The Poets Weave

A Florida native, Heather Sellers is the author of five volumes of poetry. Her new collection is Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators. Sellers’ memoir, You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know, was Editors’ Choice at the New York Times Book Review.  She teaches in the MFA program at the University of South Florida.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Heather reads her poem “Late June Evening in My Driveway.”

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.

Deirdre reads "To the person in charge of discontinuation," "The Month of the Dead," "Going Hungry," and "Love Begets Love."

ERIC RENSBERGER grew up in Elkhart County, Indiana and has lived in the Bloomington area since 1979. In childhood he knew he wanted to be a poet, but it took him a while to figure out what that meant in practice: mainly making mistakes and starting over. 

He has been published in journals and anthologies and has participated with enthusiasm in self-published projects. He has a large collection of his work on his website at ericrensbergerpoetry.net. In 2025, he published a volume of selected poems, Notes To Self.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Eric reads “Theft of a Line from Tate,” “A Sunday Night Sermon for David Baker,” “Shape,” and “Interpretation.”

Colleen Wells is a Bloomington, Indiana-based author who believes writing is a healing force and helps others feel empowered to share their stories. Among her publishing credits is the memoir, Dinner with Doppelgangers, and two poetry chapbooks, Animal Magnetism and Around the Bend. She is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist candidate.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Colleen reads her poems “The Sounds of Silence,” “Nature or Nurture,” “Rummy & Chummy,” “He’s Gone,” and “it’s really a crapshoot.”

Daniel Lassell grew up in Kentucky and lives in Bloomington, Indiana. His first poetry collection, Spit, was selected by Gabrielle Calvocoressi as the winner of the 2020 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize. He is also the author of Frame Inside a Frame (2025) and two limited-edition poetry chapbooks, Ad Spot and The Emptying Earth. Find him online at www.daniel-lassell.com.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Daniel reads, "Evolution Chart," "Tussle," and "The Way Home."

Joseph 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. Joseph lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his family.

On this edition of the Poets Weave Joseph reads "Distance From Here," "Into the Darkness," "Ghost in the Graveyard," and "Afterlife."

"Life is not worth living if you are too serious, and I get great joy from writing poems that are fun, silly, irreverent, and sometimes have a dash of commentary. Here are a few."

Peter Kaczmarczyk reads his poems “Fat Shame a Cat,” “I Don’t Have Road Rage,” “In The End,” “Americone Dream,” and “Return with Interest.”

Peter was raised in Massachusetts and now resides in Indiana. His writing is assisted by cats, who think they can write better than him by walking across the keyboard. Sometimes they do. Peter has published three chapbooks and one full length book, More Than a Whisper.

Poet Raisa Tolchinsky is the author of Glass Jaw, a poetry collection about the world of women’s boxing. Her work has appeared in Boston Review, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. 

She holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Harvard Divinity School. In 2025–2026, she served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Indiana University.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Raisa reads from her book Glass Jaw: "Purgatory," "Purgatory, (2)" "From July until September," and "Within those fires there are souls."

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.

Her books include Earth-Marked Like You (Published by Sunstone Press), Still Howling (CreateSpace Independent Publishing), and Wild Conviction, (Brilliant Moon Press).

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Mary reads the poems "Pure Poetry & Art" and "Sun Shining Through" from her book Still Howling, independently published in 2016, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Howl by Allen Ginsberg.

A Florida native, Heather Sellers is the author of five volumes of poetry. Her new collection is Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators. Sellers’ memoir, You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know, was Editors’ Choice at the New York Times Book Review.  She teaches in the MFA program at the University of South Florida.

On this edition of the Poets Weave, Heather reads her poems “Accidental Practitioners” and “Inventory for Pedagogy at Midlife.”