You may purchase my books at my readings or from the following book sellers:
The Poetry Box, https://thepoetrybox.com/bookstore/
Bookstores can order copies from Ingram.
Publications
My Books
Through her detailed yet elegant poems, she reaches out with respect and compassion to those she encounters along the way. Be prepared to be transported and transfixed. Bonnie Larson Staiger, author of Destiny Manifested and In Plains Sight. North Dakota Assoc. Poet Laureate Emerita.
Accrued wisdom is conveyed by vivid imagery, beautiful sound and rhythm. These poems hold space for haunting, complex memories of being a visitor, a witness, an outsider. --Donna Steiner, author of Elements.
In this collection, we can trust our speaker not to look away from harsh reality or her own complicity. These poems are as beautiful as they are fierce. A wonderful debut. –Amie Whittemore, author of Glass Harvest, 2020-2021 Poet Laureate of Murfreesboro, TN
Coultrap-McQuin’s keen eye and compassionate voice breathe life into distant scenes, and we feel like fellow travelers gathering to reminisce over a collection of souvenirs. --LouAnn Shepard Muhm, author of Breaking the Glass
Her poems are compact; her language concise, and she knows how to leave something for the reader. I love seeing the world through Susan Coultrap-McQuin’s generous and hopeful eyes. --Joyce Sutphen, Minnesota Poet Laureate, 2011-2021.
Here is a poet who might also be naturalist, illustrator, spiritual advisor; with vivid specifics, charm, and reverence, she lures the reader into savoring “the rhythms of a life.” —Kory Wells, author of Sugar Fix
These poems situate earth as our cherished inheritance and deep responsibility—calling us to be, again and again, “beguiled by surprise.” –Amie Whittemore, author of Nest of Matches
Be prepared to bask in the gentle beauty of the earth, take in the wind over the prairie, sip the nectar of the monarch, and exult in the rich pollen of Susan’s pen. My heart is full of light in this wonderful collection. –Ellen Lager, author of When a Tree Falls.
Susan “scatters pollen with her pen” until our senses bloom like flowers. She shares joy, amazement and grief in her gentle observations. –Annette Gagliardi, Poet Laureate, League of Minnesota Poets
Poems in Journals and Anthologies
A Calculation of Needs, The Talking Stick, 35 (Jackpine Writers’ Bloc, Inc. 2026), forthcoming
A Good Start, Made of Rust and Glass, II, (Of Rust and Glass LLC, 2022) 1-2.
Another Year, Talking Stick 32, (Jackpine Writers’ Bloc, Inc. 2023), 123. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
At the Foreign Correspondents Club, Phnom Penh, Talking Stick, XXVIII (Jack Pine Writers Bloc, Inc., 2019), 178. Reprinted in What We Bring Home (2021), 36.
Autumn Squabbles, Songs of Eretz Poetry Review (November 2019) http://www.songsoferetz.com/search?q=Coultrap-McQuin Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Bioluminescence, The Poeming Pigeon (The Poetry Box Press, 2022), 73. Youtube: https://youtu.be/7pmHOBrSkFAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pmHOBrSkFA Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Boys on Bikes, Talking Stick XXV (Jack Pine Writers Bloc, Inc., 2016), 111.
Cartwheels of Light, Agates (League of Minnesota Poets, 2026), forthcoming, Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Cathedral Calls, Woodlands: nature-magic-mystery-myth. (Moon Shadow Sanctuary Press, 2022), 11. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
Clearing the Garden, Still Point Arts Quarterly 46 (Summer 2022), 73. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Dawn, ACCC Pandemic Arts Journal, Arts Consortium of Carver County. 2020. https://artsofcarvercounty.org/paj-dawn/ Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BFJD2-KLWSU Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
Deep-Rooted Life, The Moccasin (League of Minnesota Poets, 2021) 55.
Geology Lesson, Shift: a Publication of MTSU, V, Fall 2022, 86.
Killing Field Memorial, Academy of American Poets (poets.org) January 28, 2020; Wick Poetry Center, Commemoration of May 4 Events Kent State. Honorable Mention chosen by Naomi Shihab Nye. Reprinted in What We Bring Home (2021), 40.
