Voice
of the
Moon
Now Available!
Voice of the Moon is an anthology of original poems edited and published by Water Penny Press.
Publication Date: October 17, 2024
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The Moon has captivated the creatures and cycles of our planet for billions of years…and she has a voice.
Hear the roar and whisper of these original poems inspired by Earth’s only satellite. Selected to span a variety of styles, formats, tones, and themes the poems included in this anthology give voice to the moon. From a simple glow of words to an unexpected metaphoric reflection, Voice of the Moon is moody, soulful, and will pull you in like the tides.
Thank you to the poets, Val, Aimee, my wife Emmy,
my writing circles, and all who supported the creation of this anthology.
Aimee Noel lives with her wife in Dayton, Ohio,
where she works as writer and educator. Her poems
have been published in works such
as Witness, Michigan Quarterly Review, Ilanot
Review, and elsewhere. She was chosen as Ohio Arts
Council’s Summer Fellow at the Fine Arts Work
Center in Provincetown and has twice been awarded
OAC’s Individual Excellence Award for poetry.
Find her at www.aimeenoel.net
Val Smith is a versatile artist with deep Midwestern
roots. Growing up in Dayton, OH, she honed a humble
mindset and diverse design skill set. Through her visual
storytelling, she brings a seasoned and insightful
perspective to Voice of the Moon.
Find her at www.sugarcampdaytono.com
the Poets
Kathy B. Austin's poetry has appeared in The Writing Path I anthology published by the University of Iowa Press as well as several local anthologies. Her poems have been included in Buddhist Poetry Review, Poppy Road Review, Weber Journal, and various local publications; has been featured and interviewed on Conrad's Corner, WYSO 91.3; and has received awards from the Dayton Metro Library, Iowa Poetry Day Association and the Paul Laurence Dunbar Memorial Competitions.
Contact: ka4dharma@yahoo.com
Dayton, OH
Hannah Baker is a legal studies student focused on human rights work and she has been writing creatively since elementary school. She is a big fan of sun naps, fresh air, baked goods, great stories, and big hugs. Contact: hrbbaker@gmail.com
Midland, MI
Ashley Bethard is a writer whose essays, stories, and poems have been published in VIDA Review, The Rumpus, PANK Magazine, Hobart, Fanzine, Catapult, and others. Her work has received an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council (2022) and the Ohioana Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant (2017).
Website: https://ashleybethard.substack.com
Dayton, OH
Jim Brooks is a retired English teacher from Chaminade Julienne High School, Miami University (Ohio Writing Project), and the University of Dayton. He still coaches high school tennis, writes occasionally for the Dayton Daily News, tutors immigrants, and serves on the board for the University of Dayton Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Contact: jbrooks@cjeagles.org
Dayton, OH
Miranda Brooks is a poet from Dayton, Ohio.
Social: @usemeup
Andrea Brunetti is a physical therapist living in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, where she enjoys hiking and swimming. She loves sharing the adventure and beauty of nature with her husband and two sons.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Laura Carpenter is a zookeeper at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. She lives in Covington Kentucky with her dog, Fig, cat, Jackson and bird, Joey. She wrote this poem for her late partner, Josh Smith. Contact: lcgoldencat@aol.com
Covington KY
Margie Carpenter - Hargis is a certified Pilates / Fitness Trainer and life coach. She loves journaling and writing poems when she is not rock climbing, hiking with her dog Buddy, or falling off her mountain bike. Social: @margiept
Madeira, OH
Dr. Anna Cates teaches college writing and literature and graduate education online. She has published a variety of books (poetry, fiction, and drama) through Cyberwit, Prolific Press, Red Moon Press, and Wipf and Stock, and her full-length poetry collection, Love in the Time of Covid, won an Illumination Book Award.
Contact: catesanna@yahoo.com
Wilmington, OH
Sylvia Downey is an 8th grader who loves writing, music, and Scottish highland dancing. She writes poems celebrating the power and beauty of the natural world.
Dayton, OH
Cathryn Essinger is the author of five books of poetry, most recently The Apricot and the Moon from Dos Madres Press. She lives in Troy, Ohio where she raises Monarch butterflies.
Website: www.cathrynessinger.com
Troy, OH
Alana Garrigues is an intuitive artist, a poet, and an intersectional activist and space holder whose work explores the natural world and issues of social justice. Born under the sign of Cancer and hailing from the Pacific Northwest, she feels most at home amid forest, water, and a moonlit sky.
