Remembering Ronda Miller, Meadowlark Poet

In December, we received the sad news that Ronda Miller, Meadowlark poet (among many other Kansas literary titles), passed away. Ronda was a wonderful poet and her book, MoonStain, was the very first Meadowlark book of poetry. She dedicated her life to serving her various communities, offering guidance and assistance to those in need. She is, and will continue to be, deeply missed. We are grateful that her spirit may continue on in the words and memories she left us. 

Ronda coordinated the annual Celebration of William Stafford poetry reading event. This upcoming February, the event will be held as a remembrance for both Ronda and William Stafford. We invite you to join us February 1, 1-4 p.m. 

Below is Ronda's official obituary, originally published in The Lawrence Times: 

11/3/1952 – 12/9/2024

Ronda Jae Miller passed into the next life on December 9th, 2024. She was born in Fort Collins, Colorado on November 3rd, 1952, the youngest child of Gerald and Peggy Wiggins. After the death of her mother at age three, she was raised by her maternal Grandparents Leonard and Helen Miller on the high plains of Cheyenne County, Kansas. She was shaped greatly by the tragic early loss of her mother but found enjoyment in her childhood reading, riding horses, running track, and exploring the expansive beauty of western Kansas around their family farm with her siblings and cousins.

Upon graduating from Saint Francis High School in 1970, Ronda settled in Lawrence, Kansas, and quickly found her place in a community she admired for its diversity and freedom of thought. She attended the University of Kansas, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and completed postgraduate coursework in Human Development/Family Life. Over the years she worked as a union organizer, restaurateur at The Casbah, commercial fashion model, police officer, and early childhood educator for 30 years, retiring in 2018.

Ronda was married twice, to Joseph Goodman in 1978, and to Dimitry Shreders in 1987. With Dimitry, she welcomed her two beloved children into the world, a son Scott in 1988 and a daughter Apollonia in 1991. She was also the loving stepmother of Dimitry’s two older sons, Sasha and Nick.

Later in life, she rekindled a passion for words, beginning a prolific 15-year stretch of writing and sharing poetry, often traveling across the state to participate in events with the Kansas Authors Club. She was the author of five published books, a contributor to many others, and was working on a memoir. During the final three years of her life, she taught creative writing to incarcerated people. She advocated for countless organizations and causes, hosting many events. Ronda profoundly impacted the local writing community and left a lasting legacy of poetry. She believed that her purpose in life was to connect with others through the transformative power of the written word. She would often state, “It isn’t about my life, it is about allowing myself to meet the poems I am meant to write.”

She is survived by two children, Scott Shreders (Anna) of Michigan, and daughter Apollonia Racca (Gabriel) of California; two step-sons, Alexander “Sasha” Shreders of Massachusetts, and Nicholas Shreders (Julie) of Massachusetts; four siblings: sister Jena Acors (Vernon) of Virginia, brother Scott Wiggins of Colorado, half-sister Vanessa Ostrom of North Carolina, and half-brother Calvin Wiggins of Arizona. Ronda also leaves behind many loving cousins, nieces and nephews, step-siblings, in-laws, many incredible friends, and her sweet rescue dog Patience.

Ronda was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, half-brother Andrew Wiggins, niece Sorrel Wiggins, many beloved uncles and aunts, cousins, friends, and the father of her children, Dimitry Shreders.

A Celebration of Life ceremony is planned for March 15th, 2025, from 1-4pm at Maceli's (1031 New Hampshire) in downtown Lawrence, Kansas, with interment in St Francis, Kansas. Donations in her honor are accepted at The Transformative Language Arts Network, The Lawrence Humane Society, and The Kansas Land Trust.

Wednesday Excerpt: A Fourth Bookiversary - WaterSigns

Bake yourself a mug cake, kick your feet up, and snuggle up with WaterSigns by Ronda Miller--mmm. That's what we're talkin' about. 

Meadowlark friends, tonight we celebrate the FOURTH bookiversary of this beautiful, articulate collection. Don't they grow up so fast? Congratulations, Ronda!

If you don't have this book handy, that's okay--you're still invited to the party! Click HERE to view 34 pages of WaterSign in an eBook style. Grab yourself a party favor and head over to the Meadowlark Bookstore to order a copy for yourself or a friend (your friends love your gifts).

