Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty-year writer and the author of 11 published books of fiction and poetry and 5 stage plays. She has been nominated 21 times for the Pushcart Prize in both fiction and poetry. Her play ‘Crooked Heart’ concerning artist Jackson Pollock premiered on October 25, 2022 at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC. Adapted from an earlier novel, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Another play, LADY IN A POST BOX, co-written with poet and writer Ciaran O’Driscoll is moving toward production in Ireland. Tepper’s Novel satire titled ‘Office’ has been released as a Second Edition by Wilderness House Press. A new Novel ‘Hair of a Fallen Angel’ will be out in the winter. Susan is a Brand Ambassador for The Galway Review. http://www.susantepper.com
The Little Ballerina
who became an American, officially,
a few years back
Went to visit her MAma
who still lives in Russia.
The little ballerina, adopting
American ways,
wasn’t easily deterred by
autocracy run amok
like the pigeons in New York City.
Americans can say things
out on the street
without fear of being arrested and
jailed. The little ballerina
was sent away
some 700 miles from the capitol.
She has one small window
in her cell, a sink
with cold water,
one cold shower a week.
The lights in her cell
turned up 24/7.
The little ballerina has days of hope
and days of despair, says
her boyfriend pleading on TV.
They gave her 20 years.
She seems all but forgotten.
Judith A. Lawrence was the editor/publisher of Lilly Press and River Poets Journal for several decades. She is also a prolific painter, and writer of fiction, memoir, and poetry. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, she now resides in Florida. She has published five chapbooks of poems, written a volume of short stories, and a recent memoir titled “Point of Comfort.” She is currently completing a murder/mystery novel and a book of short poems containing her watercolors, under her nom de plume Juniper Rue.
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