Poetry with Anson Wright, Abigail Brandt, and John Brehm

With a career spanning over three decades, novelist, poet, master guitarist, composer, and educator Anson Wright “may not be a household name, but he should be.”(All About Jazz). After graduating from Princeton, he studied at Columbia before beginning his pursuit of both music and literary careers. Anson wrote his novel, Jericho, in New York City at the age of twenty-six. Openings, his second book, was published with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. His latest offering, Sandstone Monastery, is a full length poetry book. Portions of his unpublished novel, Sixteen Dreams, appeared in both the 2021 and 2022 editions of Golden Handcuffs Review. An acclaimed jazz guitarist, Anson has performed nationally and internationally, including concerts in India. His CDs are available to stream or to purchase on all the major platforms. He can be found online at www.ansonwright.com.

“I liked the bottom of the sea level of your writing. Don’t worry about discipline or guidance.”
—Anaïs Nin

“Jericho is a dazzling, perturbing, even a dangerous book. To read it is to risk the tumbling down of your own walls."
—Howard Waskow, Ph.D., former Associate Professor of Literature and Humanities, Reed College. Author of Whitman: Explorations in Form.

"Anson Wright is a quintessential poet. His poems take the reader beyond the quarto of the cardinal directions into a fifth dimension."
--Djelal Kadir, The Edwin Erie Sparks Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University


Abigail Brandt was a co-founder of the Santa Barbara Poetry Festival. She led a writing group of award-winning poets in Carpinteria for 10 years. Abigail is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and she has won statewide poetry contests in California and Oregon. In the words of Joanna Macy, “Her poems pulse with life.” Her recently released book, Bones of My Life, is available at www.dharmaseeds.org

“This long-awaited collection is a cornucopia of gifts bringing awareness and depth to our days. The poet’s power of imagery generates colors, shapes, and sounds to enliven the senses, lingering in the mind. With her mastery of pace and rhythm, lines taut with drama and impact, her poems pulse with life.”
—Joanna Macy, author, World as Lover, World as Self

“Breaking free from reticence, from a poet’s awakened mind, these poems testify for moments of epiphany, where you memorize the night, you beat all your wings, and a dog licks sadness from your hand. By such images and commands, this book will open your spirit to the changes required for deeper awareness. You will return to these poems when you need to be healed, and revealed.”
—Kim Stafford, author, Singer Come from Afar


John Brehm is the author of four books of original poetry: Sea of Faith, Help Is on the Way, No Day at the Beach, and most recently, Dharma Talk. He is also the author of a book of essays, The Dharma of Poetry: How Poems Can Deepen Your Spiritual Practice and Open You to Joy, and the editor of the bestselling anthropology, The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy, both from Wisdom Publications. With his wife, Feldenkrais teacher Alice Boyd, he leads mindfulness retreats that incorporate Feldenkrais Awareness through movement lessons, meditation, and mindful poetry discussions. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and can be found online at www.johnbrehmpoet.com.

“John Brehm weaves together timeless wisdom and a deep poetic sensibility.”
—Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening.