The Poets Weave

Mary Dezember is an award-winning author of stories and poetry as portals to possibilities. While earning her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at Indiana University, she directed the Runcible Spoon Poetry Series. Professor Emeritus of English at New Mexico Tech, Mary was awarded a writer’s residency at the Historic Santa Fe Foundation in 2025.Mary reads her poems " This Isn’t Your Dream" and "2000 Women."

"Less than anything cannot satisfy man.” – William BlakeAlyse Knorr is the author of six poetry collections and two video game history books. Her lyrics have been performed at Carnegie Hall and her poetry is permanently installed on a wall of the New York City Public Library's East Harlem branch. She serves as an associate professor of English at Regis University.Alyse reads her poems “Scattered Forecast,” “Artifacts,” “Emptied Full,” “Evening,” “Day I Wanted Every Last Thing,” “Day I Wanted Only One Thing,” and “Epistle (You).”

Poet Daniel Lassell reads “Llama,” “Ritter Park Cabin,” “Frame [Like a resurrected body],” “Downward Rooms,” and “Frame Inside a Frame [In the underworld].”Daniel is the author of two poetry books: Spit, published by Wheelbarrow Books in 2021, after winning the 2020 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize; and Frame Inside a Frame published by Texas Review Press in 2025. Daniel grew up in Kentucky and lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Poet Michael M. Feinstein reads "Gender Clinic," "On Devotion," and "Recognition."Michael M. Weinstein is a poet, essayist, and literary scholar. He is the author of Saint Consequence (Alice James Books, 2025) as well as articles and poems that have appeared in venues like The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, Boston Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Michael holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan. A proud member of the trans and disability communities, he now teaches at New York University.

Bloomington-based poet Tony Brewer reads from his manuscript Musical Chairs in the Dark: “Wash My Feet,” “Electors,” “Big Red Jupiter Storm Spot,” and “Forever Home.”

Novelist, memoirist, and poet, Joseph Di Prisco published his fourth book of poetry, My Last Resume: New & Collected Poems in 2023. His work has appeared in numerous journals and periodicals, and his poetry has been awarded prizes from Poetry Northwest, Bear Star Press, and Bread Loaf. Joe champions writers, artists, educators, and students through his decades of teaching and his involvement with organizations dedicated to the arts, theater, and children’s mental health.

“As a child, I unexpectedly became aware of lying in a bed located in a city located on the Earth located in the World.” - Clarice LispectorKourtney Jones is a poet, teacher, and interdisciplinary artist from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She can be found typing in public spaces from a typewriter with her performance poetry project known as The Poem Market. She is the author of the poetry chapbook The Mug Drops. Her current work explores the intersections of languages and dreams, the transmission between the dead and the living, environmental illness, and poetry as a practice for collective liberation. Kourtney "Day Zero" and "The Other Side of It." 

Bloomington-based poet Eric Rensberger reads “Reading,” “A Diety,” and “Historical Imagination.”Eric is originally from Elkhart County in northern Indiana, but he has lived in southern Indiana, mainly in Bloomington, since 1974.  His work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies.  His chapbooks include, amongst other titles, Letters, Standing Where Something Did, and Blank of Blanks, and he has indulged in more fugitive forms of publication such as posting poems anonymously on public kiosks, street lamp poles, and bulletin boards in restaurants.  He is a convinced and persistent self-publisher. His collected works can be found at the website www.ericrensbergerpoetry.net, which is home to his major work, the ongoing chronological series Account of My Days, at present consisting of more than 1,000 poems. 

“The poem is a form of negotiation with what haunts us or to put it another way is the interior dialogue we have with our other selves and so far as what haunts us is in part who we are.” -- Carl PhillipsJoseph Kerschbaum’s most recent publications include Mirror Box published in 2020 by Main St Rag Press and Distant Shores of a Split Second published in 2018 by Louisiana Literature Press. His work has appeared in Reunion: The Dallas Review, Hamilton Stone Review, The Inflectionist Review, Main Street Rag, In Parentheses, and Umbrella Factory. Joe lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his family.