Like a Mother, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, XII, (2023), 71. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
Lilies of the Dawn, Plant People: An Anthology of Environmental Artists. II (Plants and Poetry, 2022), 77. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
March Madness in Minnesota, Agates (League of Minnesota Poets, 2022), 39.
Mysteries in What We Bring Home, Quiet Diamonds (The Orchard Street Press (Ohio), Summer, 2021) 16. Reprinted in What We Bring Home (2021), 45. Finalist in OSP competition.
Ode to Winter, Talking Stick, XXX (Jackpine Writers’ Bloc, Inc. 2021) 40. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
Old Friends, The Talking Stick, 35 (The Jackpine Writers’ Bloc, 2026), forthcoming
On the Pier at Calapan, Solidarity (VI, 6, June 1971), 55. Revised, reprinted in What We Bring Home (2021), 12.
The Ordinary Ones, Little Free Press/ now called Painted Pebble Lit Mag (III, Spring 2025), 12. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
The Poetry Game, Last Stanza Poetry Journal (XX, April 2025), 49.
A Poet’s Hope, The Moccasin (League of Minnesota Poets, vol. 83, 2020), 32. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Prairie Promise, Tiny Seed Literary Journal (Blog post 9/20/23) and Poetry of the Wildflowers Anthology (October 2023), 191. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Safe Harbor, Bangkok, Talking Stick, XXVIII (Jack Pine Writers Bloc, Inc., 2019), 80. Reprinted in What We Bring Home (2021), 25.
Sanctuario El Rosario, Lowestoft Chronicle (vol. 49, March 1, 2022). Pushcart Nomination, 2022. http://lowestoftchronicle.com/issues/issue49/susancoultrap-mcquin/ Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Seeking Stars, Women’s Voices: An Intergenerational Art and Writing Event About the Women’s Experience. (Sower Gallery, Chaska, MN, 2018) 7-8. Reprinted in The Dewdrop, September 12, 2021. https://thedewdrop.org/2021/09/12/susan-coultrap-mcquin-seeking-stars/ Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light.
Summertime, Green Ink Poetry, Summer Solstice 24, Part 2, Jul 2 (2024) https://www.greeninkpoetry.co.uk/poetry-submissions-all/susan-coultrap-mcquin-summertime Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Sunday Dinner in the Pandemic, This Was 2020: Minnesotans Write about Pandemics and Social Justice in a Historic Year (Ramsey County Library, 2021) 94. Also https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/thiswas2020/ .
Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North, The Dewdrop, March 26, 2023. https://thedewdrop.org/2023/03/26/susan-coultrap-mcquin-sunday-morning-at-the-cabin-up-north/ Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
The Space Between Us, Capsule Stories Isolation Edition, April 15, 2020. 154.
Take the Nuthatch View, Agates 2025, Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Trying to Suss It Out, Bards Across the Pond (Local Gems, 2025).
Exhibitions
Cedar Waxwings in my Yard, Chaska Public Library, Writer-Artist event, 2015.
Fall Farewell, Carver County Park, 2018.
The Foxes, Mankato Walk and Ride Exhibit, 2017.
In New Snow, Polarity Poetry Walk, Polar Fest, Detroit Lakes, MN, 2025. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Killing Field Memorial. Traveling Stanzas. Poster by artist Amy Seeds. Kent State University. 2020. https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/file/Killing%20Field_0.jpg
Monarchs Delight, Arts Consortium of Carver County, Members Show. Arts Center, 2018. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Prairie Promise, Mississippi Valley Nature Walk in Richfield Lake Park, sponsored by Mississippi Valley Poets of League of Minnesota Poets, 2021. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Seeking Stars, The Sower Gallery, 2018. (also, Women’s Voices, Gallery Program) Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
September Waters, Arts Consortium of Carver County, Water and Waves Gallery Show, Arts Center, 2019. Reprinted in So Much Depends on the Light
Awards for Poems
My Father’s Legacy, First Prize, Arts Consortium of Carver County Poetry Contest, 2015.
Killing Field Memorial, Honorable Mention from Wick Poetry Center, Commemoration of May 4 Events. April 2020. Chosen by Naomi Shihab Nye.
Mysteries in What We Bring Home. Finalist, The Orchard Street Poetry Contest. 2021.
Sanctuario El Rosario, Lowestoft Chronicle (vol. 49, March 1, 2022). Pushcart Nomination, 2022.