Carry Us to the Next Well: An Anthology of Poetry

Katherine Hahn Falk, Poet Laureate for Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 2017, was selected by the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium for a program funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Katherine studied poetry at the graduate level, has won poetry contests, and enjoys teaching poetry to students in their classrooms.

Lynn Fanok’s poetry highlights her Ukrainian cultural heritage and memories of her father, a WWII labor camp survivor. Her poetry has appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly and several other journals. Lynn organizes and leads a monthly poetry reading series at the Newtown Bookshop in Bucks County, PA.

Monica Borrin Flint was born in England, where her parents had found refuge a few years earlier after their original country, Poland, was brutally conquered, first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets.  She moved with her family to the U.S. in 1989, where she eventually met Dr. Christopher Bursk, who inspired her to write.

Mary Jo LoBello Jerome is the 2019 Poet Laureate of Bucks County, PA. Her poetry and fiction have been published in Stillwater Review, River Heron Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal, U.S. 1 Worksheets, Little Patuxent Review, among others. A former teacher, she has freelanced for the New York Times, Scholastic, and other publications.

A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and Bucks County Pennsylvania Poet Laureate, Marie Kane has published three collections of lyric and narrative poetry. Her last, Persephone’s Truth (2018), includes art by her husband, Stephen Milner. Kane was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991; much of her work is informed by her experiences with this disease.

Lavinia Kumar is a poet, scientist, and artist. She has published two poetry collections; the latest is The Celtic Fisherman’s Wife: A Druid Life (2017). She has written three chapbooks, the most recent being Beauty. Salon. Art. (Desert Willow Press, 2019). Her work has been published in the U.S., Ireland, and the U.K.

Bernadette McBride, author of four poetry collections, most recently, Everything Counts (Kelsay Books, 2019), is poetry editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal. Recipient of several honors, her poems have been published widely, both domestically as well as in the U.K., Canada, and at PRI’s The Writer’s Almanac. (bernadettemcbridepoetry.wordpress.com)

Christine Caruso McKee has loved poetry since early childhood; in 2002, she became more committed to writing poems. Her work has been published in Bucks County Writer, Her Mark, U.S. 1 Worksheets, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Presence, and others. Her book, On Shady Lane (Word Tech), was published in August 2015.

Mary Richardson Miller is a painter, photographer, and poet. She is the author and photographer of The Women of Candelaria (Pomegranate Artbooks) and has just completed her first book of poetry, The Wild Returning. She lives in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.

Steve Nolan was a therapist and career military officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. Upon his return from Afghanistan, his poetry was featured on National Public Radio in a story titled, “Mother, Son Share Experiences of War.” He is the author of Go Deep, 2018, and Base Camp, 2020, both of Ragged Sky Press.

Phyllis Purscell spent her early writing years as a playwright, involved with The Women’s Project in New York. Never having thought of herself as a poet, she somehow found herself writing verse. It was her good fortune to be directed to that amazing poet/teacher Christopher Bursk and his workshop.

Elizabeth Rivers enjoys bringing creative poetry writing to school children. She is the 2008 Montgomery County, PA Poet Laureate, chosen by Marie Howe, and the 2009 winner of the Robert Frasier Open Poetry competition. She’s published three books of poetry, the most recent being Living in the Sky, Kelsay Books, 2019.

Susan H. Robbins found her poetic voice during a moment of stillness after decades of wandering, for which she is profoundly grateful. Grateful, too, for the three awards received from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and for the publication of her poetry in print/online journals. Robbins is the founder/host of a literary, music, and theater arts salon. (www.RhythmandVerseSalon.com)

Lynda Gene Rymond is the author of two children’s books. She was a finalist for the 2018 Bucks County Main Street Voices Poetry Contest, and a runner-up for the 2019 Bucks County Poet Laureate contest. She lives in Applebachsville, PA, with her husband, painter Charles Browning.

Wendy Fulton Steginsky is the author of three books of poetry. She has been published widely in the Caribbean and the U.S. She was a runner-up for the 2017 Bucks County, Pennsylvania Poet Laureate contest. Her book, Let This Be Enough (Kelsay Books) was awarded Honorable Mention in Bermuda’s 2018 Literary Awards.

Marylou Kelly Streznewski is an eclectic writer of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, which have appeared in national publications. She has published three poetry chapbooks, Rag Time, Women Words, and Dying with Robert Mitchum. Her two non-fiction books are Gifted Grownups and Heart Rending-Heart Mending.

Connie Wrzesniewski writes for the Bucks County Herald. Her work is widely published. She won third prize in Delaware Valley College Writers’ Conference in 2014 and in 2015 was second runner-up in Bucks County Main Street Voices Poetry Contest. Recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize, she has published two chapbooks.

Paperback: 85 pages 
Publisher: Kelsay Books (April 20, 2021)