Zilia Balkansky-Sellés is a Bloomington, Indiana-based writer and actor. She was published in Comparative Woman (Louisiana State University). She has a poem included in Trigger Warnings, edited by Joan Hawkins and Kalynn Brower, two poems included in Stormwash: Environmental Poems, edited by Hiromi Yoshida, and in the 2023 Ryder Magazine Poetry Edition. The play she co-wrote with Wild Swan Theater, Myths, Masks, and Magic: World Stories of First Times, was performed in Michigan schools and libraries and at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She has given readings at the Writers Guild at Bloomington spoken word events. She has a Master's in Information Science from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Folklore Studies from Indiana University. She works for the Hutton Honors College at Indiana University as an Academic Advisor. In Summer 2022, she hiked and summitted Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Poet Daniel Lassell reads “Frame [in the underworld],” “The Glassmaker’s Bench,” “Edge Markers,” “Frame [in the underworld],” and “Frame Inside a Frame.”Daniel is the author of two poetry books: Spit, published by Wheelbarrow Books in 2021, after winning the 2020 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize; and Frame Inside a Frame published by Texas Review Press in 2025. Daniel grew up in Kentucky and lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Poet Michael M. Feinstein reads sections I, VII, X, and XVL from his poem "Brother."Michael is a poet, essayist, and literary scholar. He is the author of Saint Consequence (Alice James Books, 2025) as well as articles and poems that have appeared in venues like The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, Boston Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Michael holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan. A proud member of the trans and disability communities, he now teaches at New York University. 

Poet Tony Brewer reads pieces from various Poetry on Demand events between 2023-2025: "Life Lines," "Electric Dreams of Acoustic Souls," "Ode to My Immune System," "Fear and Loathing at the Circus;" "Rust Can't Sleep;" and the haiku "His Crooked Smile."Tony is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana. He has published 13 books and chapbooks, most recently Water Witch from Pure Sleeze Press in 2025. Tony has been offering Poetry On Demand for over fifteen years and was named Indiana’s 2024 Literary Champion by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards.

Dr. Deirdre Fagan is a widow, wife, and mother of two who writes about love, loss, grief, and survival. She is the award-winning multi-genre author of five books, including Phantom Limbs, a poetry collection from Finishing Line Press; as well as her memoir, Find a Place for Me; a short story collection, The Grief Eater; a chapbook of poetry, Have Love; and a reference book, Critical Companion to Robert Frost. Her work has appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies, and she's the poetry editor at Orange Blossom Review. Fagan is professor of literature and creative writing at Ferris State University.She reads "Doorbell Advised” and "Outside In."

Born and raised in Chicago, Janine Harrison is the author of Turning 50 on El Camino de Santiago, Weight of Silence, and If We Were Birds. Her work has appeared in Veils, Halos, Not Like the Rest of Us, Gyroscope Review, and "Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women." Janine lives in Highland, Indiana, and is a former Highland Poet Laureate. She joined us from her home via Zoom.She reads excerpts from her poem "If We Were Birds."

Daniel Lassell is the author of two poetry books: Spit, published by Wheelbarrow Books in 2021, after winning the 2020 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize, and Frame Inside a Frame published by Texas Review Press in 2025. Daniel grew up in Kentucky and lives in Bloomington, Indiana.Daniel reads “Museum of Exits,” “Nowhere for Safety,” “Frame [beyond these hills a river],” “Mirror,” and “Trodden Canvas.”

Michael M. Weinstein reads "Addendum to the Book of Marvels and Travel" and "The Civil Surgeon."Michael is a poet, essayist, and literary scholar. He is the author of Saint Consequence (Alice James Books, 2025) as well as articles and poems that have appeared in venues like The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, Boston Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Michael holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan. A proud member of the trans and disability communities, he now teaches at New York University. 

Tony Brewer reads from his chapbook Water Witch (Pure Sleeze Press, 2025): "In Memoriam," "Close to the Earth," and "Confluence."Tony is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana. He has published 13 books and chapbooks, most recently Water Witch from Pure Sleeze Press. Tony has been offering Poetry On Demand for over fifteen years and was named Indiana’s 2024 Literary Champion by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards.

Kentucky native, Rosemarie Wurth-Grice is a retired National Board Certified Teacher and founding member of the Not Dead Poets Society. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in Kentucky Monthly, Kudzu, and the Journal of Kentucky Studies. Her chapbook, Darkness Called Us Home, is forthcoming in 2025 by Finishing Line Press.Rosemarie reads "Vestigial," "One for Sorrow," "How is it Possible?," "Hibernation," and "Winter Rain."She joins us via Zoom from her home.

Patsy Rahn’s poetry and prose is published in various journals and anthologies. Her book, The Grainy Wet Soul, is available from bookstores online. In 2021, she received the People's Choice Award from the 5th Open Eurasion Literary Festival of Festivals. Videos of her readings can be found on her website and You Tube.Patsy reads “Books,” “evolution,” “Ode to joy,” “In this moment of good night,” and “The package.” 

