Black Earth Institute
@blackearthinst.bsky.social
We are community of artist-fellows and scholar-advisors | A progressive think-tank dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society. | blackearthinstitute.org | Publisher of the literary journal: @aboutplacejournal.bsky.social
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Call for Submissions ➡️ The Ground Beneath Us: Place, Power, and Resistance. | We seek works that engage with land, home, borders, environment, and community, not as static backdrops, but as living terrains that hold grief, memory, & the seeds of transformation. aboutplacejournal.org/submissions/
Submissions – About Place Journal
Call for submissions of poetry, prose, visual art, multimedia and hybrid work that explore place as a site of struggle and survival.
aboutplacejournal.org
The call for the next issue of About Place Journal, "The Ground Beneath Us: Place, Power, and Resistance," is now open. We would love to have your work!
🗓️ Submission period: January 1 to March 10, 2026
🖋️ Editorial team: Amanda Ngoho Reavey, Seth Copeland, Nora Boxer & Beatrice Szymkowiak. #LitMag
🗓️ Submission period: January 1 to March 10, 2026
🖋️ Editorial team: Amanda Ngoho Reavey, Seth Copeland, Nora Boxer & Beatrice Szymkowiak. #LitMag
🎧 New audiobook: A Valentine from the Sea - by #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow Brenda Peterson. This story explores love, longing, wildness, and the deep bonds between humans and the natural world.
📖 Peterson has authored 23+ books for adults and children.
audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/t...
📖 Peterson has authored 23+ books for adults and children.
audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/t...
The Secret Journal of Kate Morag Audiobook
The Secret Journal of Kate Morag - The Secret Journal of Kate Morag audiobook, by Brenda Peterson... In the windswept Scottish Hebrides of 1916, London-born governess Seraphina Tighinn MacKenzie arriv...
audiobookstore.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:42 PM
🎧 New audiobook: A Valentine from the Sea - by #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow Brenda Peterson. This story explores love, longing, wildness, and the deep bonds between humans and the natural world.
📖 Peterson has authored 23+ books for adults and children.
audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/t...
📖 Peterson has authored 23+ books for adults and children.
audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/t...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
The call for the next issue of About Place Journal, "The Ground Beneath Us: Place, Power, and Resistance," is now open. We would love to have your work!
🗓️ Submission period: January 1 to March 10, 2026
🖋️ Editorial team: Amanda Ngoho Reavey, Seth Copeland, Nora Boxer & Beatrice Szymkowiak. #LitMag
🗓️ Submission period: January 1 to March 10, 2026
🖋️ Editorial team: Amanda Ngoho Reavey, Seth Copeland, Nora Boxer & Beatrice Szymkowiak. #LitMag
Call for Submissions ➡️ The Ground Beneath Us: Place, Power, and Resistance. | We seek works that engage with land, home, borders, environment, and community, not as static backdrops, but as living terrains that hold grief, memory, & the seeds of transformation. aboutplacejournal.org/submissions/
Submissions – About Place Journal
Call for submissions of poetry, prose, visual art, multimedia and hybrid work that explore place as a site of struggle and survival.
aboutplacejournal.org
January 1, 2026 at 4:17 PM
The call for the next issue of About Place Journal, "The Ground Beneath Us: Place, Power, and Resistance," is now open. We would love to have your work!
🗓️ Submission period: January 1 to March 10, 2026
🖋️ Editorial team: Amanda Ngoho Reavey, Seth Copeland, Nora Boxer & Beatrice Szymkowiak. #LitMag
🗓️ Submission period: January 1 to March 10, 2026
🖋️ Editorial team: Amanda Ngoho Reavey, Seth Copeland, Nora Boxer & Beatrice Szymkowiak. #LitMag
“The Devil’s Wife Considers” by #BlackEarthInstitute Fellow Patricia Spears Jones is a striking work. The poem reimagines myth by centering the voice of the Devil’s wife as she reflects on love, desire, loyalty and the cost of temptation and betrayal.
the-song-cave.com/products/the...
the-song-cave.com/products/the...
