Vita Poetica Journal

Barry Casey reads his poem " Shekinah ," and Frank Paino reads his poem " The One True Miracle ." Barry Casey is the author of Wandering, Not Lost , a collection of essays on faith, doubt, and mystery, published by Wipf and Stock (2019). His poetry has appeared in Fauxmoir , Half and One , Humans of the World , Lighthouse Weekly , Patheos , Pensive Journal , Rockvale Review , S...

Sharlee Mullins Glenn reads her poem " Owl Light ," and Christina Ellison reads her poem " My mother points this out like it's something lighthearted ." Sharlee Mullins Glenn has published poetry, essays, short stories, articles, and criticism in periodicals as varied as Women's Studies, The Southern Literary Journal, Segullah, BYU Studies Quarterly, Ladybug, and The Ne...

Isabel Chenot reads her poem " incarnation at Manafon ," and Matthew E. Henry reads his poem " waking with nightmares ," both from our Summer 2026 issue . Isabel Chenot has loved, memorized, and practiced poetry all her remembered life. Some of her poems are collected in The Joseph Tree , available from Wiseblood Books. Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is an educator, essayist, occasiona...

Vita Poetica Interviews Editor Christopher Honey speaks with the poet Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto . Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is the author of The Naming (University of Nebraska Press, 2025). His works have appeared or forthcoming in American Poetry Review , Transition Magazine , Massachusetts Review , Joyland , Oxford Poetry , and World Literature Today .

En Lin Koh reads her poem " holy communion ," and Richard Chess reads his poem " Field of Vision, " from our Summer 2026 issue. En Lin Koh is an emerging poet. Her work is published or forthcoming in Ekstasis  and Modern Haiku , among others. ichard Chess is the author of five books of poetry, including The Loneliest Monk (Orison Books 2026). He served as a founding member of t...

Ragan Sutterfield invites us to watch, listen, and marvel at the wonder of birds through " The Spiritual Practice of Birding. " Ragan Sutterfield is a writer and Episcopal priest from Arkansas. His most recent book is Watch and Wonder: Birding as a Spiritual Practice . He writes regularly at thewaywepractice.com .

Jeannine Marie Pitas reads her poem " My friends respond to my grief in the weeks after K’s death ." Jeannine Marie Pitas is a writer, teacher, Spanish-English literary translator, and editor. Her most recent poetry book, Or/And, was published by Paraclete Press in 2023. She lives in Pittsburgh, teaches at Saint Vincent College, and serves as an editor at Eulalia Books as well as Presenc...

Aizaiah G. Yong reads his contemplative practice invitation " Creating a Time Map ." Rev. Dr. Aizaiah G. Yong, PhD, (he/him) is a scholar-practitioner of spirituality and mysticism and ordained pentecostal clergy in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with strong ties to the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) & the City of Refuge UCC (Oakland, CA). His life and work are...

Hilary Sallick reads her poems " Inexorable " and " There's beauty and time " from our current Summer issue. Hilary Sallick is the author of Love is a Shore (Lily Poetry Books, 2023), long-listed for the Massachusetts Book Award; and Asking the Form (Cervena Barva Press, 2020). Her poems appear or are forthcoming in The Inflectionist Review; Pensive; January House; SoFloPoJ...

Graham Bier reads his review, " Seeking Reality through Sound ," which is a review of the book Listening to Eternity: The Music, Spirituality, and Creative World of Composer Tommie Haglund by Aram Yardumian." Graham Bier is based in the Philadelphia area where he directs music at Bryn Athyn Cathedral and the Reading Choral Society, serves as a research associate at Bryn Mawr College...

Stephen Haven reads his poems " Deadwood " and " Old Cambridge Cemetery " from our Summer 2026 issue. Stephen Haven's fourth collection of poems, The Flight from Meaning, was published by Slant Books in 2025. His most recent earlier collection, The Last Sacred Place in North America, was selected by T.R. Hummer for the New American Prize in 2012. His poems have appeared rec...

Alison Lock reads her essay "Carnac Dawn" from our Summer 2026 issue. Alison Lock is a poet and short fiction writer whose work explores the meeting of inner life and landscape, seeking the spiritual within everyday experience. Her poetic sequence “Lure” was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. She has published several collections and pamphlets, most recently Thrift (Palewell Press, 2024). A train...

