Vita Poetica Journal

K.D. Battle reads his essay " In Defense of Bad Meditation " from our Winter 2026 issue . K.D. Battle is a multi-genre writer and teacher living in Kalamazoo—he's a father, Navy submarine veteran, and a composer of musical theatre, and more. Battle's poems, stories, and essays have been published in anthologies and literary journals like White Wall Review , Line of Advance , and...

Mary B. Moore reads her poem " Everything in the Dream is Me, Says Jung ," and James B. Nicola reads his poem " Epiphany XIV: Nigh ." ⁠ Mary B. Moore’s newest poetry collection Amanda Chimera, won Madville Publishing’s Arthur Smith prize and came out January, 2025. Prior poetry books include Dear If (Orison Books 2022), a contest finalist; Flicker (Dogfish Head Prize, 2016); Th...

Chris Weigel explores dementia as a bardo state in her essay " As the Mind Dissolves " from our Winter 2026 issue . Chris Weigel is a professor of philosophy at Utah Valley University, where she has been teaching for over 20 years. She received her bachelor’s degrees in music performance and philosophy from Lawrence University and her Ph. D. in philosophy from Temple University. She has...

Co-Editor Caroline Langston introduces our new Winter 2026 issue. Tune in for a preview of what's to come, and listen to Caroline's letter, " ⁠⁠ Frozen Fire ."

On this Giving Tuesday, we invite you to support Vita Poetica with a tax-deductible donation. Gifts of any amount help us sustain our work to uplift artists of faith and enliven spiritual conversations through the arts. Thank you! This multimedia piece features Onyeka Ndukwe's poetry and music, " Lay Me Down Gently ." Onyeka Ndukwe, a Canadian artist currently residing in Ottawa, Ont...

Julia Lisella reads her poem " Amulet ," and Lisa López Smith reads her poem " Emigrant ." Julia Lisella’s latest collection of poems, Our Lively Kingdom (Bordighera Press), was named a finalist in the 2023 Paterson Book Prize and Grand Prize Finalist and Poetry Honorable Mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. Her other collections include Always, Terrain, and the chapbook, Lo...

Ellen June Wright discusses her artwork featured in our current Autumn issue. ⁠ View the art and read her artist statement here ⁠. Ellen June Wright, an artist, photographer and poet, was born in England but raised in New Jersey. Her artwork revolves around the power of color and the emotions and memories they evoke. She is inspired by the works of Stanley Whitney, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Howardena...

Sheri Reda reads her poem "Going Somewhere" from our Autumn 2025 issue. Sheri Reda lives in Chicago, where she works as a celebrant, public speaker, and youth librarian. Her poems have appeared in Eocene Journal of Environmental Humanities (2025, 2023), The Nature of Our Times (2024), and the award-winning Dear Human at the Edge of Time (Paloma Press, 2024). She is the author of Stubborn...

Natalya Raduenz discusses her artwork I Am Near (featured on our Autumn 2025 cover) and Zeit.los! , both part of her Echoes of Infinity series. View the art and read her artist statement here . Natalya Raduenz (b. 1980, Ukraine) is a metamodern artist and iconographer based in Germany. Her art combines traditional and modern methods and creates multi-layered, symbolic pictorial spaces that deal wi...

Megan Willome reads her poem "St. Michael, rooster," and Constance Clark reads her poems "A Galaxy by the Pond" and "The Garden." Megan Willome is the author, most recently, of a poetry collection titled Love & other Mysteries . Her work has also appeared at Every Day Poems, Solum Journal, The Way Back to Ourselves, and The Windhover. Her day is incomplete without...

Wai-Chin Matsuoka guides us in her contemplative practice, "Havening with Affirmations," from our Autumn issue. Wai-Chin Matsuoka is adjunct faculty at Christos Center for Spiritual Formation’s Tending the Holy, and served on staff and as coordinator of the Chicago satellite program and as a facilitator for Alumni Development. She is also a trained supervisor for spiritual directors and...

Brittany Deininger reads her poems " The Seed Collectors ," " Sarah's Dream ," and " Rebirth Motif ." Brittany Deininger is a poet, feminist theologian, and educator. She received an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and an MATC from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Her work has appeared in On Being, EcoTheo Review, The Ekphrastic Review, Met...

