Congratulations to Chuck Salmons , who the Ohio Poetry Day Association has selected as 2026 Ohio Poet of the Year for his book Surviving the Eremocene [2025, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions]. In his fourth poetry collection, award-winning poet Chuck Salmons explores and expands upon the meaning of Eremocene, or Age of Loneliness, a term popularized by biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson. Through thought-provoking poems, Salmons looks at the term as it applies to environmental concerns and beyond—loneliness as a condition resulting from family history, sociopolitical differences, scientific advances, and cultural touchstones. Through narrative poems full of rich details, humor, and wisdom, Salmons examines his own Ohio upbringing and sense of place in the Midwest as an immediate descendant of Appalachians. He invites readers to join him in this endeavor and perhaps come to their own understanding about how to determine one’s place in a world simultaneously fraught with disappointm...
We are pleased to announce our new OPA Regional Poet Ambassadors, serving from Fall 2026 through Fall 2028. Southwest Ohio: Zinnia Stewart Zinnia (Zeda Stew) Stewart, Writer, Spoken Word Artist, Speaker, Host, Oral Historian and Community Engagement Coordinator, is the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati. She is a poet, storyteller, and teaching artist whose work centers Black history, motherhood, and the power of narrative as a tool for connection and liberation. A Milwaukee native, Zinnia brings lived experience and creative vision to her community work, building programs and partnerships that invite dialogue, reflection, and belonging. Through spoken word and public engagement, she bridges history and the present, helping audiences connect the legacy of freedom to contemporary voices and lived realities. Learn more about Zinnia at @zedastew . Northwest Ohio: Sandra Rivers-Gill Sandra Rivers-Gill is the Lucas...