Co-Editor Caroline Langston introduces our new Summer 2026 issue with her letter " There Is No Bottom ."

Maura H. Harrison shares about the art quilts featured in " The Needle's Pierce ," in our Spring 2026 issue. Maura H. Harrison is a writer and artist from Fredericksburg, VA.

Interviews Editor Christopher Honey speaks with ballerina Dorothy A. Rogers-Walker about the language of dance . Dorothy A. Rogers-Walker is a classically trained ballerina and the artistic director of St. Mark’s Dance Studio, where she has been a dedicated leader since 1983. She began as a substitute teacher and choreographer and now leads the studio while continuing to teach ballet and pointe. S...

Annette Sisson reads her poems " Gravel at Every Turn " and " Oceans of Salty Sky ." Annette Sisson’s poems appear in The Penn Review, Birmingham Poetry Review, Rust & Moth, Cider Press Review, West Trade Review, and many other journals and anthologies. Her second book, Winter Sharp with Apples , was published by Terrapin Books (2024), and her third book manuscript, Rhizome...

On the podcast today, Christine Hiester invites us to listen for the Holy Spirit through found poetry: "The hour or two we spend sifting through words is a holy practice, one that allows the Spirit to speak in and to the deepest parts of us." " Found Poetry as Spiritual Practice " is included in our Spring 2026 issue . Christine Hiester is a spiritual companion and creative pra...

Joshua Coben reads his poem " The Spatter of Waterfalls ," and E. R. Skulmoski reads her poem " Hymn (3) ." Joshua Coben is the author of two poetry collections, Maker of Shadows (Texas Review Press, 2010), winner of the X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize, and Night Chaser (David Robert Books, 2020), a finalist for the Vassar Miller Prize, the New American Poetry Prize, and the Donald...

Pico Iyer introduces us to his contemplative practice of a daily writing meditation . We invite you to choose some daily practice you are already doing in your life and begin to view it through the lens of contemplation over the coming days and weeks. Pico Iyer is the author of 17 books, translated into 23 languages, including The Lady and the Monk , The Art of Stillness and, most recently, a work...

Lindsey Weishar reads her poem "Variations on Mercy," and Daniel Thomas reads his poem "The Other Life." Lindsey Weishar holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has contributed to a variety of outlets including Verily Magazine, Dappled Things, and the Word on Fire blog. Her chapbook, Matchbook Night, was published by Leaf Press (Canada)...

Daniel Cooperrider reads his essay " Cloud Study " from our Spring 2026 issue. Daniel Cooperrider is a writer, ecotheologian, and pastor in the United Church of Christ. He is the author of Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You , Gold Winner in the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards, and Live Each Season as It Passes . Cooperrider and family are based on the edge of the driftless region of Ma...

Brian G. Phipps reads his poem "Moving Day," and Andreas Fleps reads his poem "The Temple." Brian G. Phipps is the author of Before the Burning Bush (Univ. of St. Katherine Press, 2018), a collection of poems. His poetry has appeared in several journals, most recently in Presence and St. Katherine Review . “Moving Day” is part of a work-in-progress collection on the feasts of the church year and t...

Jeffrey-Michael Kane reads his essay "Cinctura" from our Spring 2026 issue. Jeffrey-Michael Kane is the author of Quiet Brilliance: What Employers Miss About Neurodivergent Talent and How to See It (CollectiveInk UK). Disabled, he writes from this learned experience as an ASD-1. His prose work has been published in more than three dozen literary journals & magazines, including Plough...

Randy Koch reads his poem "Unfaithful," and Mary Lanham reads her poem "Survivor's guilt," from our Spring 2026 issue. Randy Koch is the author of four collections of poems: Composing Ourselves (Fithian Press, 2002), This Splintered Horse (Finishing Line Press, 2011), and forthcoming in 2026, both Against the Risen Flesh (Alternating Current Press) and Amends (Finishing Lin...

Jessica Hudson reads her review, " The Still-ness of Space ," a review of the poetry collection Lost Cities by Valencia Robin (Persea Books, 2025) from our Spring 2026 issue. Jessica Hudson (she/her) currently lives and libraries in Albuquerque. Her work has been published in DIAGRAM , New Delta Review , Quarterly West , and elsewhere.