ANDREA WITZKE SLOT
author, artist
author, artist
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Andrea Witzke Slot is author of two books of poetry, The Ministry of Flowers (Valley Press 2020) and To find a new beauty (Gold Wake Press 2012) and her work can be found or is forthcoming such UK and US journals as Ambit, Poetry Wales, Acumen, Litro UK, Litro US, Tupelo Quarterly, Rappahannock Review, Under the Radar, Southeast Review, Lunch Ticket, American Literary Review, The Rialto, Stand Magazine, among many others. Her poems were shortlisted in the Bridport Prize and longlisted in the National Poetry Competition this year and the poem "Showering my mother on her 60th Wedding Anniversary” is available online as part of the Poetry Wales "How I Wrote" interview series). Her short stories have won prizes with Fiction International and Able Muse, while other pieces have placed in dozens more competitions in both the US and the UK, including a novel manuscript in A Room of One's Own (AROHO) Clarissa Dalloway Prize. After working as an editor with the Chicago-based journals Rhino Poetry and Fifth Wednesday while teaching at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Andrea returned to London where she is now a contributing artist with Fiona Lesley’s award-winning Poetry Exchange and works daily to captures the human and natural worlds in words, paints, piano and photography. |
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The Ministry of Flowers,
Andrea's latest book is available from Valley Press The Poetry Book Society, Amazon UK and Amazon US |
."Andrea Witzke Slot is a multi-talented poet, artist and photographer who has not only produced a highly original collection, but also illustrated it with delicate pen and ink drawings. The Ministry of Flowers [her latest collection of poems] was many years in the making, and this is reflected in the variety and quantity of the work...I can’t do justice in such a short review to this rich and varied poetry collection that speaks of our shared humanity, vulnerability and connection to others in beautifully crafted poems of great depth and resonance. I keep returning to the book to read them again. I can only recommend that you get yourself a copy and enjoy them for yourself. -Emma Storr -- see the full review at London Grip
‘These poems will break your heart but leave you feeling uplifted, more grateful to be alive.’ — Faisal Mohyuddin ‘A collection that will resonate long after you have turned the last page.’ — Fiona Bennett ‘I’d begun to think that no poetry could reach me this year … I am, gratefully, shaken.’ — Valerie Wallace ‘A compassionate recorder of our fallible bodies, broken hearts and enduring loves.’ — Tamar Yoseloff ‘Poignant hymns to the transformative nature of life’s experiences. Uplifting, intelligent and immensely engaging.’ — Vanessa Gebbie ‘These poems reach right in and keep the glow of humanity burning. Incredible writing … they take my breath away literally, invoking more senses than I thought I had.’ — Hafsah Aneela Bashir |
Sign up here to get the latest news and Podcasts of Fiona Lesley Bennett's Award Winning Poetry Exchange.
Previous podcasts with Andrea and other PE contributing artists speaking to guests about a poem that's been a friend to them are here:
- Love Song For Words by Nazik Al-Malaika - A Friend to Maryam
- The Republic of Motherhood by Liz Berry - A Friend to Ana
- The Fury Of Overshoes by Anne Sexton - A Friend to Laura
- De Ceder / The Cedar by Han G. Hoekstra - A Friend to Alida
- Dich / You by Erich Fried - A Friend To Katharine
- Last Post By Carol Ann Duffy - A Friend To Jackie
- Proem by Martin Carter - A Friend to Nicholas
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FROM THE MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
Valley Press 2022 
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FROM TO FIND A NEW BEAUTY
Gold Wake Press, 2012 
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A lifelong educator, Andrea has taught and mentored students ages 3-83. She was a primary teacher in the UK in the 1990s, taught at Collin College in Texas as a full-time faculty member, and, after receiving her doctorate, joined the faculty as a lecturer in the English Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. During her years in Chicago, she taught many community-based workshops and worked as a poetry editor with Rhino Poetry and a book review editor at Fifth Wednesday,
With an emphasis on multiple viewpoints and understanding the interconnections of human and natural life, Andrea writes work that inspires compassion for one another and for the natural world too. Both serious and humorous in turn (sometimes in the same space), Andrea is an ecopoet and a writer who listens to and gives voice to both people and our planet. She loves to experiment with form and content in both poetry and prose.
Andrea's PhD is from the University of Texas at Dallas and her academic work focuses on poetry, dialogue, and social change with a special interest in poetry that incorporates distinct voices and varying ideological perspectives. Her doctoral chapters on Harryette Mullen and Julia Alvarez have been included in academic anthologies used in university classrooms: Dialogism and Poetry: Hearing Over, published by Palgrave Macmillan and Inhabiting "La Patria": Identity, Agency, and "Antojo" in the Work of Julia Alvarez by SUNY Press.
With an emphasis on multiple viewpoints and understanding the interconnections of human and natural life, Andrea writes work that inspires compassion for one another and for the natural world too. Both serious and humorous in turn (sometimes in the same space), Andrea is an ecopoet and a writer who listens to and gives voice to both people and our planet. She loves to experiment with form and content in both poetry and prose.
Andrea's PhD is from the University of Texas at Dallas and her academic work focuses on poetry, dialogue, and social change with a special interest in poetry that incorporates distinct voices and varying ideological perspectives. Her doctoral chapters on Harryette Mullen and Julia Alvarez have been included in academic anthologies used in university classrooms: Dialogism and Poetry: Hearing Over, published by Palgrave Macmillan and Inhabiting "La Patria": Identity, Agency, and "Antojo" in the Work of Julia Alvarez by SUNY Press.