Cheers, everyone!

What day is it? Wed(Thurs)day Excerpt & MoonStain Bookiversary!

Happy sixth bookiversary to MoonStain! 

Author Ronda Miller recites these two poems from the book
to celebrate the occasion!

Celebrating Firsts: Excerpt from MoonStain, Meadowlark's First Published Book of Poetry

 I thought we'd continue the theme of "firsts" for our excerpts in January. It's fun to look back on these early projects and remember the excitement we felt at building something entirely new. Ronda Miller was the first poet to make the Meadowlark bookshelf, and with MoonStain we began developing our vision for showcasing poets and poetry. The cover art became a fine example of the type of collaborative project that would become the Meadowlark standard. And here's a secret you don't know. Starting with MoonStain, I attempted to color-coordinate my clothing with whatever book was being launched at all Meadowlark events. MoonStain colors are still among my favorites to wear.   

Without further ado, please enjoy this sample of poems from MoonStain, by Ronda Miller. (link goes to ISSUU where you can enjoy turning the pages of MoonStain, almost as good as a real book in your hands!)

Tracy Simmons, Meadowlark Press

Kansas Authors Club revs up for October convention

Photo: Ronda Miller

District 2 members of the Kansas Authors Club (KAC) met Saturday in Lawrence to share their writing, discuss small press publishing, and learn about the annual convention, hosted this October. Many Meadowlark authors are members of KAC, including KAC Former President Ronda Miller, author of MoonStain and WaterSigns. Here is what she wants you to know about the convention: 

"It will be as easy as clicking on a link," she said. "You will have a three-month period to watch the different videos, so you'll be able to watch them again and again. It is very rare to have such a variety of presenters that we have, including Huascar Medina and Kevin Willmott."

Huscar Medina is the current poet laureate of Kansas, and Kevin Willmott is a nationally-recognized screenwriter and film director. Fourteen other presenters across all genres will also be presenting.

KAC members and non-members alike are welcome to join the convention, hosted virtually this year. 

To learn more and sign up, visit https://kansasauthorsclub.weebly.com/2020-convention.html

 

Meet Meadowlark Authors in February

Meadowlark authors are keeping busy! Here are several options for meeting a Meadowlark author in person this month.

Saturday, Feb. 8, 3:00-5:00pm
Mike Hartnett is a panel member discussing
Writing Program for Douglas County inmates
at Kansas Authors Club, District 2 Meeting
Lawrence Public Library

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 6:30pm  Feb. 13, 6:30pm* date changed due to weather
Ruth Maus, Valentine Reading

Beck-Bookman Library
420 West 4th Street, Holton, KS

Saturday, February 15, 1:00pm
Ronda Miller presenting with Kellogg Press
When Poet Meets Editor: Books Happen
Kansas Authors Club, District 1 Meeting
Topeka Public Library

Saturday, February 22
Roy Beckemeyer and friends at
Eighth Day Books, Wichita
2838 E. Douglas Avenue

Feb. 13, 6:30pm* date changed due to weather

Review of Ronda Miller's MoonStain

· Paperback: 110 pages

· Publisher: Meadowlark; 1 edition (May 17, 2015)

· Language: English

· ISBN-10: 0692434666

· ISBN-13: 978-0692434666

In exquisite style, poet Ronda Miller shares her life-changing events in MoonStain. She writes of finding freedom in tumbleweeds that taught her “how to roam”, of feeling pelting “fresh summer rain” and “hedge apple sized hail.” But Miller can never know how different she would be if her mother hadn’t died—suicide—when she was three. As a result this child “was left to grow wild and free.”

Miller reveals to us the depths of her emotional turmoil and her desperate need to find her identity—before it’s too late—in her powerful poem, “Mama Slam.” In this composition she reveals how she attempted to cope through self-destructive behavior.

Fortunately for her—and us—Ronda learns she doesn’t need to be angry at her mother, or to become her mother. Instead, only by being herself is she set free.

--Jim Potter, author of Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery

We encourage readers to order all Meadowlark Books through a favorite Independent Bookstore.

You can also order from Amazon or direct from the Meadowlark Bookstore.

