Seretta Martin

Seretta Martin is a poet, teacher and visual artist. She is a short list finalist for the Philip Levine book award, and the Word Works Washington Prize as well as the Atlantic Review International Poetry Prize with her second forthcoming book, "Overtaking Glass. She authored and illustrated the limited edition, "Foreign Dust, Familiar Rain, Selected Poems" & several chapbooks. (Blue Vortex Publishers)

As the managing editor she is also a regional editor of San Diego Poetry Annual. In 2017 she was the featured poet at the KPBS Member's Annual Celebration of Arts fundraising Gala. She has judged contests including Poetry Out Loud, The San Diego Book Awards, San Diego Writers Ink, Border Voices Poetry Project and The San Diego Poetry Annual cover contest. With a grant from the James Irvine Foundation and Poets and Writers in 2011 she was a featured poet for the Border Voices "Virtual" ITV Poetry Fair & Annual and appeared with award-winning students and founding director, Jack Webb. Together we read poetry and talked about POETRY.  Other P & W matching grants helped to fund performance of poets at her New Alchemy Poetry Series. 

Her first translations, those of the Lithuanian poet, Sonata Paliulytė, appeared in the San Diego Poetry Annual 2011. Seretta serves as the founding editor of Blue VorTEXT Literary Journal on-line and Blue Vortex Publishers, which creates first-edition books for other poets. With Christopher Gorrie she co-founded and is co-editor of Synesthesia Literary Journal on-line. In 2014 she was an assistant editor of "Poetry Crossing" (a Teacher's Lesson Plan book) for the California Poets in the Schools 50th Anniversary. Two of her lesson plans were published in this book. She is a member of The Haiku Society of America, The Southern California Haiku Study Group, and a founding member of Haiku San Diego. Her writing and poetry has been published internationally and included in Fire and Water, A Climate Crisis Anthology 2020, Springtime in Paradise 2020, Waymark,Voice of the Valley, 2020, San Diego Writers Ink 2020, Border Voices Poetry Anthology 2020, Serving House Journal 2014, Weave Magazine 2014, Poetry International 2013, MARGIE, the American Poetry Journal, Oasis Journals 2007, Magee Park Poets and others. Her haiku and haibun appeared in the anthologies: The Haiku Society of America 2012, 2013, 2020, Under the Basho 2013, Modern Haiku 2013, Frogpond 2012, 2013,  The Southern California Haiku Study Group Anthology: 2010 – present. The new form-fusion that Seretta invented: "Haiphrastic," was first published in The San Diego Poetry Annual (SDPA) in 2012 and her poetry has appeared in SDPA since 2007. On-line publications credits include Web del Sol, Poetry International, Moonday Poets, Poetic Voices, and Muse Apprentice among others.

Seretta earned her MFA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University in 2013 under the mentorship of Ilya Kaminsky, Sandra Alcosser, Steve Kowit and Marilyn Chin. Seretta serves as the Assistant Director, Poet-Teacher Coordinator and Fair Manager of the Border Voices Poetry Project. Her joy and mission is to help students find their poetic voices and learn to express themselves creatively. She teaches all levels of poetry, elementary through adults in schools and on-line using Zoom with Oasis Learning Center, San Diego Writers Ink, California Poets in the Schools and Border Voices Poetry Project. Many of her students have received awards and been published. She appears on ITV shows and curates readings at libraries and symposiums. Seretta lives in the quiet foothills of San Diego, California with her musician son and Itty Bitty, black kitty.

Links:  sandiegowriters.org, sandiegopoetryannual.com, bordervoices.com, cpits.org, bluevortextpublishers.com, synesthesialitjournal.com.