“Marriage is a long conversation.” — Friedrich Nietzsche Dr. Deirdre Fagan is a widow, wife, and mother of two who writes about love, loss, grief, and survival. She is the award-winning multi-genre author of five books, including Phantom Limbs, a poetry collection from Finishing Line Press; as well as her memoir, Find a Place for Me; a short story collection, The Grief Eater; a chapbook of poetry, Have Love; and a reference book, Critical Companion to Robert Frost. Her work has appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies, and she's the poetry editor at Orange Blossom Review. Fagan is professor of literature and creative writing at Ferris State University.She reads "Superstitions," "Our love, like an apple, comes from the earth," "The trouble with pairs," "While your husband is still able to stand," and "In Memoriam."

"Poetry comes with anger, hunger, and dismay. It does not often visit groups of citizens sitting down to be literary together and would appall them if it did." - Christopher Morley Born and raised in Chicago, Janine Harrison is the author of Turning 50 on El Camino de Santiago, Weight of Silence, and If We Were Birds. Her work has appeared in Veils, Halos, Not Like the Rest of Us, Gyroscope Review, and "Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women." She lives in Highland, Indiana, and is a former Highland Poet Laureate. She joined us from her home via Zoom.Janine reads "Weight of Silence," "Refugees," and "Last Morning in a Shithole."

Angela Lim is a poet, educator, and editor currently living in Bloomington, Indiana, where she is pursuing an MFA in poetry at Indiana University. In addition to writing poems, Angela has written dozens of juvenile nonfiction books.Angela reads "Claustrophobia," "Lying on my back," and "Elegy for Yearling."

Poet Heather Corbally Bryant reads “Santorini Airport, Dusk,” “Postcards,” “Silver Anniversary,” and “Oia.”Heather is a Senior Lecturer at Wellesley College, the author of a prize-winning study of Elizabeth Bowen, and eleven books of poems. Her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award, and have received honorable mention in the Finishing Line Press’s Open Chapbook competition.

Daniel Lassell is the author of two poetry books: Spit, published by Wheelbarrow Books in 2021, after winning the 2020 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize, and Frame Inside a Frame published by Texas Review Press in 2025. Daniel grew up in Kentucky and lives in Bloomington, Indiana.Daniel says: "My most recent book thinks a lot about memory. Often when people think of memory, it’s first about their own childhood experiences. And this is intriguing to me. Childhood experiences are dictated by the circumstances our parents place us in. What we remember from our early years can sometimes feel beyond our control, but memory is made by two parts: circumstance and observance. What we observe during events can shape—and reshape—our experiences holistically. This is one of the many beauties of memory: its capacity for revisitation."He reads "Tank," "Winston," "Frame [In Eagle Creek Park]," "Frame [The neighbor says]," "Proximity Continuum."

Kourtney Jones is a poet, teacher, and interdisciplinary artist from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She can be found typing in public spaces from a typewriter with her performance poetry project known as The Poem Market. Kourtney is the author of the poetry chapbook The Mug Drops. Her current work explores the intersections of languages and dreams, the transmission between the dead and the living, environmental illness, and poetry as a practice for collective liberation.Kourtney reads "Let Me Enter with Advice" and "Come On, Girl."

William Landau is an MFA student at Indiana University, Bloomington. Their work has appeared in publications including Hanging Loose Press, Diabolical Plots, and Sinister Wisdom and will appear in an upcoming issue of Painted Bride Quarterly. When not reading or writing they're usually busy worshipping their cat, overanalyzing gay TV shows or perfecting their shortbread recipe.William reads "Lawn Shaming," "My father rides the light rail to the end of the line for fun and finds himself in another Los Angeles," "The girl who taught me to eat bacon...," and "Sweater."

Zilia Balkansky-Sellés reads “Under a Greek Moon,” "Greek Light," "Athena," and "Penelope." Zilia is a writer and actor based in Bloomington, Indiana. Her poems have been published in the online journal Comparative Woman, and in the books Trigger Warnings, edited by Joan Hawkins and Kalynn Brower, and Stormwash: Environmental Poems, edited by Hiromi Yoshida. Her work appeared in the 2023 Ryder Magazine, Poetry Edition and has been presented at spoken-word events hosted by the Writers Guild at Bloomington.With Wild Swan Theater, she co-wrote the play Myths, Masks, and Magic: World Stories of First Times, was performed in Michigan schools and libraries and at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She has a Master's in Information Science from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Folklore Studies from Indiana University. She works for the Hutton Honors College at Indiana University as an Academic Advisor. In Summer 2022, she hiked and summitted Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Nina Boals reads "Suspension and Release," "Harm Amplification," "Skeleton Dance," and "Birding."Nina is a writer from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She received an MFA in poetry at Indiana University, where she serves as Editor in Chief and Nonfiction Editor of Indiana Review. Her work can be found or is forthcoming from Southeast Review, Puerto del Sol, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere.

