Stephen J. Wallace reads his short story, "Living Locks," a piece of biblical historical fiction retelling the story of Sampson. 

Stephen J. Wallace is a speaker and author. He says he’s a “writer trapped in an engineer’s body, or vice versa.” He enjoys writing technical articles and short stories. He recently finished his first novel, Shelter In Place, which was a finalist in the Launch Pad Manuscript Competition. His short stories have appeared in the Schuylkill Valley Journal, the Mark Literary Review, and Vita Poetica. He has lived in the Washington, DC, area for several years but occasionally visits his home state of Kentucky. Read more at stephenjwallace.com.

Welcome to the Winter 2022 issue of Vita Poetica. Here's a preview of what we have in store for you this season! The individual audio recordings accompany each piece online and are also heard in a straight audio issue you can stream on our website, www.vitapoetica.org. Exclusive to the podcast are the contributors' own introductions to their pieces and glimpses into what inspired their work. If something speaks to you, would you take a moment to share a response either by sending a voice message here, leaving a comment on Facebook or Instagram, or sending a note to [email protected] or via the contact form on our website? We'll share these messages at the end of the season!

Music you hear in this trailer courtesy of Allen Wong's video in our interview with Maria Eugenia Fee (intro) and John Morris (outro).

Susan Delaney Spear reads "A Protestant Attends a Funeral Mass," and Jeremy Szuder reads "Find Yourself" and "Easter Fools."

Susan Delaney Spear is an Associate Professor of English at Colorado Christian University. She is the author of Beyond All Bearing, a collection of poems, and co-author of Learning the Secrets of English Verse, a creative writing/poetry textbook. You can find her at susandelaneyspear.com.

Jeremy Szuder has spent 15 years as a musician and graphic designer, 25 years self-publishing Zines, 10 years deejaying, and continues to have illustrations and poems published by fine art and literary publications across the U.S.A. and Canada. He lives in Glendale, California.

Dancer Emily Wright introduces us to moving meditation as a contemplative practice. You can also join her in creative exploration through movement in the video from our Autumn 2021 issue (scroll all the way down to find the video at the bottom of the page linked).

Based in Charlottesville, VA, Emily Wright is a dancer, movement educator, and author with a passion for the transformative power of dance. An experienced teacher of dance for all ages and a scholar with numerous publications, Emily is available for workshops, master classes, lectures, writing, commissions, and consultation. She offers an online and in-person Movement Medicine class that blends yoga, dance, and contemplation. Her book, Dancing to Tansform: How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity, was published in June 2021 by Intellect Press. Learn more about Emily in an interview with her in Vita Poetica’s Autumn 2021 issue.

Fiona Vigo Marshall reads her poems, "Blue Orchids" and "The Sailors' Church."

Fiona Vigo Marshall’s poems have been published in a variety of outlets including Aesthetica, Ambit, Orbis, and Theology Journal. Her short story “The Street of Baths” won the V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize 2016, and her story “The Marvellous Book,” Phantom Drift 2017, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her novel Find Me Falling is published by Fairlight Books, Oxford, 2019, and her second novel, The House of Marvellous Books, is published by Fairlight Books, spring 2022.

Our Interviews Editor, Emily Chambers Sharpe, speaks with dancer Emily Wright about dance as a heightened form of attention and a vehicle for making meaning together. A transcript of their conversation, as well as a Moving Meditation from Emily Wright, can be found in our Autumn 2021 issue.

Based in Charlottesville, VA, Emily Wright is a dancer, movement educator, and author with a passion for the transformative power of dance. An experienced teacher of dance for all ages and a scholar with numerous publications, Emily is available for workshops, master classes, lectures, writing, commissions, and consultation. She offers an online and in-person Movement Medicine class that blends yoga, dance, and contemplation. Her book, Dancing to Transform: How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity, was published in June 2021 by Intellect Press.

Jacqueline Wallen reads "Naaman Hits Bottom," and Kate Maxwell reads "Her Abundance," both poems from our Autumn 2021 issue.

Jacqueline Wallen is a clinical social worker with a practice of psychotherapy and an Associate Professor Emerita in the Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park.

Kate Maxwell has been published in Australian and International literary magazines. Kate’s interests include film, wine, and sleeping. Her first poetry anthology, Never Good at Maths, is published with Interactive Publications, Brisbane.

Chad Holley reads his short story, "The Children of the Sun Begin to Wake." 

Chad Holley lives in Los Angeles, where he is completing a novel and a collection of stories. His work has appeared in, among other places, Shenandoah, storySouth, Greensboro Review, and Houghton Mifflin's Best American Mystery Stories.

Ed Meek reads his poems "Passing Away" and "In the Forest" from our Autumn 2021 issue.

Ed Meek has had poems in The Baltimore Review, The Sun, and The Paris Review. His new book, High Tide, came out last September.

Basira Harpster reads her personal essay, "Wood Heat," from our Autumn 2021 issue. 

Basira Harpster is a speech therapist, writer, and gardener in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains. Her poetry appears in Sows’ Ear Poetry Review. She’s currently working on short personal essays and has a memoir in progress.