FEATURED POETS

Over time, this blog will feature poets presenting the many varied face(t)s of the adoption experience, and how such has affected (or not) their poetry. This blog is open to any variety of the adoption experience, including but not limited to poets who've adopted a child(ren), adopted poets, poets with adopted siblings and/or other adopted relatives, poets who've experienced disruptions (failed adoptions), poets who feel they've de facto adopted regardless of whether they've done the legal documentation, poets who've given up a child(ren) for adoption, poets with parents who were adopted (or not), even poets who've been impacted by other people's adoption experiences ... and so forth. We are open to exploring positive and negative experiences, as well as the uncertain and/or unresolved.

Here are the participating poets listed in alphabetical order of last name; the list will be updated over time as more poets participate. Click on the poet's name to read their contribution. Also next to the poets' names will be the months their entries were posted; this should allow readers over time to determine new entries since their last visits (the date of this "Home" post also is updated whenever there's a new contribution):

Kate Adams April 2011
(daughter of attorney Philip Adams (1905-1997) who completed over 5,000 adoptions in his career and was a founding member of the Academy of California Adoption Lawyers)

Ned Balbo March 2011
(placed as a baby with his birth mother's sister and raised as her son)

Jim Bennett May 2011
(in England, was adopted as a baby. as a parent, adopted two children)

Jim Benz April 2011
(was adopted as an infant domestically in the U.S.    brother to adopted sister)

Peter Boskey May 2011
(was adopted as a baby from Korea by U.S.-American parents. brother to two siblings who were both also adopted as babies from Korea)

Nick Carbo March 2011
(in the Philippines, was adopted as an infant. later, his parents adopted his biological younger sister)

Margaret Carruthers February 2014
(in Scotland, was adopted as a baby)

Sunu P. Chandy May 2011
(awaiting final government and court approvals in India in order to complete adoption of an 18 month old baby girl from South India)

Cathryn Cofell February 2012
(adopted an infant son from the Philippines)

Mary Anne Cohen April 2011
(surrendered baby son for adoption and is an adoption reform activist)

Dana Collins March 2011
(was adopted as a baby from Korea by U.S.-American parents. sister to adopted brother)

Linda M. Crate February 2012
(adopted as a teen by a stepfather)

Trace A DeMeyer September 2012

(adopted as an infant within the U.S., out of a Native American reservation)

Mary Krane Derr May 2011
(had four near misses, from different angles, with adoption. was a maternity services & adoption social worker)

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers April 2011
(in South Africa, was adopted at 9 months)

Jennifer Kwon Dobbs April 2011
(was adopted by U.S.-American parents)

Marcella Durand March 2011
(adopted an infant domestically within the U.S.)

Carrie Etter June 2011
(was adopted at two weeks old; at age 17, gave up son for adoption)

CB Follett April 2011
(adopted two baby boys and one baby girl domestically within the U.S.)

Alex M. Frankel February 2015
(given up for adoption at birth in the U.S.) 

Samantha Franklin April 2011
(was adopted as a baby domestically in the U.S.)

Paula Friedman January 2012
(the reunited birthmother of one son who was given up for adoption as a baby) 

Denise Kingdom Grier September 2012

in the U.S., adopted at age 7 out of foster care)

Lee Herrick March 2011
(was adopted as a baby from Korea by U.S.-American parents. brother to adopted sister. as a parent, adopted baby from China)

Danni Ingle August 2012
(in the U.S., gave up a baby daughter for adoption)

Karen G. Johnston May 2011
(in the U.S., fostered, then adopted a son and daughter)

Joy Katz April 2011 

(adopted a baby boy from Vietnam)

Martha King June 2011
(grandmother to two children adopted domestically in the U.S.)

Michele Leavitt March 2011
(was adopted as an infant domestically in the U.S.)

Jeffrey Thomas Leong November 2011
(father was adopted; adopted a baby girl from China)

Dana R. LePage April 2011
(was adopted as a baby in Korea by U.S.-American parents. sister is also Korean adopted while not biologically related)

Leza Lowitz May 2011
(in Japan, adopted a two-year-old son)

Duduzile Mabaso December 2011
(in South Africa, was adopted as a baby)

Amanda Mason March 2011

(adopted an 11-year-old boy from Colombia)

Laura McCullough April 2011
(adopted two children from Taiwan)

Leslie McGrath May 2011
(adopted a baby girl from Korea)

Sharon Mesmer March 2011
(sister to adopted sibling)

Carol Moldaw April 2011
(adopted a baby girl from China)

Allison Moreno March 2011
(was adopted as a baby domestically in the U.S.    sister to two adopted brothers)

Giavanna Munafo April 2011
(was adopted as a 6-week-old domestically in the U.S.    sister to adopted brother)

Christina Pacosz March 2011
(gave up infant daughter for adoption)

Penny Callan Partridge May 2011
(was adopted domestically in the U.S.    adopted a daughter and son. co-founded Adoption Forum in Philadelphia and is former President of the American Adoption Congress)

Karen Pickell May 2011
(was adopted as a baby domestically in the U.S.    sister to an adopted brother. has two adopted stepchildren, one of whom was adopted from Korea)

Elaine Randell July 2011
(as a psychotherapist and social worker, has worked with families and/or placed children in adoption)

Mirah Riben March 2013
(birth mother who lost her first child to adoption)

Martina Robinson April 2011
(honorary auntie to friends' adopted children)

Judith Roitman March 2011
(was half-adopted. adopted two baby boys domestically within the U.S.    relatives also adopted)

Susan M. Schultz March 2011
(adopted 12-month-old boy (now 11 years old) from Cambodia and 3-year-old girl (now 9 years old) from Nepal. husband and a number of other relatives were adopted)

Michael D Snediker March 2011
(brother to a sister adopted as an infant from Korea. became close to someone who adopted a son from Vietnam)

Rosemary Starace March 2011
(was adopted as a baby domestically within the U.S.    three years later became sister to adopted brother)

Dee Thompson April 2011
(adopted 13-year-old girl from Russia. 3 years later, adopted 10-year-old boy from Kazakhstan)

kim thompson June 2011
(was adopted as a baby from Korea by U.S.-American parents)

Jan VanStavern April 2011
(was adopted as a baby domestically within the U.S.    sister to adopted brother. as a parent, adopted a 10-month-old girl from China)

Susan Van Sleet December 2012
(gave up infant daughter in a closed adoption)

Craig Watson March 2011
(adopted 1-year-old girl from Ecuador)

Michele Wolf May 2011
(adopted a baby girl from China)

We are always looking for more poets to participate in this project. Participants are asked simply to answer the following three questions:

What is your adoption experience?
How has the adoption experience affected your poetry?
Please share a sample poem(s) addressing (in part) adoption.

If you are a poet with adoption experience who would like to participate, feel free to email me at galateaten@gmail.com

Eileen R. Tabios
Curator, Poet & Adoptive Mom



'