Virginia Crawford is a long-time teaching artist with the Maryland State Arts Council. She has co-edited two anthologies: Poetry Baltimore, poems about a city and Voices Fly, An Anthology of Exercises and Poems from the Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Program from CityLit Press. She earned degrees in Creative Writing from Emerson College, Boston, and The University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Her book Touch appeared in 2013 from Finishing Line Press. She writes and lives in Baltimore with her family.
Crawford’s new collection, Questions for Water, brings lyrical voice and intimate perspective to the challenges faced by twenty-first century families, America, and the world. From the fires that raged in Australia, to the racial injustices embedded within the American legal system, to a search for a gun hidden within her son’s Baltimore school, Crawford serves as a voice for both the unmoored individual and the battle-weary global citizen as she articulates her fears and her longing for a lifeline to guide us all safely beyond the reach of dark times. At the center of the book is the luminous title poem in which Crawford reaches simultaneously back to her family’s own immigrant experience and outward to the contemporary immigrant experiences that define America in this historical moment. Author of the 2011 collection Touch and a teaching artist with the Maryland State Arts Council, Crawford reminds us of the healing power of an embrace, the sustaining power of love, and the visionary power of poetry.
Questions for Water is released on April 5th, 2021. You can purchase Crawford’s newest release on Apprentice House, Amazon and other booksellers.
Find more information about Virginia Crawford on her website.