A Publisher's Diary -- Oh the Places these Poets Take Me

I was looking forward to Poetry in Pittsburg, first because it was my chance, finally, to meet Olive Sullivan, author of Wandering Bone (Meadowlark 2017) in person. Olive has had a rather tough time, health wise, since the publication of her first poetry book. So I was thrilled to get this opportunity to help Olive debut her book in her hometown. We were joined by Ronda Miller, WaterSigns (Meadowlark 2017) and Izzy Wasserstein, When Creation Falls (Meadowlark 2018).

Any author who has ever organized a book event knows that they can be hit and miss. It's not unusual to hear a story about an author traveling for a reading to find perhaps only an audience of three. So there is always a certain amount of anxiety prior to a book event, and as soon as even a handful of attendees show up, you can hear the authors breathing great sighs of relief.

At this book event, however, we had more than a handful. We pretty much filled up our seating and ended up adding a few extra seats. Even better, the audience was warm and appreciative. It was truly one of the best poetry readings I have attended.

Much credit, of course, goes to Olive and the work she did sharing the news of our event with the locals. I spent the rest of the weekend feeling pretty blissful and relaxed. I wanted to figure out how to bottle the entire experience and perhaps repeat it, town by town, all across the state of Kansas.

 (And the second reason I was looking forward to Pittsburg? I attended school there, my freshman year of college, nearly 30 years ago! I have made a few trips back to visit friends, but the last one was too long ago. I was due for a return visit. And how wonderful that it was such a great one!)

I had a fabulous time in Pittsburg, Kansas, with poets Olive Sullivan, Ronda Miller, and Izzy Wasserstein. We were hosted at the fabulous Eclectic Soul Studio. It was a beautiful setting and the audience was warm and welcoming. As well, we were treated to music by the band, Amanita. 

For our Poetry in Pittsburg event, we also enjoyed the following before and after press!

July 20, 2018 - Joplin Globe
Pittsburg Poet Sullivan to Read from Latest Book

July 21, 2018 -- KOAM TV, Channel 7 Pittsburg
Book Launch

Celebrating Poetry in Pittsburg at the Eclectic Soul Studio on July 21

Pittsburg, KS – Three poets will be reading and talking about poetry on Saturday, July 21, 4-6pm at the Eclectic Soul Studio, 601 North Broadway. All have had books published by Meadowlark Books, Emporia, within the last year.

Olive Sullivan, Pittsburg, debuts Wandering Bone, her first full-length book of poetry. In addition to writing, Sullivan performs in the band Amanita, and in her free time, likes to fly-fish with her husband, the scholar and writer Stephen Harmon; takes long walks with dogs; and travel anywhere that requires a passport. She is an apprentice bookbinder.

Sullivan will be joined by Ronda Miller, Lawrence, author of

WaterSigns and MoonStain, both published by Meadowlark Books. Miller is the current state president of Kansas Authors Club, a writing organization that has been supporting authors since 1902. She is a Life Coach who specializes in working with clients who have lost someone to homicide.

The third poet in the trio is Izzy Wasserstein, Topeka,  author of When Creation Falls. Wasserstein teaches English at Washburn University, writes poetry and fiction, and shares a house with a variety of animal companions and the writer Nora E. Derrington. Her first poetry collection, This Ecstacy They Call Damnation, was a 2013 Kansas Notable Book.

Meadowlark Books is an independent publisher, specializing in printing books by authors from the heartland since 2014. Learn more at www.meadowlark-books.com.

The event will take place at Eclectic Soul Studio in Pittsburg. Eclectic Soul Studio offers a variety of classes and workshops including belly dancing. Owner Lastacia Ross is a certified intuitive healer. who offers reiki and meditation as well as sound healing and other services. 

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A Publisher’s Diary – Celebrating Poetry Month in April

I don’t read poetry.

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a dozen times.

Beyond a collection of poems I wrote in high school, an early book-binding experiment that included glitter on the cover, I adopted the “I don’t read poetry” stance for more years than I would care to admit. Thankfully, I've gotten the opportunity to spend a lot of time with poets in the last couple of decades. I have found poetry workshops among my favorite gatherings of writers to attend, and I absolutely love going to readings, learning to hear the voice of a poet so well they continue reciting poetry to me, inside my head, as I turn the pages of their books.