Website: www.alanagarrigues.com
Holden, MA
Macey Heys is currently pursuing an education in Creative Writing. When she's not writing or thinking about writing, she is outside with farm animals or outside with a book.
Contact: maceyheys@gmail.com
Dayton, OH
Tracey Hodges-Canaztuj has woven strong feelings into verses since childhood. As a stargazing enthusiast, she believes our connection to the universe lies in the ink of our writings.
Contact: traceyhc@reach2engage.com
Aurora, OH
Susie Huser is a lover of nature, art, words, dogs, food, gardens, humans, and other creatures, and spends most of her time tending to and delighting in those things.
Contact: birdsandbuckwheat@gmail.com
Nelsonville, OH
Mary Ruth Kamp is an artist and poet who works at her local public library driving the bookmobile around the county. She co-facilitates writing circles, retreats, and wilderness exploration and is currently the NEO Poetry Out Loud Coordinator with the Massillon Museum.
Contact: mossandmystery@gmail.com
Kidron, OH
Stephanie Keinath spends a lot of her time talking to people about why Dayton matters. And the rest of her time eating dumplings and reading poetry.
Dayton, OH
Kathleen Landis enjoys the intersection of creativity, putting words to the complexities of the human experience, and Earth play in the form of gardening, traveling, quiet observation and time in, on, and by water. She lives in central Kansas with her husband, son, some of her favorite trees, and a menagerie of two and four-legged companions.
Ryan W. McEwan is a Forest Ecologist at the University of Dayton. His work focuses on understanding and restoring ecosystems in the Miami Valley.
Website: www.mcewanlab.org
Dayton, OH
Aubrey Helmuth Miller is a musician, adventurer, writer and lover of breakfast. Her favorite moon phase is waxing gibbous.
Contact: aubreydh@gmail.com
Canton, OH
Lumina Miller enjoys letting her imagination run rampant, and would rather be outside. Her work has been published by literary magazines The Write Launch, The Banyan Review, Unleash Lit, and Drunk Monkeys.
Social: @luminamillerpoet
Gurnee, IL
Heather Monkmeyer is a teacher, minister, spiritual director, poet, painter, mystic. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her partner, Jim, and their German Shepherd, Rilke.
Columbus, OH
Katie Norris grew up searching for fossils, asking questions, and wanting to change the world. Her first poetry collection, Cairns, was published by Water Penny Press in 2022. She lives along the banks of the Great Miami River in the blue Joy House with her wife and two rescue dogs, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Contact: publishing@waterpenny.press
Dayton, OH
Renée Norris is living an artful life, experiencing
the power of creativity, the freedom of imagination,
and sharing her inspiration with others. Her focus is
on mixed media collage, poetry, writing, and
journaling. She currently lives in southwest Ohio.
Sherri Scholl is a small-town girl living in the city. She is an avid reader and enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and her writing circle groups.
Columbus, OH
Tawny Simisky is a recreational poet who has dabbled in the art since her youth, finding it again following the death of her mother. There is healing power in the written and spoken word - may you find it.
Website: www.boxesofloveformom.org
Chesterfield, MA
J.E. Tirey (she/her) is a poet and essayist exploring themes of trauma, healing, and thriving. She lives with four cats, three humans, and a perpetual coffee stain on whatever she's wearing.
Contact: jetirey@gmail.com
Dayton, OH
Deborah Walker began writing poetry in 2012 after she and her husband moved from the city to a log cabin on sixty acres. Her work has appeared in Tipton Poetry Journal and the Ohio Poetry Association’s annual journal Common Threads. “My Part” first appeared in the 2016 issue of Common Threads.
Contact: mrsw.cabin@gmail.com
Conover, OH
Robert N. Watson is Distinguished Professor of English at UCLA, mainly teaching Shakespeare and 17th century poetry. His poems have appeared in the New Yorker, Oxford Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and dozens of other print and online journals, and he is the author of several books about Renaissance literature. Website:https://english.ucla.edu/people-faculty/watson-robert-n/
Los Angeles, CA
MJ Werthman White is an Ohio poet and fiction writer. She is a recipient of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Poetry Prize as well as the Antioch Writers’ Workshop’s Judson Jerome Poetry Prize. Her poetry collection, How the Universe Says Yes to Me, was published in 2017 and her debut novel, An Invitation to the Party, in July 2023.
Website: https://werthmanwhite.weebly.com
Xenia, OH
Tenneson Woolf is a Poet, a Coach, and a Group Process Facilitator. His best work is often combining all of this together, connecting essence with purpose and direction.
Website: www.tennesonwoolf.com
South Jordan, UT
