Jefferson Carter
I've lived in Tucson since 1953 and retired in 2008 from teaching writing at Pima Community College.
My poems have appeared in journals like Carolina Quarterly, Barrow Street, RATTLE, and New Poets of the American West.
I'm a passionate supporter of Sky Island Alliance, a regionally-based environmental organization.
Yesternow, my twelfth poetry collection, was just published by Moonstone Arts Press (Philadelphia).
jeffersoncarterverse.com
PoetryCHESTNUT
The soldiers woke us at 5 a.m., a bullhorn announcing we had an hour to pack our belongings & leave. 200 years we’ve lived in…
PoetryYESTERNOW
Hands at ten & two, late Miles on Bluetooth, I’m driving north, stopping again & again to bury roadkill, a coyote, jackrabbits three diamondbacks,…
PoetryTHE SPIRIT ANIMAL SOCIETY
Every five years, the Spirit Animal Society mandates its members rigorously interrogate their own personal growth, selecting a new spirit animal if appropriate. My…
PoetryHERMIT
I haven’t left the house in weeks, limping room to room, forgetting what I came for, wearing unwashed the goose-turd green flannel pajamas I inherited…
PoetryFUZZY TREE
After bathing in heavy cream, I turn down the covers of my Procrustean bed, “itching” (as the song goes) “like a man on a…
PoetryNETFLIX
Our son gifted us Roku & his Netflix password. Now Connie & I binge every night from 7 until 2 a.m., watching murder mysteries…
PoetryWHERE THERE’S VANITY, THERE’S HOPE
I won’t wear the KN95 knock-offs I ordered from Amazon, the horizontal seam like a duck’s bill. Imagine the waitress, straight-faced, asking, “want quackers…
PoetryYESTERNOW
Hands at ten & two, late Miles on Bluetooth, I’m driving north where once it rained, where I rode my old gelding around the…
PoetryTHE BODY BODY
Once I sprained both ankles playing basketball. Sedentary, house-bound for weeks, I smoked pot, snorted coke, chased speed with shots of whiskey. Take that, brain! Take…
Contributor BlogsJefferson’s ZOOM, Jan. 11 – Join Me
OAF friends, if you ZOOM, I'll be one of three poets featured on Flying Out Loud, a Zoom series out of Kentucky, Jan. 11,…
PoetryMINOTAUR
Am I impressed? I suppose. The bull’s head, the horns, the way you puff up three times your size. Still you’re the same old,…
PoetrySHELTERING AT HOME
I come to in the kitchen, leaning against the stove, gripping an empty bag of Trader Joe’s white cheddar popcorn, tasting salt but unable…
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