Poet by poet, I fall in love with poetry.

Ronda Miller is the current president of the Kansas AuthorsClub, a life coach for people who have lost someone to homicide, and an advocate for special needs children. I first began reading/listening to Ronda’s poetry through KAC workshops and readings where she not only brought me to attention with her poetry (she sometimes writes on subjects I might once have been too shy/prudish to talk about), but Ronda encouraged me to exercise my voice, to tell my own truths through poetry, as well. Ronda’s two books of poetry have a special place on my bookshelf. MoonStain was the very first poetry book published by Meadowlark in 2015, and we were delighted to add WaterSigns in 2017.  I have learned so much through Ronda’s poetry. I have gained an intimacy with subjects I only knew peripherally (or perhaps simply would not admit I knew) and greater empathy for women’s issues and women, in general. Ronda has become one of my near-daily touchstones. If I am not reading her poetry, we might be exchanging notes on our shared interest in Kansas Authors Club, our common appreciation for fine desserts, or advice and life tidbits as they occur.

Kevin Rabas is the 2017-2019 Kansas Poet Laureate, and I always enjoy bragging that he was a Meadowlark author and poet first. Without Kevin in my life, there would be no Meadowlark. He was a co-conspirator on Green Bike, as well as author of the beautiful volume of poetry and short prose, Songs of My Father (Meadowlark 2016). Kevin’s enthusiasm for the arts and poetry is catching. If I am ever in need of a spark of creative confidence, a bit of time in Kevin’s presence will usually do it. There is ample opportunity to hear from Kevin directly as he tours Kansas finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary (a complete schedule can be found at the Kansas Humanities website) or you can almost always find him at First Fridays at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia. Kevin will also be the keynote speaker at the Kansas Authors Club annual writing convention, which takes place in Salina this year. I am excited to add Kevin’s new book, Like Buddah-Calm Bird, to the Meadowlark poetry shelf in 2018.

Cheryl Unruh is my sister from another mother, as well as my first friend in what was once-upon-a-time my new life in Emporia. I fell in love with Cheryl via her writing on her website and her long-running Emporia Gazette column, “Flyover People,” which eventually became two amazing volumes of Kansas essays. I was delighted in 2017 to publish Cheryl’s first volume of poetry, Walking on Water, where she explores the themes of Kansas/Kansans/children of the prairie in poetry with the same attention to detail she gives her prose. Cheryl’s humor shines in her poetry, as well as her heart. So relatable, I find myself tacking words from Cheryl to my mirror and inside the covers of my personal journals.

Olive Sullivan is a poet I have had the pleasure of getting to know solely through her poetry. Her book, Wandering Bone, contains some of my favorite poems, which I am sharing as part of my personal celebration of poetry this month.

There are currently five books of poetry on the Meadowlark bookshelf, with three terrific new volumes planned for 2018, including collections by Izzy Wasserstein and Tyler Robert Sheldon.

To celebrate National Poetry Month, I decided to give a gift of poetry to any reader who asked. Meadowlark Books has created a Poetry Sampler that includes selections from all of our poetry books, including our 2018 poetry books! Sign up via the form below to get this sampler (PDF format) delivered to your email inbox. It’s nearly ready to go!

Tracy Million Simmons

Meadowlark Books

Click here to get a copy of The Meadowlark Books Poetry Sampler - 2018

Meadowlark Books Debuts Four New Books at Author Meet & Greet at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore

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12/10 update: The Emporia Gazette added an interview and did so much more with this! Thank you to Regina Murphy for this coverage. Read the Gazette article here.

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Emporia publisher, Meadowlark Books, will host an Author Meet and Greet at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore on Friday, December 8, 2017, from 5-7pm. Authors will read, visit with readers, and sign books for this come-and-go event. There will be snacks and drawings for giveaways.

The author lineup for the event includes Kansas Poet Laureate, Kevin Rabas, reading from his book of poetry, Songs for my Father; Ronda Miller, Kansas Authors Club state president in 2018 and author of MoonStain and WaterSigns, reading her latest poetry; and founder of Meadowlark, Tracy Million Simmons, reading from A Life in Progress, and Other Short Stories.

