Belonging to the Ordinary: Two Poets on Everyday Rhythms that Shape Us
Poetry becomes a vessel through which the ordinary reveals its extraordinary capacity for belonging. In the work of Prartho Sereno and Michelle Latvala, everyday moments—a conversation, a garden, a kitchen table—become invitations to wonder, where the familiar holds its own wisdom. Their poetry finds belonging not in grand events, but in the rhythms of ordinary life that shape who we are.
Prartho Sereno credits 4 years in an Indian ashram as her strongest creative influence, but also nods to excursions into other art forms, such as counseling psychologist, vegetarian cook, mama /grandmama, and phys. ed. teacher at Cornell University. Her award-winning collections include Starfall in the Temple, Indian Rope Trick, Elephant Raga, Call from Paris, and her illustrated Causing a Stir: The Secret Lives and Loves of Kitchen Utensils. Poet Laureate Emerita of Marin County, CA (2015-17), MFA Syracuse University (2013), and Radio Disney Super Teacher (2005), she continues to mentor children as a Poet in the Schools (since 1999) & teaches The Poetic Pilgrimage: Poem-Making as Spiritual Practice online. Prartho will read from New & Self-Illustrated collection: Mystery School of the Ordinary (Blue Light Press).
Michelle Latvala's debut collection Between Latitudes (Green Writers Press, 2025) received honorable mention for the Eric Hoffer and First Horizon awards. Michelle was executive director of Spirit Rock Meditation Center for a decade, now serves as faculty for the Institute for Conversational Leadership, and migrates between Alaska and California. www.michellelatvala.com.
In collaboration with the Marin Poetry Center