Edward Smallfield : Elizabeth Robinson (Inventory)

 from Report from the Robinson Society, Vol. 1, No. 1

 

 

 

 

When I think of Elizabeth Robinson, I think of her amazing and unique work as a poet, of the EtherDome chapbook series, of the many young poets that Elizabeth has introduced to the world, and of the middle-aged and older poets she has supported. I think of innumerable readings and reading series that Elizabeth has curated, of her work as a teacher of writing, of her work with the unhoused, and of her current ministry. I think of my many, many conversations with Elizabeth about poetry—conversations driving across the Bay Bridge, in cafes and restaurants, in rooms and classrooms and backyards. My conversations with Elizabeth are not important (except to me, and to me they are priceless), but those conversations are multiplied and multiplied by the many, many poets to whom Elizabeth has meant so much. Elizabeth means and has meant so much to so many people—so many of us have benefited from her endless generosity of spirit, and her bottomless and abiding love of poetry, and of everything connected with poetry. To end, I want to return to where I began—more than anything else, what matters is Elizabeth’s amazing and unique work, which has touched and changed so many people, and will continue to work magic far into the future. Elizabeth, thank you, thank you for everything.

 

 

 

 

Edward Smallfield is the author of to whom it may concern, equinox, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (a book-length collaboration with Doug MacPherson), and The Pleasures of C. He is also the author of several chapbooks, most recently a journal of the plague year from above/ground press. His poems have appeared in Barcelona INK, Denver Quarterly, e-poema.eu, Five Fingers Review, New American Writing, Páginas Rojas, talking about strawberries all the time, Touch the Donkey, where is the river: a poetry experiment, and many other magazines and websites. He is a coeditor at parentheses and at Apogee Press. He has participated in poetry conferences in Delphi, Paou, Paros, and Sofia, and lives in Barcelona with his wife, the poet Valerie Coulton.