New + Forthcoming (Journey Work)

This page highlights publication of books and chapbooks, and so it’s updated less frequently.   Click over to Samples where I include information about newly published essays and poems.

So-New-It-Is Still-Happening (forthcoming)

My first book of essays Journey Work: Crafting a Life of Poetry and Spirit now available from Apprentice House Press. Order your copy, either through an online retailer, or email me to arrange for a signed copy. 

The book traces my development from a goofy undergrad at Penn State, to a real apprentice in the years after graduation but before I borrowed a friend’s pickup to haul myself to Bowling Green to pursue my MFA. 

In other essays, written while volunteering at the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, Japan, I tell about working for peace. I relate what it’s like to be on the ground during the August 6th memorial ceremonies, and I explore the poetry of hibakusha, those who experienced the atomic bombing of that city, some of whom we had the honor to work with. 

The “Spirit” part of the title refers to my angel-wrestling with Biblical fundamentalism, scientific rationalism, and more. Arriving, with poetry, in the heightened awareness of haiku and creative flow, the Zen poetry of Lucien Stryk, and the redeeming vision of Robert Hayden.

Here’s the first essay,  (“In Praise of Ointment”)–which functions as an introduction.

Check out the book trailer by my former student and gaining artist, Elliott Houghtelling. They work in multiple media, but this is their first book trailer. I appreciate Elliott’s willingness to jump in on this project, and I’m so pleased with the result. They focus on a passage from “In Praise of Ointment.” Watch it by clicking here.

Listen to my interview with Mike Clarke (Mike at the Mic) for WCEB Baron Radio.

Emily Chambers Sharpe at Vita Poetica provided great questions for our interview in July 2021,

Not nearly as new

Finishing Line Press is still taking orders for 10048, a collection of poems named after the zip code of the Twin Towers, this book was an effort of more than 15 years. It was released in the spring of 2019. Click here to order from the publisher. If you want more info, click over to the Books tab and open the 10048 page.

In April 2018, Beyond Any One Life was performed at the Corning Museum of Glass’s auditorium. Commissioned to commemorate Corning Community College’s 60th anniversary, this was my third collaboration with the composer Will Wickham. The show featured solos, instrumental music, choral pieces, and poems recited by theater students. You can watch the show here.

Our previous major collaboration, Where Sacred Waters Divide, has been performed a number of times, most recently in July  2018 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Horseheads, NY. View the show here

Update! Sacred Waters will be performed once again along with newly commissioned work Surviving Agnes to commemorate the flood of 1972. June 5, 2022 at 2 pm at the Grove Street Boat Launch in Elmira, NY. For more information, visit the Cantata Singers website. 

Be a Patron!

Poetry is an intimate art, and if my writing has spoken to you, please spread the word. Let others know about what you’ve experienced.

Tell your friends and family, put something up on Facebook or other social media. Post poems on blogs or the many repositories of poetry on the web. It would be great if some of you would put a little review on Amazon or Goodreads. Many people choose books by the recommendation of other readers.

Also I’m happy to arrange to give a reading or lead a workshop in your area, so contact me edward.dougherty64 [at] gmail [dot] com.