find writing prompts to inspire your own translation efforts, as well as read poems written by Wulf Losee and others. Download PDF.
The Raven & Wren Zoom Room was booming with a community of poets gathering to celebrate the launch of the book HOW TO BEGIN, Poems, prompts, tips and writing exercises from the Fresh Ink Poetry Collective to improve your poetry practice—or start a group of your own, edited by Robin Michel. It was exciting to see so many poets filling the screen with windows into their worlds—all connected to one another through technology and our shared love of language. Everyone in attendance was able to complete three prompts from the book: Free Write (using “I remember…”), Making Lists (with Kimberly Satterfield reading her list poem “Leaving My Parents House” as an example, and an ekphrastic poem based on Edward Hopper’s painting “Nighthawks.” Read more…
HOW TO BEGIN Virtual Book Launch on November 21 at 4 PM PST An interactive poetry celebration featuring Fresh Ink poets who will share work and lead attendees through some of the generative writing exercises found in the book. Read more…
Raven & Wren Press is proud to announce the release of How to Begin: Poems, Prompts, Tips and Writing Exercises by the Fresh Ink Poetry Collective to improve your poetry practice—or start a group of your own. This marvelous poetry guide blends instruction and inspiration and is edited by Raven & Wren Publisher Robin Michel, who is also a member of the Fresh Ink Poetry Collective. Read more…
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