Michael D. Graves, 2016 Kansas Notable Book Award recipient, will be reading from the newly released, second-installment of his Pete Stone, Private Investigator series, Shadow of Death. The novel, set in 1930s Wichita, follows Stone, who wakes up in jail accused of killing a cop. Stone must prove his innocence before he’s abandoned by his clients, his friends, and one special lady.

Cheryl Unruh, former Gazette columnist and two-time Kansas Notable author, Flyover People (2011) and Waiting on the Sky (2015), will read from her poetry book, Walking on Water.

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, three-time notable book award winner and 2009-2013 Kansas Poet Laureate, will read from her newest book, Everyday Magic: Field Notes on the Mundane and the Miraculous, which features the best of her blog of the same title, and highlights many topics such as travel and homecoming, beloveds and the art of loving, grief and resilience, arts and politics, and spirits and being a body.

Emporia State University student and fantasy writer, Hannah Jeffers-Huser, will be reading from What Lies Beyond, Book I of the Salacir Chronicles. Also featured at the event will be James Kenyon, a northwestern Kansas native who has published a collection of short memoirs, A Cow for College, recollections of growing up on the family farm, and Olive L. Sullivan’s book of poetry, Wandering Bone.

Meadowlark Books is an Emporia based publisher which got its start in 2014 with the publication of Green Bike, a group novel by Rabas, Graves, and Simmons. The publisher now has thirteen titles by poets and authors writing about and/or from Kansas, including the 2016 Kansas Notable Book, To Leave a Shadow by Michael D. Graves. The publisher also won the 2016 “It Looks Like A Million” book design award by the Kansas Authors Club, with the titles To Leave a Shadow and MoonStain. More about Meadowlark Books can be found at meadowlark-books.com. All Meadowlark titles are for sale on the publisher’s website, at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore at 1122 Commercial, Emporia, KS, and can be ordered through any online or independent bookstore.

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Kansas Authors Club President, Ronda Miller

Meadowlark author, Ronda Miller, has been named the new state president of Kansas Authors Club. The term is for 2 years. Miller has served as the District 2 president of KAC since 2015. Her three books of published poetry include Going Home, MoonStain and WaterSigns."

Poet Ronda Miller Reading and Book Signing at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore

WaterSigns, Poetry by Ronda Miller

Published by: Meadowlark Books

ISBN: 978-0996680127 

September 18, 2017 - for immediate release

Poet Ronda Miller Reading and Book Signing at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore

Emporia, KS: Ronda Miller will share from her third and latest book of poetry, WaterSigns, with a reading and book signing at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore, 1122 Commercial, on Saturday, September 23, from 1-2pm. The book was published by Meadowlark Books of Emporia and sells for $15.

“Miller’s collection, WaterSigns, charts water’s path for plainspeople—water in the aquifer, water in the clouds, water in the field ditches and in the bird’s beak and in the mother’s womb. In this way, Miller’s collection is a celebration of life’s true blood, and Miller gets the people and the flora and fauna of Kansas-country right, right down to the dew drops on grass blades,” writes Kansas Poet Laureate, Kevin Rabas.

The book features photography by Flint Hills landscape photographer, Crystal Socha.

Ronda Miller is a Life Coach who works with clients who have lost someone to homicide. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas and continues to live in Lawrence. She is a Fellow of The Citizen Journalism Academy, World Company, a Certified Life Coach with IPEC (Institute of Professional Empowerment Coaching), a mother to two step sons- Sasha and Nick, son Scott, and daughter Apollonia. She created poetic forms loku and ukol. Miller is the District 2 President of Kansas Authors Club (2015 – 2017) and the club’s Vice President (2016 – 2017). When Miller isn’t coaching clients, volunteering time to Kansas Authors Club, or writing poetry, she is busy learning life skills from children with special needs.

Miller’s books are available at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore and through any book retailer. They can also be ordered direct from the publisher, Meadowlark Books, Emporia, Kansas. Learn more at www.meadowlark-books.com.

Ronda Miller

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New to the Meadowlark Bookshelf

The Meadowlark Bookshelf is growing and we are so excited! Next up--due out later this month, in fact--is WaterSigns, Meadowlark's second collection of poetry by Ronda Miller. Featuring the photography of Crystal Socha, this book is absolutely lovely.

