REBECCA HART OLANDER

Hello friends. It’s been since February since I’ve written here. I’ve been consumed by other things, many of them the same things you have been consumed with as well, I’m sure. My last post was about 6 upcoming readings, only one of which was able to happen before COVID struck. But I wanted to let you know that one of the other five canceled readings has been rescheduled and re-imagined. I’m reading this Thursday, August 6, with Omotara James and Leah Umansky, for the Emily Dickinson Museum’s Virtual Amherst Arts Night Plus. The reading will take place on Zoom from 6:30-7:30 EST. It is free, but you need to register…

My first chapbook, Dressing the Wounds, was published by dancing girl press in October of 2019. To keep the celebration going, I’m reading this year in some great places with some great folks! Check out the list below, and check in the “Readings & Events” tab for more details and new additions as I add to this list… * February 11, 7:00-8:30pm: Unbuttoned Series at Luthier’s Co-op, Easthampton, MA. I’m the featured reader, so come listen, grab a drink, and take the stage yourself in the open mic! * March 11, 7:00-8:30pm: Coolidge Room Collective: A Trio of Local Poets at the Forbes Library, Northampton, MA. I’m thrilled to be reading with local…

I’m excited to share that my poems have received a few accolades of late – My poem “Wellfleet,” published in Parks & Points, was nominated for a 2020 Pushcart Prize My poem “Vermont” received honorable mention in the Slate Roof Press Broadside Contest My poem “Golden Shovel Full of Darkness, Southern Flowers, and Moondust” was a semi-finalist for the Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Poetry Prize, and will be published next month in Tinderbox Poetry Journal * Also, I’m grateful to Libby Maxey for engaging in a conversation with me about my first chapbook, Dressing the Wounds, my writing practices, and my work as an editor for Perugia Press, among other things. The interview was just…

I’m so happy to announce the publication of my first chapbook, Dressing the Wounds, out this month from dancing girl press, an indie press and design studio in Chicago. The press publishes an annual chapbook series featuring the work of women poets, and my manuscript was one of those chosen by Editor Kristy Bowen during the dgp annual open reading period last summer. The gorgeous front and back cover art pictured below were made by painter & poet Laura Page. If you are in the Western MA area, please join me for a reading to celebrate the book on Thursday, October 24, from 7:00-8:30pm at the Smith College Poetry Center, Wright…

September has just arrived, and I’m happy to have two new prose poem publications to share. I’m honored to have four pieces up at The Adirondack Review from one of the collaborative collections I made with Elizabeth Paul. Liz and I write about sundogs, Van Gogh and his brother Theo, the color red, a multitude of Lucys, the term petaloso, and Fenway Park, among other things. I’m also pleased that my persona poem “In Which I am Anne of Green Gables Avoiding Doing the Dishes” is up at Nightjar Review.