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Pre-Order Now: Earth Shattering News & Other Catastrophes Considered While Listening to the Genius of Love by Jose Padua

My husband, Jose Padua, has a second book of poem coming out in March 2027 from the Pitt Poetry series. I am not at all biased about this amazing book! ; ) Read the blurbs below to understand why you will love these poems.

Preorder through Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, University of Pittsburgh Press, etc.

“Using popular culture as a touchstone, Padua’s poems are compulsively readable daydreams. No connection is too wild as he explores the nature of time, family, and identity. Music feeds Padua’s poetic practice, which is free-ranging, covering topics from small town to big city, youthful exuberance to middle-age restraint, tranquil idylls to political violence. His neurodivergent mind (comprising Tourette’s syndrome, ADHD, OCD, and perhaps a few other conditions he does not understand) plays a big role in generating poems that are always as engaging as they are insightful and informed. “

Cover art and design by Alex Wolfe

“José Padua’s wonderful poetry conjures up a unique world where the ridiculous and profound are confused for one another. He fuses Frank O’Hara’s acerbic charm, Bukowski’s grumpy cynicism, Whitman’s long breath, Iggy Pop’s agitpop, and Roland Barthes’s poetic semiotics to evoke a voice that glides between the ecstatic mundane and catastrophic global, righteous concern and between detached bemusement, indignation, and wonderment. Highly recommended for the unwillingly disaffected—and everyone else as well. “
– bart plantenga, author of Beer Mystic

“José Padua’s funny, passionate narratives about life, love, and justice in a world that can seem like a ‘silly horror film’ combine streetwise candor with fierce aesthetic ability. ‘I’m not good at forgetting / much less forgiving,’ the poet tells us, and those two qualities inhabit the unexpurgated outbursts of the heart that give this book its riveting energy and power.”
– Terence Winch, author of That Ship Has Sailed

Harvest Creativity Open Call

The Candy Factory is the most unique co-working space on the east coast. Started by a graphic designer, it has become a hotbed for creatives and entrepreneurs. Members host dozens of clubs, events, and activities. Connection and collaboration are the words of the day. Check out this call for artwork, including poetry. Submission Due: October 12, 2026.

Harvest Creativity: Open Call for Art

Two Poems on Lancaster City Buses

Thanks to Word Hive and the City of Lancaster for displaying two of my poems on local buses in 2024. Art in public places helps us slow down and feel, which is critical to cultivating our humanity in a turbulent world. I hope readers of all the poems in this program felt a measure of connection and hope as they took in the words of local poets. Read this article about the program in Lancaster Online.

We Could Have Stood for Days

where waves kissed sand, your
small hand in mine, the curled water
crashing, the sun brash, gulls lithe
as brush strokes in the air, our bodies
loose and light, our bodies magic, beckoned
by the line between ocean and sky.

–Heather L. Davis

*****

May This Day Be

the Susquehanna, gliding soft over mossy rocks
to burble jazzy tunes. May it play
with sun and shadow, sparkling everywhere,
then twist and turn, greening the landscape,
making new life, its current unstoppable, hitting
all the right notes.

–Heather L. Davis

Spare No Detail: Three Poems about Gaza

Thanks so much to Vox Populi for publishing three poems I wrote about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. No words can save the thousands of innocent people who have been murdered in Gaza or stop a regime bent on total destruction and slaughter, but speaking up matters. We must all speak and act to stop atrocities our government insists on supporting.

Mother Countries Lancaster Launch

Poets Le Hinton, Andy Fogle, Heather L. Davis, Jose Padua, and Brian Gilmore at The Candy Factory, Lancaster, PA

I was honored to host a poetry reading at The Candy Factory on April 12, 2024 in Lancaster, PA. Many thanks to Andy Fogle, Brian Gilmore, Le Hinton, and Jose Padua plus our 11 open mic readers. As always, the wonderful Candy Factory supported the arts community by allowing us to use their beautiful space. Check out Andy’s new book of poems, Mother Countries, here. Brian’s book Come See about Me, Marvin can be purchased here. Le Hinton’s work can be found here. See Jose Padua’s A Short History of Monsters here.

The Candy Factory Hosts Delaware Poets

Many thanks to everyone who came out to the reading at The Candy Factory in Lancaster, PA on May 5. It was an amazing gathering. Hope we can do it again soon. Thanks to The Candy Factory for hosting and to Dana Kinsey, Ruth O’Gara, and Jose Padua for reading and for all their help. Here are the evenings readers. Thanks to Linda Adams Blaskey and Jane Miller for the beautiful poems.

Thank You, Poetry in Transit Luzerne County, PA

Hope folks riding buses in Wilkes-Barre, PA enjoy my little poem about Intention. Thanks to Jennifer Judge and the entire staff who make Poetry in Transit possible. Many beautiful poems will greet bus riders this fall.

What Does Your House Mean to You?

My poem “Houses” highlights a certain spouse’s obsession with finding houses that dream. Thanks to the ASP Bulletin for publishing it.

A Poem about the Edges of Things

Thanks to the Quartet Journal for publishing a poem about leaving and edges and the gifts children give you without even trying. “The Pale Pink Ceramic Mug for Instance” appeared in the Summer 2022 issue.

Two Poems Published in Written in Arlington

Thanks to Katherine E. Young for choosing my poems “Green Card” and “Folk Art” for the anthology, Written in Arlington, Poems of Arlington, Virginia. Although I live in D.C., I have worked for 20 years in Arlington–first in Rosslyn and now in Crystal City. This is a rich anthology on a myriad of topics, but all tied in some way to this diverse and unique area. I was also able to read my poem “Folk Art” at an online event hosted by the Arlington Public Library series, “From Diane’s Livingroom.” We had a great discussion about poetry and Arlington. See the YouTube Video of Arlington Public Library Poetry Reading: Live From Diane’s Living Room! Ep. 9: Written in Arlington with Poet Katherine E. Young and Friends, December 18, 2020.