Private Mentorship with Jo Pitkin

BIO

Jo Pitkin is a native of the Hudson Valley. She earned a BA in Creative Writing and Literature from Kirkland College—one of the first undergraduate creative writing degrees in the United States—and an MFA in Poetry from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.  She is the author of a chapbook, The Measure (Finishing Line Press, 2007), and four full-length books—Cradle of the American Circus: Poems from Somers, New York (The History Press, 2012); Commonplace Invasions (Salmon Poetry, 2014); Rendering (Salmon Poetry, 2017); and Village: Recession (Salmon Poetry, 2020). She is also the editor of the anthology Lost Orchard: Prose and Poetry from the Kirkland College Community (SUNY Press, 2014). 

Jo’s award-winning poems have been published in numerous journals and anthologies, including The New York Review of Books, Little Star, Salamander, Southern Humanities Review, Terrain.org, Crab Orchard Review, Nimrod International Journal, Stone Canoe, Riverine: An Anthology of Hudson Valley Writers (Codhill Press, 2010), A Slant of Light: Contemporary Women Writers of the Hudson Valley (Codhill Press, 2013), Raising Lilly Ledbetter: Women Poets Occupy the Workspace (Lost Horse Press, 2015), Like Light: 25 Years of Poetry & Prose by Bright Hill Poets & Writers (Bright Hill Press, 2017), and The Poetry of Capital (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020). 

After working as an editor at Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, Jo pursued a career as a freelance educational writer and is the credited author of more than forty books for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students, including Bill Pickett: Rodeo King and Stargazers: Astronomy in Ancient Times. She has taught college writing at Marist College and is currently a teaching artist at The Poetry Barn. She lives and works within walking distance of the Hudson River. www.jopitkin.com

ARTIST & TEACHING STATEMENT

A pioneer in my writing life, I was among the first generation to earn a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. I was the first woman elected editor of my college literary magazine. I was the first paid staff member at the feminist press Alice James Books. Decades before the “gig” economy and the Internet, I started a freelance writing business. I helped establish a thriving community arts center in Massachusetts and launched the first state-funded literary reading series where I live now. I was out in front, too, on cross-genre work, putting together a unique collection of poetry and prose years before any of my peers tried such a mashup. 

Having forged a path on my own, I know what it’s like to founder in the current, to seek sure footing. From experience, I know the value of encouragement and guidance because I myself had the honor of being mentored by generous teachers: Tess Gallagher, Michael Burkard, Sandra McPherson, Larry Levis, Donald Justice, and Jane Cooper. In turn, I have mentored many friends, peers, and students over the years. I believe strongly in paying it forward. 

One of my mentees wrote this testimonial shortly after graduating from Hamilton College:

A friend of mine had met Jo at a Kirkland brunch, and thought that I should get in contact with her, as a poet who started working in publishing, and now also does textbook writing. Jo has been really supportive as I’ve been looking for jobs: Though I’m still not working in publishing, she set me up with a Hamilton alumnus who helped me find a freelance job doing textbook writing. Jo has also helped me make contact with a literary press, Nightboat Books; I plan to volunteer there. More importantly, Jo has been consistently supportive, calling or e-mailing to check on my progress.

In my work, I focus on writing lyric poems that ply the full range of forms and elements in the poetic toolbox. As a mentor with The Poetry Barn, I will help you find your own voice, shape your vision, and sharpen your skills whether you are working on a single poem or a book-length collection. 

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Crafting prose poems, lyric poems, and persona poems; appreciating women’s voices; utilizing sound devices from alliteration to rhyme; assembling chapbooks and full-length manuscripts; applying for grants and awards; sharing publishing resources culled since Poets & Writers Magazine was Coda.

INFLUENCES

H.D., Frances Ponge, Tomas Tranströmer, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Louise Bogan, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Lucille Clifton, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Edgar Lee Masters, Ai, William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell, Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Anna Ahkmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Stephen Crane, Louise Glück