Kari Gunter-Seymour

Lake at dusk surrounded by dried reeds and cattails. The water reflects a wintry sky and bare cottonwood trees. Photo by Jed Meyers.

Going to AWP? Please join Bracken for our offsite reading with Passager on Friday, 3/6, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Pratt Street Ale House across from the Convention Center. Readers: Sarah Browning, Julie Choffel, Julia Lisella, Diana Whitney,
@karigunterseymour.bsky.social, and
@anyakirshbaum.bsky.social.

FRIENDS! MY POEM “OH YOU WOMAN OF APPALACHIA” HAS A STARRING ROLE IN BFW’s THIRD EDITION: “ADVANCED LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE!” Thank you to editor extraordinaire Renee Shea! #oplemeritus #OhioUniversityPress&SwallowPress

HOLD THE PHONE. WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS LINE UP! Get these on your calendar, friends. REGISTRATION LINKS WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON. A huge thank you to our sponsor the Ohio Arts Council and our "showcaster" Sheila-Na-Gig Editions.

THAT'S A WRAP! It has been my great honor to serve as Ohio's Poet Laureate for the past six years. THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY TIME IN SERVICE EXTRAORDINARY, FRIENDS! I am humbled as I look back at so many opportunities. Best wishes to our new laureate, soon to be announced! #ohiopoetlaureateemeritus

THE GIVING SEASON IS UPON ON US. My small press, EastOver Press, is a great resource for gifting. eastoverpress.com/books/poetry... 🌲 #ohiopoetlaureate #awardwinningpoetry

Not the sun, but the Waning Gibbous moon turning midnight into playtime. My sleep cannot keep itself from open eyes, a quickening of the blood! #ohiopoetlaureate #Moondance

Fortune Cookie by Kari Gunter-Seymour Fortune Cookie Who knows how long that crisp-wannabe confection huddled in the side pocket of my car door, or what karmic labyrinth brought me to this piebald prophesy, my delight at my find border…

Fortune Cookie by Kari Gunter-Seymour oneartpoetry.com/2025/11/28/f...

THEN THERE IS THIS… Thank you University Press of Kentucky for believing in me and my work. #ohiopoetlaurete #everydayamountaintoclimb #universitypressofkentucky

My publishers at EastOver Press surprised me with this! I did not know they had nominated DIRT SONGS. Needless to say, I am humbled and thrilled. eastoverpress.com/books/poetry...

As always, I am happy to be involved in a panel at AWP, especially with these amazing folks (see below). See y'all in Baltimore! #ohiopoetlaureate #awp26 #workingtopreserveappalachianvoices

Thanks so much, friend!

FRIENDS! I HAVE A POEM UP ON @voxpopuliworange.bsky.social TODAY! A huge thank you to Michael Simms for selecting it. voxpopulisphere.com/2025/08/18/k... #ohiopoetlaureate #shakirashakira #shakirafans

My poem AMESVILLE GIRLS, published in DIRT SONGS, is up on POETRY TOWN today. georgebilgere.com/so/edPX7sle9... THANK YOU #GeorgeBilgere! #ohiopoetlaureate #EastOverPress

SO EXCITED TO HAVE NURTURED THE GROWTH OF 12 BABY PAWPAW TREES FROM SEEDS FROM FRUIT MY SON SHARED FROM HIS PROPERTY. They came up in a clump the second year after I tucked in the seeds. The seeds had been in my refrigerator for nearly eight months when I planted them. #ohiopoetlaureate

Big thank you to Michael Simms at Vox Populi for featuring my poem today. Read the entire poem here: voxpopulisphere.com/2025/07/02/k... Happy 4th y’all! #ohiopoetlaureate

DEATH IS SO HARD, FRIENDS. This one is for all who sometimes need to take a few moments for remembrance. BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELVES. 💗 #ohiopoetlaureate #BrackenMagazine Editors: Jed Myers and Kate Deimling

Spent an afternoon with my inmate students at Chillicothe Correctional Institution. THERE WAS SINGING AND GUITARS. I presented THREE WRITING AWARDS (more here than at any other of the 18 prisons I teach at). But for addiction, many here would not be behind bars. WE HAVE TO WORK HARDER, FRIENDS!

THE LAND PROVIDES IF WE ADD A BIT OF SPIT AND GRIT! I am ever AWED and SO GRATEFUL! #blessed #ohiopoetlaureate #appalachianfoodways #richohiosoil

SPEECHLESS! Thank you to the jurors at #IPPYawards and to #EastOverPress for believing in me and my work. #ohiopoetlaureate #grateful #nevergiveup

SO EXCITED TO CREATE THE WNNER’S AWARDS FOR THIS YEAR’S WRITING CONTEST FOR OHIO’S INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS! The writing was SO GOOD. I am beyond honored to do this project every year — writing workshops and the contest, engaging eighteen prisons. I LOVE MY JOB! #ohiopoetlaureate

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SPOKEN & HEARD: Willie Carver/ Katie Dozier. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SPOKEN & HEARD: Willie Carver/ Katie Dozier. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

I KNOW, RIGHT? DON'T MISS THIS ONE! Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #ohiopoetlaureate #Sheila-Na-Gig

I made batches of wild violet and dandelion jelly last week. INCREDIBLY DECADENT! It takes hundreds of blossoms and a bit of preprep, but every step is very Zen. Cool chemistry too. The violet “brew” starts out aqua, then purple, then magenta when citrus is added. The dandelion, from green to gold.

Thank you for this, Travis! Let me add some wonderful writers to the list:

@mooninabucket.bsky.social
@poetjohncompton.bsky.social
@pjlpoet.bsky.social
@karigunterseymour.bsky.social
@taylorbyas.bsky.social

CENTRAL OHIO FRIENDS, PLEASE JOIN ME! IMMA BRING IT AND THERE WILL BE SINGING! #ohiopoetlaureate #thealdussociety #EastOverPress #OhioUniversityPress&SwallowPress

#NPM25 PROMPT- DAY THIRTY. GO! #ohiopoetlaureate

#NPM25 PROMPT- DAY TWENTY-NINE. GO! #ohiopoetlaureate

#NPM25 PROMPT- DAY TWENTY-EIGHT. GO! #ohiopoetlaureate

#NPM25 PROMPT- DAY TWENTY-SEVEN. GO! #ohiopoetlaureate

#NPM25 PROMPT- DAY TWENTY-SIX. GO! #ohiopoetlaureate

#NPM25 PROMPT- DAY TWENTY-FIVE. GO! #ohiopoetlaureate