Allie Rigby reads "Nominare," "Signal," "Moonscape for a Child," "Mouse Fear," and "Gretel."Allie has roots in the chaparral and deserts of California. She is the author of Moonscape for a Child, published by Bored Wolves in 2024, and she’s a recipient of a Fulbright grant to Romania. Her writing explores health, climate change, ecology, and community, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2020.

Deirdre Fagan reads "To the person in charge of discontinuation," "The Month of the Dead," "Going Hungry," and "Love Begets Love."Dr. Fagan is a widow, wife, and mother of two who writes about love, loss, grief, and survival. She is the award-winning multi-genre author of five books, including Phantom Limbs, a poetry collection from Finishing Line Press. Fagan is professor of literature and creative writing at Ferris State University.

Daniel Lassell is the author of two poetry books:Spit, published by Wheelbarrow Books in 2021, after winning the 2020 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize; and Frame Inside a Frame published by Texas Review Press in 2025. Daniel grew up in Kentucky and lives in Bloomington, Indiana.Daniel reads “All It Takes,” “How to Skip a Stone,” “Seven Frames,” “Interior Infinite,” and “Seven Frames Inside a Frame.”

Janine Harrison reads an excerpt from "Seven Gen."Born and raised in Chicago, Janine  is the author of Turning 50 on El Camino de Santiago, Weight of Silence, and If We Were Birds. Her work has appeared in Veils,  Halos, Not Like the Rest of Us, Gyroscope Review, and Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women. Janine lives in Highland, Indiana, and is a former Highland Poet Laureate.

Kim Dower reads "Visiting Baudelaire," "Ink," "Fish's Lament," and "Get an Afterlife."Kim is the author of six collections of poetry, including What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria published by Red Hen Press in January 2025. Her poems have been featured in many anthologies and journals, including Ploughshares, James Dickey Review, Plume, and Barrow Street. She teaches poetry workshops for Antioch University, UCLA Extension, and the West Hollywood Library.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Gili reads "Into," "The Promised Wasteland," "Diasporic Nostalgia," "Somewhere, Some-wheres," and "Holding Water."Gili is a bilingual poet in Hebrew and English, the author of 11 poetry books, including Promised Lands (US, 2020, FLP) and the multilingual book of her poem Note. Her poetry won prizes and grants in Israel, Italy, Hong Kong and elsewhere, translated into 34 languages and published extensively worldwide.

Kourtney Jones reads "Day Zero" and "The Other Side of It."Kourtney is a poet, teacher, and interdisciplinary artist from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She can be found typing in public spaces from a typewriter with her performance poetry project known as "The Poem Market." Kourtney is the author of the poetry chapbook The Mug Drops. Her current work explores the intersections of languages and dreams, the transmission between the dead and the living, environmental illness, and poetry as a practice for collective liberation.

William Landau reads "Sestina: Parasols in the Desert," "Hangry Trans Revenge Fantasy," "Too Gay to Function," and "Golden Shovel after Hannah Bloch."William is a second year MFA student at Indiana University Bloomington. Their work has appeared in publications including Hanging Loose Press, Diabolical Plots and Sinister Wisdom and will appear in an upcoming issue of Painted Bride Quarterly. When not reading or writing they're usually busy worshiping their cat, over-analyzing gay TV shows or perfecting their shortbread recipe.

Angela Lim reads "Remnants Inside My Refrigerator," "Sneeze Queen," and "Dear Ocean."Angela is a poet, educator, and editor currently living in Bloomington, Indiana, where she is pursuing an MFA in poetry at Indiana University. In addition to writing poems, Angela has written dozens of juvenile nonfiction books.

Nina Boals reads "Saving Light," "Rest Stop," And "Neighbor."Nina is a writer from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She received an MFA in poetry at Indiana University, where she serves as Editor in Chief and Nonfiction Editor of Indiana Review. Her work can be found or is forthcoming from Southeast Review, Puerto del Sol, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere.

