Photo credit: Beth SKMorris at the Book Launch for "In the Aftermath-9/11 Through a Volunteer's Eyes" from the New York City Fire Museum, 2021.

Beth SK Morris

b. 1943

Current City, State, Country

Bronx, New York, USA

Birth City, State, Country

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Biography

Beth SKMorris, author of three poetry books: In Florida  (2010), Nowhere to be Found (2014) and In the Aftermath- 9/11 Through a Volunteer’s Eyes commemorating the 20th anniversary in 2021; a Pinnacle and Firebird Book Award winner and Eric Hoffer finalist, now included in the Poetry of 9/11 archive at the Library of Congress. Her poems have appeared in Artemis, Avocet, Broadkill Review, Crosswinds, High Shelf, Oprelle, and PANK, among others. Beth holds Masters degrees in Speech Science, English Language & Literature, and a Ph.D in Speech, Language, & Hearing Science. She is a member of Hudson Valley Writers Center, Poets House in New York and the Academy of American Poets. Currently, Beth is working on a hybrid/collaborative poetry manuscript based on her late father’s last notebook.

What is the relationship between Judaism and/or Jewish culture and your poetry?

I find poetic inspiration from Sabbath & Yom Tov services, readings from the Torah, the Prophets.
For example, one of the poems in my last book, In the Aftermath- 9/11 Through a Volunteer’s Eyes is called “The Sabbath Shift” which begins with the words, “With my voice I cry unto the Lord,” Psalm 142. The poem comes out of the mitzvot performed by young women from Stern College who took turns over Shabbat saying prayers for the dead near the body parts recovered from Ground Zero.

Published Works

In the Aftermath- 9/11 Through a Volunteer’s Eyes (Poetica, 2021)
Nowhere to be Found (Bridle Path Press, 2014)
In Florida (Unispeech, 2010)

Author Site

Author Site

Video Reading

Video Reading

Education

Queens College, CUNY (BA)
Queens College, CUNY (MA, Speech Science)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (MA, English Language & Literature)
Graduate School and Center CUNY (Ph.D, Speech, Language & Hearing Science)

Subject Matter

Family, History, Loss, Trauma

Genre

Poetry