Personal, Professional & Creative Profile
Marcia has published her second collection of poetry, titled “Final Story.”
If you are interested in purchasing a copy, please send your name and address and a $12.00 check with the word “book” in the memo line to 113 Cedar Court, Hawley, PA, 18428-4049.
The poem below, from the collection, won Honorable Mention in Perigee’s 2006 poetry contest, Marvin Bell, judge:
I Spy
O what wonders unfold in the heart of the great
room of this house in the suburbs, omphalos
of family life. The leavings of our meal
congeal on abandoned plates and the one they call
“The Little One” sings karaoke to a wall-sized screen.
She’s oblivious to everything but the moves
of a dancing virtual girl and a virtual audience meting out
praise or scorn. Nephew thrusts his cell phone at my ear
and the contraption transmits an amniotic whoosh
mixed with something mimicking hummingbird’s wings adrum.
One hundred forty beats a minute, the proud father announces.
Just last week he sent an e-mail
with Baby’s in utero photo attached.
I spy with my little eye Baby’s head and hand
floating in a once secret universe. I spy
a veil lifted, a miracle undone.
The mapped human genome, brain waves of love,
biochemistry of despair. What will Baby have left,
when he enters this new world, to marvel at?
Marcia Nehemiah was born, raised, and educated in New Jersey. Prior to moving to the Upper Delaware River valley in 2002, she taught high school English, creative writing and media literacy for 28 years.
Her poems and essays have been published widely over the years in such publications as The New York Times, English Journal, Journal of New Jersey Poets, Blueline, California State Poetry Quarterly, Main Channel Voices, Chronogram and The Pedestal Magazine. One of her poems was chosen for inclusion in the Green Heron Poetry Project, sponsored by the Upper Delaware Writers Collective. She won the 2007 Betty June Silconas Poetry Center’s Judge’s Award, Martin Farawell, judge. Two of her poems were cited for Honorable Mention in Perigee’s 2006 Poetry contest, Marvin Bell, judge. In addition, she received Honorable Mention in the 7th Annual Mulberry Poets and Writers Association Regional Poetry Contest. In 2003, 2004 and 2006 her work was included in the Women Artists Datebook published by Syracuse Cultural Workers. Her book of poems, “Reclamation” was published in 2005.
She is a member of the Upper Delaware Writers Collective and has been the featured reader at many local venues such as the Wayne County Arts Alliance Literary Series Short Readings, the Himalayan Institute's poetry nights, A.I.R. Gallery in NYC, as well as on National Public Radio's "Theme and Variations."
Deeply concerned for the environment, she writes a monthly column on sustainability for The River Reporter. She lives with her husband in Lackawaxen, PA where, besides writing, she enjoys knitting, bird-watching, and making Japanese thread balls.
Additional Details: Original Art Shown Behind Marcia.