In-person: Join us as local poet Joanne Cherefko reads a selection of poetry from her newest collection, Souls Tilled Like Soil, which was inspired by the pandemic and the divisiveness in this country. She welcomes questions and comments about the poems and the flow of the book, which takes the reader on a journey from darkness to light. The author will read one poem from each of the five sections: Isolation (pandemic), Fear (racial and political divide), Visions (introspective poems), Solace (nature’s power to soothe), and Redemption (love, which provides a saving grace during challenging and chaotic times).
Joanne Cherefko: Author Biography
In both New Jersey and Virginia, Joanne Cherefko has spent her adult life in public education, instilling a love and understanding of poetry in students. She is an award-winning educator, inducted into the Wall Township Foundation for Educational Excellence Hall of Fame in 2001, awarded the Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce Education Contributor honor in 2011, and awarded the Medallion of Recognition by Lord Fairfax Community College in 2019.
Since 2007, she has been creating and presenting poetry seminars at Mountain Vista Governor’s School (MVGS) and local high schools in Warren County, Virginia. She is currently a visiting poet at MVGS.
Her previously published collections, A Consecration of the Wind and Fragmented Roots, and her new manuscript, Souls Tilled Like Soil, reflect her relationship with the natural world and with her divided, inner world. Each collection charts the author’s uncertain journey from darkness to light.
Joanne’s hobbies are photography; traveling; camping; hiking; researching poems to teach; writing poetry; collecting and listening to music ranging from classic rock to contemporary alternative; cuddling with her dogs Taylor and Bella; and growing old with the love of her life, her devoted husband Bud.