Check out the WaterSigns page for more detail, including some early reviews as well as the opportunity to purchase your very own copy and FREE shipping! (Offer good through the end of July 2017)

MoonStain, a Noteworthy Book!

The University Daily Kansan made mention of Ronda Miller's book MoonStain, published by Meadowlark-Books May of 2015, as a noteworthy book to read. 

7 books by noteworthy Kansas authors to read this fall and winter, by Mysha Phelps

A New Poem by Ronda Miller

Still, I Wait

Cries for help heard over excited talk, laughter.
A new home, two small children,
acting grandparents here for the week,
Then, the rescue!
You’d gotten yourself up a tree,
no ladder, perhaps it had fallen away.
Neighborly neighbors performed daring rescue efforts,
nervous chuckles as names were shared
all around with manly handshakes once
your feet touched the ground.

Summer nights, I smelled your pipe tobacco
waft onto my patio as sweet as homemade fudge.
We enjoyed nudging with a joke when we met in public,
a wave across our yards over decades of shared mowing,
kids playing too loudly – then grown, moved on and out.

I didn’t speak to you that last time at the store.
You didn’t see me as you made your way down aisle
number three, so I slipped away. I could tell by your
stooped form and gray complexion that you were not well.

I bypass newspaper obits, too many familiar names
among the list, another just this week.
Neighbors told me of your passing.
I would have come to your funeral you know,
or at least have written you a poem.
Instead, here I sit. Still, I wait.

published 8/9/2015, Lawrence Journal World

Ronda Miller is a Meadlark Author. Read more about her here, or buy her book!

MoonStain, poetry by Ronda Miller, Published by Meadowlark Books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 25, 2015

MoonStain, poetry by Ronda Miller, Published by Meadowlark Books

“MoonStain describes the blood moon as it shines through tree leaves, marking the long hours of sleepless night as it spreads from one point to another on a young child’s bedroom floor,” says Ronda Miller of the title poem of her collection, published by Meadowlark Books.

In this collection of poetry, Miller weaves stories of life, death, and love through her poetry, primarily narrative in form. From glimpses of her childhood home on her grandparents’ farm to images of a woman’s life, her loves, her losses, we learn of life’s stains, of moments that shape and become a part of one woman’s voice.

The 60 poem collection is divided into sections: New Moon, Moon Shadows, Moonbeams, and Full Moon. The book sells for $12 and will be available at online book retailers, at the Raven Book Store, from the author, and on the Meadowlark website, www.meadowlarkbooks.com. The e-book version of MoonStain will become available in June.

Miller is a district president of the Kansas Authors Club and the state manager (2011-2015) of KAC’s annual poetry contests. Miller is available for poetry readings and workshops and can be reached through info@meadowlark-books.com.

"In MoonStain, verses change as the moon; they sometimes reflect turbulent light, other times small rays of harmonic, poetic rhythms. Ronda Miller becomes one with the moon, channeling and celebrating what is feminine, dark, passion, shadows, desire, and love. Miller channels and celebrates the here and now, every day themes, memories. And within her poetry, sacred word for eternity, she heals herself and is reborn." Xánath Caraza – Award winning author of the International Latino Book Awards and author ofSyllables of Wind / Sílabas de Viento

______________________________________

Ronda Miller is a Life Coach who works with clients who have lost someone to homicide. She is a graduate of The University of Kansas and lives in Lawrence. She is a Fellow of The Citizen Journalism Academy, World Company, a Certified Life Coach with IPEC (Institute of Professional Empowerment Coaching), and mother of Scott and Apollonia. She created poetic forms loku and ukol. Ronda is the co-chair, along with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, for the Transformative Language Arts Conference to be held at Unity Village September, 2015.

Meadowlark (Emporia, KS) is an independent publisher, born of a desire to produce high-quality books for print and electronic delivery. Meadowlark is developing a collection of books that focus on a Midwest regional appeal, via author and/or topic. Meadowlark is open to working with authors of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and mixed media.

Learn more at www.meadowlark-books.com.

Quotable

A Moment with Ronda Miller, author of MoonStain

Why do you write poetry? 

