On Friday, October 27, from 5-6 pm MDT, at the Seedboat Gallery Southwest Word Fiesta proudly presents the launch of an exciting book of poetry Upward Spiral: Poems of Reflection and Renewal. Upward Spiral is an anthology of poems by four Silver City women. Its theme “spiraling upward” speaks to the momentum of transformative thought. Exploring the elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, the poems evoke the forces of the natural world, instilling both love and concern for our future. The poets’ whirling energy infuses this collection with a bold kindness. Upward Spiral awakens, empowers, and inspires.Upward Spiral is presented by Mercury Heartlink Independent Publishing.
The poets include: Shelly Barnett, Leonore Hildebrandt, Pamela Warren Williams, and Lynne Zotalis
Shelly “Badassia” Barnett moved to New Mexico, longing for sunshine after half of her life in the Pacific Northwest. As long as there are trees—Poet-trees, Creativi-trees, and others with fruit, like peaches, life is good. After twenty plus years of a writing hiatus, she revisited and reinvented her poetic style when she moved to Albuquerque. Falling in love with Open Mic and Spoken Word, she dances the line of both when she performs. Silver City became home in 2022. Mother, activist, teacher of our valuable youth, artist and poet, she speaks her truth, even if her voice shakes.
Leonore Hildebrandt is the author of the poetry collections The Work at Hand, The Next Unknown, and Where You Happen to Be. Her poems and translations have appeared in the Cafe Review, Cerise Press, the Cimarron Review, Denver Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Harpur Palate, Poetry Daily, Rhino, and the Sugar House Review, among other journals. She was nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. Originally from Germany, Leonore divides her time between Harrington, Maine, and Silver City, New Mexico.
Pamela Warren Williams is a poet, publisher, and visual artist, searching for the poignant truths, with provocation from heartbreaking beauty to the current pain in our culture and following the ties that either bind us or tear us apart. Her publishing company is Mercury HeartLink, www.heartlink.com which promotes positive social impact. Her books include Hair on Fire, and You, Always Near, the Stewart Poems
Lynne Zotalis is an award-winning author and poet, chairperson for the Silver City chapter of the NM State Poetry Society. Zotalis’poetry collections include Mysterious Existence and Saying Goodbye to Chuck. Her memoir/creative nonfiction, Hippie at Heart (What I Used to Be, I Still Am) won a Firebird Book Award and was a finalist in the Best Book Awards.
As an alternative to large commercial publishing houses and the unguided and less professional endeavors of self-publishing, Mercury HeartLink works closely with writers and other artists to offer solutions that are client-centered and to provide support in the larger realm of self-realization.
This event is free and open to the public. Check the Southwest Word Fiesta website for updates and a full schedule of events: https://swwordfiesta.org/ .