2025 WINNING POEMS (SEASONS CHANGING) AND BIOS
BY MELINDA GORDON
Melinda Gordon loves learning about other cultures and has long been interested in Japanese haiku, tea ceremonies, Asian-inspired art and landscaping. “My grandfather was an immigrant from a shtetl near Kiev,” she says. “He avoided fighting for the Tzar and instead fought for the US in WWI, stationed in France. Returning home, he started a family and a business of a Five and Dime store. But he always wrote philosophical poetry.” Young Melinda would happily spend hours with him, correcting his spelling and copying his poems, which now reside in a small book and in her mind and heart. As an adult, she has taught art, photography, and video. “However, when a poem pops into my head, I feel like I am channeling my grandfather,” she says.
BY MARIE CLOUTIER
Marie Cloutier is a Massachusetts native now based in New Jersey who writes poetry and creative nonfiction. She has published essays and poetry in many literary magazines and is working on a memoir about complex grief. She shares her haiku twice each week via her free newsletter, trashhaiku.substack.com.
BY MARGARET GELLER
Margaret grew up in Nova Scotia, England, and New England with parents who imparted a love of language, music, and travel. Today, she’s retired after careers in education and information technology—and some amazing trips. Twice widowed, she lives with her elderly cat, Walter, and processes life in 17-syllable chunks.