Eric Massanari leads this contemplative practice to strengthen our confidence while growing our compassion, so that we are ready to generously give, graciously receive, courageously release, and compassionately serve. Eric Massanari (he/him) is an ordained minister in Mennonite Church USA, and currently serves as the Executive Conference Minister of the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference of MC...

Anne Myles reads her poem " The Woman Who Lives without Bread ," and Jonathan Chibuike Ukah reads his poem "I Am Going Higher." Anne Myles is the author of Late Epistle (Headmistress Press, 2023), and her work has appeared in numerous journals. She is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Northern Iowa and holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Origina...

Lory Widmer Hess reads her essay "Leaving the Labyrinth." Lory Widmer Hess grew up near Seattle and now lives in Switzerland, where she works with adults with developmental challenges. Trained as a spiritual director, she companions individuals in their spiritual journey and leads online groups in the practice of Sacred Reading. Her writing has been published in magazines and journals in...

William Doreski reads his poem " These Can't Be Real Angels ," and Lauren Suchenski reads her poem " Prometheus ." William Doreski lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He has taught at several colleges and universities. He has published three critical studies, including Robert Lowell’s Shifting Colors . His essays, poetry, fiction, and reviews have appeared in various jour...

Steven Ovadia reads his short story " Negative Space " from our Autumn 2025 issue. Steven Ovadia a writer and librarian. He lives in White Plains, New York, with his wife and two daughters. This is his debut fiction publication.

Co-Editor Caroline Langston introduces our new Autumn 2025 issue. Tune in for a preview of what's to come, and listen to Caroline's letter, " An Invitation to Brilliant Multiplicities ."

Maureen Sherbondy reads her three poems, " Imposter Syndrome of the Jewish Kind ," " Rabbi Rachel Is Dead ," and " Trying to Change the Past " from our current Summer issue. Maureen Sherbondy 's forthcoming book is The Body Remembers. Her work has appeared in European Judaism, Calyx, Southern Humanities Review, and other journals. Maureen lives in Durham, NC. This...

Dinah Ryan reads "Grief's Unmaking and Remaking of the Self," a review of Jessica Bebenek's books of poems, No One Knows Us There. Dinah Ryan is a writer whose practice includes fiction, poetry, cultural criticism, and independent curation. She is a contributing editor for Art Papers and Professor Emerita of English at Principia College, where she was the Cornelius Ayer and Murie...

David Blumenfeld reads his poem "Seeing God the Easy Way: Big Sur 1963." David Blumenfeld is a former philosophy professor who resumed writing stories and poems after a more than 40-year break. Since 2022, he has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, one of his pieces received a “notable essay” mention in The Best American Essays 2023 , another was in The Best American Haiku, 2023 ,...

Shirley Paulson reads her review " “Sacred Rage” and Spiritual Defiance ," discussing the book The Girl Who Baptized Herself by Meggan Watterson. Shirley Paulson is the principal producer of the  Early Christian Texts  website,  earlychristiantexts.com , which features the “Bible and Beyond” series of blog posts, articles, online courses, events, discussions, and a monthly podcast. Shirl...

Riley Morsman reads her poem " Like a Mother Peeling Oranges ," and Claire Scott reads her poem " Lord, Give Us Seven Hearts ." Riley Morsman’s poetry and nonfiction work has been published in Fathom Magazine, Coffee + Crumbs, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review , and elsewhere. Her current writing projects include a poetry collection about the prairie and a hybrid memoir about matrilineage and menta...

Vita Poetica's Contemplative Practices Editor Deb Baker invites us to be " Awed by Creation ." Many of our fellow beings have ways of knowing that elude us, and Deb presents us with an opportunity to consider the presence of all our kin in creation -- and the Creator who brought all of us into being. Deb Baker lives in New Hampshire and works for a climate justice organization and in a hospital. S...

Alea Peister reads her poem " Thoughts upon Reading On Beauty and Being Just at the Oncologist's Office ." Alea's writing has been featured in Relief, Solum, Ekstasis, The Curator, Whale Road Review, and Art for the Isolated, among others. In 2025, she will graduate with an MFA in Spiritual Writing from Seattle Pacific University. Alea is passionate about the relationship between creativity and pr...