The Devil's Wife Considers / Patricia Spears Jones
The Devil's Wife Considers by Patricia Spears Jones Cover by Alex Callender 26 pages Published in a numbered edition of 100 copies Patricia Spears Jones is an African American poet, anthologist, and...
the-song-cave.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:06 AM
“The Devil’s Wife Considers” by #BlackEarthInstitute Fellow Patricia Spears Jones is a striking work. The poem reimagines myth by centering the voice of the Devil’s wife as she reflects on love, desire, loyalty and the cost of temptation and betrayal.
the-song-cave.com/products/the...
the-song-cave.com/products/the...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:
Just a reminder as nominations for the 2025 #HugoAwards open up, that my poem “age of villains” published last year by the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons, is eligible for the Hugo in the poetry category. I hope you’ll consider it.
Just a reminder as nominations for the 2025 #HugoAwards open up, that my poem “age of villains” published last year by the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons, is eligible for the Hugo in the poetry category. I hope you’ll consider it.
February 11, 2026 at 8:06 PM
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:
Just a reminder as nominations for the 2025 #HugoAwards open up, that my poem “age of villains” published last year by the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons, is eligible for the Hugo in the poetry category. I hope you’ll consider it.
Just a reminder as nominations for the 2025 #HugoAwards open up, that my poem “age of villains” published last year by the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons, is eligible for the Hugo in the poetry category. I hope you’ll consider it.
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Just dropped a new #poem over on my #patreon. You can join for the price of a cup of coffee!
(If you’d rather not join you can still get access to this one post. Enjoy and thank you for your support!)
www.patreon.com/posts/poem-1...
(If you’d rather not join you can still get access to this one post. Enjoy and thank you for your support!)
www.patreon.com/posts/poem-1...
Poem | Gerald L. Coleman
Get more from Gerald L. Coleman on Patreon
www.patreon.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:25 PM
Just dropped a new #poem over on my #patreon. You can join for the price of a cup of coffee!
(If you’d rather not join you can still get access to this one post. Enjoy and thank you for your support!)
www.patreon.com/posts/poem-1...
(If you’d rather not join you can still get access to this one post. Enjoy and thank you for your support!)
www.patreon.com/posts/poem-1...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Excited to be on these two Virginia Festival of the Book events—for Attached to the Living World (Trinity UP) and for Just Labor (Press 53)—and to enjoy many more with @va_humanities in March!
February 13, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Excited to be on these two Virginia Festival of the Book events—for Attached to the Living World (Trinity UP) and for Just Labor (Press 53)—and to enjoy many more with @va_humanities in March!
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Behind the door was a wing. Behind the wing
a mountain. Behind the mountain a memory.
Behind the memory the words. Behind
the words was brokenness. And wings.
a mountain. Behind the mountain a memory.
Behind the memory the words. Behind
the words was brokenness. And wings.
February 13, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Behind the door was a wing. Behind the wing
a mountain. Behind the mountain a memory.
Behind the memory the words. Behind
the words was brokenness. And wings.
a mountain. Behind the mountain a memory.
Behind the memory the words. Behind
the words was brokenness. And wings.
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
These are my people❤️ Lucky me💙 The original ‘wine moms’ are in Ohio. They’re mobilizing to support Haitians in Springfield. - The 19th News
February 14, 2026 at 2:41 PM
These are my people❤️ Lucky me💙 The original ‘wine moms’ are in Ohio. They’re mobilizing to support Haitians in Springfield. - The 19th News
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
‘I Just Want to Get Out of Here’: ICE Is Detaining Hundreds of Children www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
Horrifying.
Horrifying.
‘I Just Want to Get Out of Here’: ICE Is Detaining Hundreds of Children
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:38 AM
‘I Just Want to Get Out of Here’: ICE Is Detaining Hundreds of Children www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...
Horrifying.
Horrifying.
"A few hours after the rally on Monday morning, I stopped by Ruby’s Central Christian Church. There I met Marjory Wentworth, a poet and author who’d become central to Springfield pro-immigrant organizing effort."
Read about Fellow @marjory.bsky.social in the NYT.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o...
Read about Fellow @marjory.bsky.social in the NYT.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o...
Opinion | In Ohio, I Caught a Glimpse of the New Resistance
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:50 PM
"A few hours after the rally on Monday morning, I stopped by Ruby’s Central Christian Church. There I met Marjory Wentworth, a poet and author who’d become central to Springfield pro-immigrant organizing effort."
