Cyra Dumitru Editor of the River Lily Press Cyra S. Dumitru, MA, PPM has been in a spiritually-liberating, creative relationship with words and writing for most of her life. She is an accomplished poet who has experienced healing through poetry writing and journaling since her teenaged years, an award-winning faculty member in the Department of English Literature and Language at St. Mary’s University (San Antonio) for 20 years, a Writer-in-the Community serving San Antonio in diverse ways, a former medical writer, and one of three certified Practitioners of Poetic Medicine (PPM) practicing in Texas (as of 2021). Much of her Poetic Medicine practice currently involves collaboration with The Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health, and the Institute for Poetic Medicine. Certified in Poetic Medicine through the Institute for Poetic Medicine (IPM) in 2014, Cyra has facilitated hundreds of therapeutic writing circles for people of all ages: children and teens dealing with grief, teenagers struggling with depression, teenagers claiming their identities as LGBTQ, college students confronting their traumatic histories, women veterans, elders building a sense of community while coming to terms with loss, and adults from various walks of life who seek renewal while exploring what it means to be an embodied soul in a beautiful, hurtful world. She received support from IPM as a Poetry Partner during academic year 2016-2017 for her creation and facilitation of “In the Shelter of Poetry” Circle at St. Mary’s University. She also serves as Mentor and Co-Faculty for students participating in the IPM Certification Program in Poetic Medicine Practice. Her poetry has been published in numerous national literary journals as well as in many regional publications and anthologies. Her poems have appeared in publications designed for physicians, traveled on buses on city streets, been painted on the walls of City Hall, been hung alongside photographs in art galleries, been sung in concerts as Art Songs, spoken on the local affiliate of National Public Radio, and spoken in dozens of museums and bookstores around the nation. She has three book-length collections: What the Body Knows, Listening to Light, Remains, and a chapbook Elder Moon: A Memoir Told in Poems. |
Andrea Leigh Ptak
Communicating Words & Images for River Lily Press Andrea has over 40 years of experience as a writer, editor, and graphic designer specializing in publications. Skills include project management (complex magazines, newsletters, books), copy editing (Chicago and/or in-house styles), graphic design (covers and page layout), fine typography, print production (books and magazines), photography, art direction, and promotion via social media. She has done work for the University of Washington, Purdue University Press (IN), River Lily Press (TX), Bloomsbury (London), Taylor & Francis (London), and a variety of independent publishers. In June 2014, she received a Professional Certificate in Digital Publishing from the University of Washington. The 10-month program focused on digital content, web development, and marketing and promotion via social media. As part of the program, she developed the blogsite The Green Queen of Moderation, focusing on doable, sustainable living practices. In addition to her work in publishing, she is a native plant enthusiast and a Certified Master Urban Naturalist specializing in The Pacific Northwest. Other areas of expertise include hiking, camping, rock climbing, gardening, companion animals, knitting, sewing, and vocal music. |
River Lily Press
River Lily Press publishes books of poetry, prose, memoir, and work that integrates the genres. We look for depth of meaning and sincerity of intention. We are drawn by clarity of purpose, honesty and originality, respect for language that is lyrical, imagistic as well as communicative.
We are drawn to stories, poems, and perspectives that individuals most need to tell because they are rooted in deep truths that have taken time to experience, comprehend, articulate, and embody into written form. They live below the surface, incubating and stirring the body and soul, surfacing images into awareness, insisting that a voice be made gradually to hold their fullest knowing. |
River Lily Press
6542 52nd Ave S
Seattle, WA 98118, USA
Business phone: 2063002067
Cell phone: 2063002067
Email: andrealeighptak@me.com
https://www.andrealeighptak.com
6542 52nd Ave S
Seattle, WA 98118, USA
Business phone: 2063002067
Cell phone: 2063002067
Email: andrealeighptak@me.com
https://www.andrealeighptak.com
The author and the press would like to credit and thank
Rey Gustamente
for photography
&
Sr. Elizabeth Susan Hatzenbuehler, OSU
whose art inspired the book cover
(see art below)
Rey Gustamente
for photography
&
Sr. Elizabeth Susan Hatzenbuehler, OSU
whose art inspired the book cover
(see art below)