by Joey Phoenix This month, Creative Collective is celebrating Women’s History Month! Follow along as we tell the stories of women writers, makers, small business owners, organizational leaders, and community heroes.  Acclaimed Poet, Salem State University professor, and Beverly resident January Gill O’Neil (she/her/hers) found herself and her two teenage children in Mississippi during the start of COVID nearly a

This month, we’re highlighting local businesses as part of our #StayLocal2020 campaign. Scroll to the bottom for more information. Drinking from Snowglobes is Christopher O’Keeffe’s first book of poetry. It’s currently available for presale here.  By Joey Phoenix “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Charles Dickens famously begins in his A Tale of Two Cities, set in

Originally published in Solstice Lit Mag Without a boogie board,you’d fling your bodyinto the curve of the Pacific.Without baby oil, you’d still burn& be tender for days.Without a blanket, you’d dropyour faded Eddie shirt,sit—or later, shake it out &mop off the salt. Withoutshades, you’d razoryour hand like a visor—squintat five footers rushing up,at gulls. Without moneyyou’d drink from a fluoridated

by Joey Phoenix When spending time observing birds, it’s important to be quiet, still, and patient – skills useful for reading and writing poetry. Birds are often used as metaphors for disparate ideas like freedom, chaos, beauty, and even the macabre. There’s a bird for every occasion, every state of being, and every emotion. For Joey Gould, they are also

Poetry and spoken word are art forms the North Shore does well. There is a reason The Massachusetts Poetry Festival has made Salem its home during the years the organizers have held it. But if you’re a lover of the art form, you don’t have to wait until next May to hear the words your mind craves. There is poetry

SALEM, MA- Salem State University Professor Kristine Doll was awarded the Homer European Medal of Poetry and Art at the Yale Club in New York City on Friday, May 17. Established in Brussels, Belgium in 2016 the Homer European Medal is a juried award celebrating artistry and literature for which Doll was awarded the Chamber of Medal. Doll, who received her doctorate

SALEM, MA –   Salem State University and the Salem Athenaeum announce the eighth Salem Poetry Seminar, a week-long event for students at public colleges and universities in Massachusetts. The Seminar gives thirteen students, selected from throughout the commonwealth, the opportunity to study poetry writing intensively with noted teachers and authors Charlotte Gordon, J.D. Scrimgeour, and January Gill O’Neil. Scrimgeour,

It’s a great month for women’s events at Salem State University Center for the Arts. Crossing many mediums and focuses, these events demonstrate the broader conversations happening in the community and provide an inclusive opportunity for people to learn more about these conversations. From theatre to musical performance to poetry, these events just can’t be missed. “Women’s voices are important

by Joey Phoenix What happens when you have to start over after a major life change? Do you keep doing what you’ve been doing or do you let yourself become something brand new?  These are the questions January Gill O’Neil examines in her newest book Rewilding (Cavankerry Press, 2018).    Rewilding is a term for ecological, large-scale conservation where land

Last night, The Streetside Bar at the Cabot hosted readings of original creative work from the greater Montserrat community celebrating color. The tiny space was packed full of listeners eager to listen to what the poets and writers had to say.  Photos by Joey Phoenix