I just released my first self-published book, STONE empty chair, a collection of haiku. It’s a little book of little poems written over the last ten years, gleaned from my haiku file. Here are a few sample poems:
crows perched on wire the sky divides into halves the line between us morning, empty beach man with metal detector sweeping side to side
Serena Agusto-Cox reviewed it at Savvy Verse & Wit.
I had a lot of fun making this little book. You can get a copy here:
Stone, empty chair, haiku by Erica Goss
A year in haiku: 50+ poems reflecting on the seasons and the natural world.
$14.00
My first full-length poetry collection, Night Court, winner of the 2016 Lyrebird Prize from Glass Lyre Press, was published in 2017.
Praise for Night Court, a poetry collection by Erica Goss:
Erica Goss raps her poem-gavel. I pause and turn a page; another case, another voice. Nothing goes unnoticed or dismissed. Goss tries on robes, viewpoints; she tries out voices, celebrating the sweeping powers of legend and myth. This poet loves the world her poems would save. “In Eden, days did not lengthen / towards midsummer, / and no one shivered / in a star-cold night; // naked in the damp twilight, / Adam whispered the names of animals / while Eve wiped the dust / from every perfect leaf.” (‘Camellia Garden in October’).
— Al Young, California Poet Laureate 2005-2008
“No more / mindless syrup blunting / raw edges, // no more disguising things / with bland counterparts.” The poems in Night Court are often starkly rendered, tough yet sensitive. Deeply imaginative, the poems describe a feral world also experienced by children, a world of hungry ghosts, magic, beasts and violence. “There’s a crack at the edge / of the world where the dark // and comic leak through” Goss takes us to this illuminating place.
— Robert S. Pesich, President, Poetry Center San Jose
Night Court leaves us hungry for more of the poet’s open, probing, leaping intelligence, her “wild associations” and surprises in the unexpected “shivering” sweetness of a love story where “joy scrambles sadness.” We hear “the clatter of souls entering bodies” and experience “spring’s lizard stealth” as sadness, longing and reluctance are transformed by breath-stopping beauty. Like a creature in the forest, the poet will “rub my cheek against the night.” And she reminds us a prince waits, perhaps for centuries, until we wake.
— Susan G. Wooldridge, author of poemcrazy: freeing your life with words
Some recent reviews of Night Court:
More reviews at my Amazon page.
Vibrant Words: Ideas and Inspirations for Poets by Erica Goss
Cover Photograph by Erica Goss
My second book, Vibrant Words, was published in 2014 by PushPen Press.
Vibrant Words is a book of writing prompts intended to spark creativity, banish writer’s block, and inspire new ideas. Writers will find out why they need core strength to write well, that poetry waits in parking lots, and what you can do with just one word. This lively and entertaining book is sure to help poets and writers. It’s on sale now at Amazon.
Praise for Vibrant Words:
Erica Goss’s elegantly conceived and thoughtfully edited Vibrant Words will assist and inspire many an aspiring poet and storyteller. Like other artists, wordsmiths should welcome and respond to the challenges of surprise and demand. These warm, prodding pages quiver with enough prompts, suggestions, exercises, examples and borderline ecstasy to keep any fledgling or practiced writer of poetry meaningfully focused and sharp for a lifetime.
—Al Young, California’s Poet Laureate Emeritus
Erica Goss presents inspiring tips, techniques, strategies, observations, and insights accrued through study and direct experience. Her book will prove a useful guide for new and experienced writers alike, especially those struggling to navigate a ‘dry spell,’ desiring a poetic nudge, or seeking authentic creative direction.
—John Amen, editor of The Pedestal Magazine
With her friendly, non-intimidating approach, Erica Goss coaxes out the poet in all of us. Open this treasure chest anywhere and do what the page says to do. Although these prompts were written for poets, many also work well for prose writers.
—Ann Marie Brown, travel writer, magazine editor, writing instructor at Sierra Nevada College
Many good prompts here, nudges to get you started if you’re a beginner, or shoves if you’re further along, but find yourself stuck.
—Nils Peterson, Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Emeritus
In a relaxed voice made tender by experience, this is a mentor’s approach to guiding poets onto new roads and greater destinations.
—Michael Dickes, editor, Awkword Paper Cut
Erica Goss’s Vibrant Words is a little gem of poetry prompts: concise, efficient, whimsical, immediate…. What a delight to read! Each of these prompts offers useful guidance with inspirational suggestions, ideas, and examples for poets and all poetry lovers. This is also a welcome tool for poetry workshops and other related settings.
—Fiona Sze-Lorrain, author of My Funeral Gondola (2013) and Water the Moon (2010)
Erica Goss’s collection of poems and inspirational exercises, Vibrant Words: Ideas and Inspirations for Poets, teaches poets to peel back the noise to find the kernels of poetic story that will appeal universally.
—Serena M. Agusto-Cox, poet and reviewer at Savvy Verse & Wit and War Through the Generations
Blog posts about Vibrant Words:
Wild Place, Poems by Erica Goss
Cover Photograph by Howard Partridge
My first book, Wild Place, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2012.
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Wild Place
Wild Place, Poetry, (ISBN 978-1-59924-860-8)
28 pages, 6 x 9, $12.00; January 2012 Publisher: Finishing Line Press |
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| Praise for Wild Place, a poetry chapbook by Erica Goss:
“Erica Goss speaks of ordinary things in an extraordinary way. In one poem, a girl, high in a tree, hears her mother’s voice, which becomes a ‘ladder’ she climbs down. In another poem, the poet tells us that snow ‘is an invitation to take / a walk upon water.’ This is a book filled with observation and delight. Enjoy.” |
Reviews of Wild Place:
Order it from Finishing Line Press:
On the shelf at Bookshop Santa Cruz:
Erica Goss 
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