Janet Bowdan comes from a line of skeptics whose tradition calls statues “graven images,” which makes her wonder about where idolatry is invested and why. She herself lives near a statue she likes of Sojourner Truth (and, conveniently, a Pie Bar). Her poems have appeared in APR, Best American Poetry, Frak\ture, The Rewilding Anthology and elsewhere, She teaches at Western New England University and lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her husband and son.