Read about Fellow @marjory.bsky.social in the NYT.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o...
Read about Fellow @marjory.bsky.social in the NYT.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
February 5, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
The Goddesses Hunt continues, now in Crete. Where water earth air light and spirit meet, I was gifted with the final form of a Divine Feminine fingersign. Have met amazing Goddess women here. Much for us to share, much to build, much to weave across this transforming, reawakening world…
February 11, 2026 at 9:50 AM
The Goddesses Hunt continues, now in Crete. Where water earth air light and spirit meet, I was gifted with the final form of a Divine Feminine fingersign. Have met amazing Goddess women here. Much for us to share, much to build, much to weave across this transforming, reawakening world…
Read #BlackEarthInstitute Fellow Tom Montgomery Fate’s new review, “Poetry as the Art of Activism,” @terrainorg.bsky.social.
He says: "What readers will find is that this 'joyful resistance' springs from the poets’ radical attentiveness to the world around them..."
www.terrain.org/2026/reviews...
He says: "What readers will find is that this 'joyful resistance' springs from the poets’ radical attentiveness to the world around them..."
www.terrain.org/2026/reviews...
The Nature of Our Times: Poetry as the Art of Activism - Terrain.org
Tom Montgomery Fate reviews The Nature of Our Times: Poems on America's Lands, Waters, Wildlife, and Other Natural Wonders.
www.terrain.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Read #BlackEarthInstitute Fellow Tom Montgomery Fate’s new review, “Poetry as the Art of Activism,” @terrainorg.bsky.social.
He says: "What readers will find is that this 'joyful resistance' springs from the poets’ radical attentiveness to the world around them..."
www.terrain.org/2026/reviews...
He says: "What readers will find is that this 'joyful resistance' springs from the poets’ radical attentiveness to the world around them..."
www.terrain.org/2026/reviews...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Our culture’s inability to believe women has brought our democracy to its knees.
February 3, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Our culture’s inability to believe women has brought our democracy to its knees.
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Haitians in America worry they’re Trump’s next target www.vox.com/politics/478...
Haitians in America worry they’re Trump’s next target
The president falsely accused Haitians in Ohio of eating pets. Now he’s trying to deport them.
www.vox.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Haitians in America worry they’re Trump’s next target www.vox.com/politics/478...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Crazy photo of me, but I stand by what I said. Thank you for coming to Springfield, Michelle Goldberg. Thank you for the truth://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/opinion/ohio-resistance-trump-ice.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JlA.SauA.VyZweSlydP6S
Opinion | In Ohio, I Caught a Glimpse of the New Resistance
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Crazy photo of me, but I stand by what I said. Thank you for coming to Springfield, Michelle Goldberg. Thank you for the truth://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/opinion/ohio-resistance-trump-ice.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JlA.SauA.VyZweSlydP6S
Lauren Camp’s new poetry collection, Is Is Enough, will be released on February 18 from @tamupress.bsky.social
Camp is a #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow.
"The collection flickers through and locates in distorted realities, loss, and gentling."
www.tamupress.com/book/9781680...
Camp is a #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow.
"The collection flickers through and locates in distorted realities, loss, and gentling."
www.tamupress.com/book/9781680...
Is Is Enough
Is Is Enough begins in heritage and harmony then breaks apart into the strange world and tautly stretched emotions that accompany dementia. The collection fl...
www.tamupress.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Lauren Camp’s new poetry collection, Is Is Enough, will be released on February 18 from @tamupress.bsky.social
Camp is a #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow.
"The collection flickers through and locates in distorted realities, loss, and gentling."
www.tamupress.com/book/9781680...
Camp is a #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow.
"The collection flickers through and locates in distorted realities, loss, and gentling."
www.tamupress.com/book/9781680...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
The passing. Gifts from the ocean. One stone from the beach for today’s full moon and the Cailleach’s retreat. Three stones gathered above high tide line like drops of sun-drenched honey for Brigid on her day. 1/3
February 1, 2026 at 10:18 PM
The passing. Gifts from the ocean. One stone from the beach for today’s full moon and the Cailleach’s retreat. Three stones gathered above high tide line like drops of sun-drenched honey for Brigid on her day. 1/3
Congratulations to #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow Mary Swander whose new touring play 'Coop' is based on "historical fiction, an enactment of true stories of Amish, Mennonite, and other conscientious objectors during WWI and WWII."