…because I have no other choice. When I am struck by a poem, I am plagued until it is written. I used to try to ignore poems, particularly if one came to me in the shower or in the middle of the night, but I've learned to give into them. My poems generally come to me in a rush and in a complete form. I rarely change more than a word or two. Poetry can be cathartic for me. Most of the time it encapsulates a core emotion or experience. I don't write poems; they “right” me.

When did you begin writing?

I was fortunate to have had an uncle teach me to read and spell when I was three. I lived with him, my aunt, and my sister following the death of my mom. Unfortunately, he died a couple of years later, but I associate the love of rhyme, reading, and learning with the closeness of being held, feeling loved and cared for during that brief time.

I have always loved short stories. That was predominately what I wrote during my creative writing days at KU. I began writing poetry about nine years ago, after not writing anything for decades. Creativity had to find an escape; the form being short enabled me to utilize it in my time-constrained life. 

Tell us about your writing routine.

I write when the poem strikes. I always have my iPhone within reach. My poems are written on the notebook feature. I've written on a plane, while waiting in a line… no time or place eludes me. I try to get them emailed to someone or typed on my computer relatively soon so they don't get erased by accident along with my grocery list!

Where do you find your inspiration?

In everyday life. 

Often a word or statement will trigger a poem for me. It can also be something I see or hear, a mood or memory. I guess I would have to say the five senses trigger many of my poems. 

Who are your favorite poets to read?

I have never met a poem I didn't like, though I don't claim to understand them all.  

I continue to enjoy the poets I grew up with; William Stafford, Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Frost. Poetry doesn't get much better than Walt Whitman. I also adore Sylvia Path and the Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad, a recent find. 

Do you spent much time in the company of other poets?

As a poet/writer, I thought for a long time I was a lone writer. In October of 2010, a friend mentioned a writing convention in Lawrence just around the corner from me. I went. It was The Kansas Authors Club Convention. I became a member and have been actively involved since then. 

I also have discovered there are numerous poetry events ongoing in our creative community. The Red Tail readings are twice monthly and it is a group of amazing female poets in north Lawrence. I went to a reading at The Tap Room for the first time a couple of Sundays ago. The funny thing is that these have all been in existence for years; in the case of Kansas Authors Club, since 1909. 

There are Slam events ongoing now at The Bottleneck. It seems each event introduces me to new poets and readings. The Raven Bookstore has been extremely supportive of local authors and hosts well known authors who come in from elsewhere. 

I'm now expanding my horizons to Topeka and Kansas City. I recently became a member of The Writer's Place. 

I am pleasantly surprised at how many small towns across Kansas have thriving art centers and the many ways they embrace artists of all genres. 

Why should people read poetry?

Poetry unites people, it offers a chance to explore new ideas or experiences that many don't have the language to express. Poets have a responsibility to the world to speak out, to bring about change as well as to share emotion, beauty, horror, inspiration, and understanding.

I've come to realize, on a personal level, that poetry isn't about my life as much as it is allowing myself to have the experiences in which I meet the poems I am meant to write. 

Meadowlark to Publish MoonStain, poetry by Ronda Miller

“MoonStain describes the blood moon as it shines through tree leaves, marking the long hours of a sleepless night as it spreads from one point to another on a young child’s bedroom floor,” says Ronda Miller of the title poem of her collection, to be published by Meadowlark Books in June 2015.

Miller weaves stories of life, death, and love through her poetry, primarily narrative in form. From glimpses of her childhood home on her grandparents’ farm to images of a woman’s life, her loves, her losses, we learn of life’s stains, of moments that shape and become a part of one woman’s voice.

______________________________________

Ronda Miller is a poet and Life Coach. Born in Ft. Collins, Colorado, she was raised on her grandparents’ farm in the high plateau region of NW Kansas. She holds degrees in Human Development and Creative Writing from the University of Kansas. She is a Fellow of the Citizen Journalism Academy and a district president and current board member of the Kansas Authors Club.

Meadowlark is an independent publisher, born of a desire to produce high-quality books for print and electronic delivery. An imprint of Chasing Tigers Press, Meadowlark is developing a collection of books that focus on a Midwest regional appeal, via author and/or topic. Meadowlark is open to working with authors of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and mixed media.

Learn more at www.meadowlark-books.com.