I have been enjoying and writing poetry since I was 8 years old, when my dad and I first memorized Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” together. Since then, when I have something to write, it usually comes out in the form of a poem. I am a confessional writer, most inspired by my immediate environment, and see poetry as a way of both listening to and voicing the interactions and relationships between objects, persons, and place. In the words of Carl Leggo (2012), I am consistently drawn to ask beyond “is a poem good?” and move towards, “what is a poem good for?” In answering that question, I have found the power of poetry to be simultaneously transformative and pragmatic. Some of the poetic inquiry (research poetry) work I’ve done includes interviewing Americans across the political spectrum, and then poeticizing their stories and sharing them with folks who disagreed in order to create space for healing and listening across the political divide. Find my TEDx talk on Listening Across the American Political Divide here. I see poetry as integral to this kind of work and continue to seek out ways for poems to transform those who encounter them. Additionally, I am founding Poetry Editor of Oyster River Pages, a literary arts non-profit, and an Assistant Professor of English at Northampton Community College.