Check out the upcoming 2026 dates ⬇️
maryswander.com/coop/
Check out the upcoming 2026 dates ⬇️
maryswander.com/coop/
Coop: Mary Swander's new play tours the Midwest - Mary Swander
“Riveting. Inventive. Coop is a play in the best sense of the word, an artful mix of both seriousness and fun.” ... Read More →
maryswander.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Congratulations to #BlackEarthInstitute Emeritus Fellow Mary Swander whose new touring play 'Coop' is based on "historical fiction, an enactment of true stories of Amish, Mennonite, and other conscientious objectors during WWI and WWII."
Check out the upcoming 2026 dates ⬇️
maryswander.com/coop/
Check out the upcoming 2026 dates ⬇️
maryswander.com/coop/
📖 New book by Fellow Alexis Lathem:
"Through elegant prose and insightful investigations into pressing contemporary issues, Lathem evokes the world of her farm and the surrounding countryside with a spiritual awareness of the human journey on this earth."
www.umasspress.com/978162534901...
"Through elegant prose and insightful investigations into pressing contemporary issues, Lathem evokes the world of her farm and the surrounding countryside with a spiritual awareness of the human journey on this earth."
www.umasspress.com/978162534901...
Lambs in Winter
Finding hope in a small farm, an engaged community, and an age-old connection to the earth After half a lifetime spent moving from place to place, Alexis Lat...
www.umasspress.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:11 AM
📖 New book by Fellow Alexis Lathem:
"Through elegant prose and insightful investigations into pressing contemporary issues, Lathem evokes the world of her farm and the surrounding countryside with a spiritual awareness of the human journey on this earth."
www.umasspress.com/978162534901...
"Through elegant prose and insightful investigations into pressing contemporary issues, Lathem evokes the world of her farm and the surrounding countryside with a spiritual awareness of the human journey on this earth."
www.umasspress.com/978162534901...
ICYMI: Backlit Podcast episode with #BlackEarthInstitute Fellow Laura-Gray Street.
➡️ "Weaving together gender, industrialization, ecology and work, Laura-Gray’s work sparks new insights as we approach literature and life as an opportunity for discovery."
www.abenantoso.com/podcast/back...
➡️ "Weaving together gender, industrialization, ecology and work, Laura-Gray’s work sparks new insights as we approach literature and life as an opportunity for discovery."
www.abenantoso.com/podcast/back...
Abena Ntoso - Just Labor: Work, Gender and Writing in the Modern Age
Backlit Podcast
with Abena Ntoso
Just Labor: Work, Gender, and Writing in the Modern Age
www.abenantoso.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:24 PM
ICYMI: Backlit Podcast episode with #BlackEarthInstitute Fellow Laura-Gray Street.
➡️ "Weaving together gender, industrialization, ecology and work, Laura-Gray’s work sparks new insights as we approach literature and life as an opportunity for discovery."
www.abenantoso.com/podcast/back...
➡️ "Weaving together gender, industrialization, ecology and work, Laura-Gray’s work sparks new insights as we approach literature and life as an opportunity for discovery."
www.abenantoso.com/podcast/back...
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
Given that there is no intelligence, wisdom or grace in the Trump White House, we will have to see/hear them lie about the lives of American citizens that they have destroyed. Keith Porter, Jr. Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti should be alive. Now is time for resistance & defiance. #abolishICE
January 26, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Given that there is no intelligence, wisdom or grace in the Trump White House, we will have to see/hear them lie about the lives of American citizens that they have destroyed. Keith Porter, Jr. Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti should be alive. Now is time for resistance & defiance. #abolishICE
Reposted by Black Earth Institute
"In a fractured age, when cynicism is god, here is a possible heresy: we live by stories, we also live in them. One way or another we are living the stories planted in us early or along the way, we are also living the stories we planted -- knowingly or unknowingly -- in ourselves.
January 27, 2026 at 3:59 AM
"In a fractured age, when cynicism is god, here is a possible heresy: we live by stories, we also live in them. One way or another we are living the stories planted in us early or along the way, we are also living the stories we planted -- knowingly or unknowingly -- in ourselves.