Rebecca Hart Olander’s poetry and collaborative visual and written work have appeared in print, online, and in multiple anthologies. A winner of the Women's National Book Association Poetry Award, her books include Dressing the Wounds (dancing girl press, 2019) and Uncertain Acrobats (CavanKerry Press, 2021), an Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist and a Massachusetts Center for the Book “Must-Read” selection. Rebecca has taught writing at Amherst and Smith colleges, Westfield State University, and through Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop, and she works with poets in the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing. She is the editor/director of Perugia Press.

During a retreat with friends in June 2022, we exchanged writing prompts. One involved listening to an adaptation of Sarah Orne Jewett’s story “A White Heron” from Voice of America’s “Learning English” website and considering why the protagonist kept the heron’s nest location secret from the hunter. My resulting poem explores multiple answers. This summer, while with the same friends, I submitted my poem to RHR. Herons and friends helped this poem find its nest. 

W: rebeccahartolander.com
X: @rholanderpoet
I: @rholanderpoet
F: Rebecca Hart Olander