Poet Laureate 2008
ELIZABETH RIVERS
Elizabeth Rivers has won the Milton Dorfman Poetry prize, 1999, and the Portland Pen Poetry contest, 2000, and has been published in various magazines. Chosen as the Montgomery County Poet Laureate, PA for 2008 by Marie Howe, she is also the 2009 winner of the Robert Fraser Open Poetry competition sponsored by Bucks County Community College.
He personal passion is to celebrate poetry writing by children. She helps sponsor youth contests in her area, helps publish children’s poetry online, and works with teachers and students. Please check out PoetryWITS (Writers in the Schools), a website sponsored by the Montgomery County Poet Laureate program under the guidance of Joanne Leva.
Reviews for ‘Colors of the Universe’:
“Oh, this is better than I thought it would be!” ~ Author’s husband
“In “First Dust, Star Dust,” Elizabeth Rivers writes: “Still, mystery’s here: dark clouds that cool the universe enough/ to let small stars like ours condense and wear/ their furious light.” In the lovely play of that verb “wear,” we sense the intelligence of Rivers’ poetry: there is a wide and rich universe condensed in these short verses. I know of no other poet who brings such humanity and gentle humor to the disturbing recognition of our temporary situation in this universe.” ~ Christopher Bursk
“In perhaps the finest poem, “Unleaving,” Rivers begins with an image of autumn–rose-red circle fell on my lawn, all untied maple leaves,” then moves to “crisis time, darkness and ice” when “the maple prunes itself” and concludes with this observation and question: “no treason’s done when trees lose leaves; what of my death, that certain fall…Who will keep my rose, my green?” Indeed, it is the reader who benefits from this honest questioning, this fierce clarity, this need to find meaning.” ~ Marie Kane, Survivors in the Garden