Martha Sherick Shen is native to Iowa. She has written poetry privately throughout her life. After raising her daughters and divorcing, she earned a degree in Zoology from Iowa State University within a specialized program for Neuroscience and Physiological Psychology. She graduated with honors in 2003. During these years, Martha also met, became friends with, and later married the man who would bring her a fairytale life, Dr. Sheldon Shen. Sheldon passed away suddenly in 2019. Martha now lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her daughter Abra’s family and her French Bulldog, Judah.
PRAISE:
“In the tradition of Mary Oliver, poet Martha Sherick Shen pays intimate attention to nature, celebrating the beauty and wisdom of trees, berries, and roots, of sky, light, and stars. With musical language and powerful images, the poet invites us to a deeper awareness, a spiritual place, where we can discover for ourselves, What is Holy?”
–Bethany Jarmul, author of Lightning Is a Mother
“The poet takes readers on a sense-immersive journey into a world woven from nature’s scientific detail, forest, and a reconstruction of self. As she says “the values you taught me/ taken a turn/ you did not expect.” Martha Sherick Shen stitches prose poem science between the folds of lyrical free verse and tugs the heart into holding more than seems possible. Those who appreciate the nature focus of Denton Loving’s ‘Tamp’ and James Engelhardt’s ‘Bone Willows’, may find a new favorite in Waning into Winter. It is a compelling debut you’ll want on your poetry shelf, and in your heart.”
–Christaina Doucette, a Kid Lit verse novelist and poet.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.