Zilia Balkansky-Sellés reads "José Martí in Central Park" and "Julian."Zilia is a Bloomington, Indiana, based writer and actor. She was published in Comparative Woman (Louisiana State University). She has a poem included in Trigger Warnings, edited by Joan Hawkins and Kalynn Brower, two poems included in Stormwash: Environmental Poems, edited by Hiromi Yoshida,  and in the 2023 Ryder Magazine Poetry Edition. The play she co-wrote with Wild Swan Theater, Myths, Masks, and Magic: World Stories of First Times, was performed in Michigan schools and libraries and at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She has given readings at the Writers Guild at Bloomington spoken word events. Zilia has a Master's in Information Science from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Folklore Studies from Indiana University. She works for the Hutton Honors College at Indiana University as an Academic Advisor. In Summer 2022, she hiked and summitted Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Gabrielle Myers reads "You Can’t Fly into a Mouth Filled with Past Fears of Burning," "Everything We’ve Ever Loved Must End and Die and Reverse," and "Shadows on His Mind-Cave."Gabrielle is a writer, professor, and chef. Her memoir, Hive-Mind, was published in 2015. Her first poetry books Too Many Seeds and Break Self: Feed are available via Finishing Line Press (2024). Her third poetry book, Points in the Network, is forthcoming in 2025.

Heather Corbally Bryant reads “James Joyce's Water Closet,” “Renvyle Peninsula,” “An Accident off Kingstown Bay,” and “High Island.”Heather is a Senior Lecturer at Wellesley College, the author of a prize-winning study of Elizabeth Bowen, and eleven books of poems. Her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award, and have received honorable mention in the Finishing Line Press’s Open Chapbook competition.

Janine Harrison reads "Don’t Be an NPC" and "The Hippies Had It Right (Almost)."Born and raised in Chicago, Janine is the author of Turning 50 on El Camino de Santiago, Weight of Silence, and If We Were Birds. Her work has appeared in Veils, Halos, Not Like the Rest of Us, Gyroscope Review, and "Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women." Janine lives in Highland, Indiana, and is a former Highland Poet Laureate. She joined us from her home via Zoom.

Kim Dower reads "Reaching for the Moon," "Control," and "A Fly with One Wing is Watching Me."Kim is the author of six collections of poetry, including What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria published by Red Hen Press in January 2025. Her poems have been featured in many anthologies and journals, including Ploughshares, James Dickey Review, Plume, and Barrow Street. She teaches poetry workshops for Antioch University, UCLA Extension, and the West Hollywood Library. Kim lives with her family in West Hollywood, California, and she joined us via Zoom.

Gili Haimovich reads "Watermark," "Where We Used to Live," "Petals," and "The Crab OR: The Paper Armor."Gili is a bilingual poet in Hebrew and English, the author of 11 poetry books, including Promised Lands (US, 2020, FLP) and the multilingual book of her poem Note.  Her poetry won prizes and grants in Israel, Italy, Hong Kong and elsewhere, translated into 34 languages and published extensively worldwide.

Rosemarie Wurth-Grice reads "Notes from Teaching the Iliad and the Myth of Helen’s Birth," "Rabbit Holes," "Ninety-five Moons of Jupiter," and "Sanctified Honey."Kentucky native, Rosemarie Wurth-Grice is a retired National Board Certified Teacher and founding member of the Not Dead Poets Society. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in Kentucky Monthly, Kudzu, and the Journal of Kentucky Studies. Her chapbook, Darkness Called Us Home, is forthcoming in 2025 by Finishing Line Press.

On this edition of the Poets Weave Allie Rigby reads "Press Record Now," "Frog Skin," "Self-Portrait as Orchid," and "Burnt Rice."Allie has roots in the chaparral and deserts of California. She is the author of Moonscape for a Child, published by Bored Wolves in 2024, and she’s a recipient of a Fulbright grant to Romania. Her writing explores health, climate change, ecology, and community, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2020.

Kourtney Jones reads "I Asked the Dead" and "Radish Greens."Kourtney is a poet, teacher, and interdisciplinary artist from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She can be found typing in public spaces from a typewriter with her performance poetry project known as The Poem Market. Kourtney is the author of the poetry chapbook The Mug Drops. Her current work explores the intersections of languages and dreams, the transmission between the dead and the living, environmental illness, and poetry as a practice for collective liberation.

William Landau reads "Monomyth," "Faerie Fruit," "" and "To Be a F."William is a second year MFA student at Indiana University Bloomington. Their work has appeared in publications including Hanging Loose Press, Diabolical Plots and Sinister Wisdom and will appear in an upcoming issue of Painted Bride Quarterly. When not reading or writing they're usually busy worshipping their cat, overanalyzing gay TV shows or perfecting their shortbread recipe.

Angela Lim reads "Without Compass," "COMPULSORY," "I find myself jealous of ghosts" and "Tell the Space Enthusiast 'No, Thank You'."Angela Lim is a poet, educator, and editor currently living in Bloomington, Indiana, where she is pursuing an MFA in poetry at Indiana University. In addition to writing poems, Angela has written dozens of juvenile nonfiction books.