sandy lee carlson
Processing Holocaust Trauma: A Roundtable Discussion
sandy lee carlson
#Poetry Is Life
Sandy Carlson
I close my eyes, and there you are, waiting,
heart-warm with the love that welcomes me home.
I stay in this dream that makes real
the soul’s journey through eternity.
Then geese cry at daybreak, children of dawn
who will tell their story to heaven, earth,
you and me, cradled in the arms of love.
Then the jays and crows, the music of noisome heads.
Next, the bear and her cubs, hungry walkers
of the purple light between day and night,
resurrected from the Earth-rest of winter
daring me to awaken and know my place
in light. The song sparrow pulls back the shade
vaster than any dreams, our hearts, Earth made.
This is one of two poems that will be part of the C.H. Booth Library's poetry walk in Newtown, Connecticut, throughout April.
WHAT: A discussion among writers who have processed Holocaust trauma through their work and made the experience accessible to a wide audience
WHEN: March 20 and 21, 2026
WHERE: In person in Southbury, CT, and via Livestream
Click here for a full description of the event and information on how to register.
WHAT: A roundtable discussion of the poems that participants share
WHEN: April 4, 2026
WHERE: On Zoom
Email me for a link to the Zoom.
WHAT: A Celebration of US Poets Laureate
WHEN: April 18, 2026,11am
WHERE: Oliver Wolcott Library, Litchfield, CT
I had the honor of reading entries in the Connecticut Poetry Society's Nutmeg Poetry Competition. The experience renewed my appreciation of form because the winning entries demonstrated the deft interplay of form and meaning. The winners have been invited to read at the March meeting of Orenaug Mountain Publishing's first Sunday poetry roundtable at 2 p.m. EST on March 1. Check out the winning poems here.
Here is a recording of the poems that Bernie Kaplan and I performed at the Jewish Community Center of Sherman, Connecticut, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Bernie is a great composer and musician as well as a delightful human being.
Poets Cindy Davis and Sam Cross hosted a magical evening of poetry and music at the Jewish Community Center in Sherman, Connecticut, on Friday, 3 October 2025. I had the pleasure of working with retired educator and Master musician Bernie Kaplan, who accompanied me with his dulcimer, flute, and guitars on five poems. It was a lively gathering with an open mic that showcased the diverse talents of many poets in the area. It was a delight to be there!
I had the honor of reading new poems at the Danbury Cultural Commission at 256 Main Street in Danbury, Connecticut, on August 9. The event was part of the Danbury Street Festival 2025. The building housing the Cultural Commission is the old Danbury Library, where there is a dreamy WPA mural by Bethel artist Charles Federer on the first floor, which was once the children's department before the library moved to its new, very grand, building at 170 Main Street. I am grateful for the opportunity to share poems about growing up in Danbury, about the mural, and about Rogers Park's eight-grade science teacher and my friend Bernardo de Castro.
You Gave Me This Day