What is Plants & Poetry?

We are.

Hey hey! I'm Jamie, co-founder at Plants & Poetry. Oftentimes, l am asked..."So, what is this…Plants & Poetry?" We're a lotta things.

Poets, gardeners, scientists, artists, educators, friends.

A few of us started this organization back in 2019. My best friend Kelsey was the "Plants" & I was the "Poetry". We began taking in sick plants that our friends and family would give us, and Kelsey would bring them back to life. She's a plant wizard! All the while I was collecting poetry books wherever I could find them, burying my soul and tears across each page I read, dreaming of building my own "Library of Poetry" (still dreaming btw). Then Kelsey introduced me to MOTHER Leslie who quickly became the sweet sap who stuck us together.

We then started writing poems for each plant Kelsey would care for. Soon after, we took these poems to our first event called the Lavender Festival. Many attendees came up to us to ask if we had a poem for an Orchid or a Rose. These precious requests gave life to the idea of the Plants & Poetry Journal. In this journal, we publish poetry, prose, mixed media, creative non-fiction and more.

For every submission we received, we committed to planting a seed in a Food Forest in Bella Vista, AR. We published 17+ journals based on different environmental themes with interactive prompts at the end of each collection.

What is the Plants & Poetry Journal?

The Plants & Poetry Journal collaborates with writers, artists, scientists, and community organizers to publish poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, and mixed media. For every submission received, we plant a seed in and around our neighborhoods.

Originally, our planting efforts centered on a community food forest in Northwest Arkansas. This initiative was led by Leslie, who dreamed of creating The Oasis Food Forest on her land. She nurtured it, watched it flourish, and ultimately, it evolved into a new vision—opening a Nature School for homeschoolers. As she embarks on this journey, we are returning to our original mission: planting in and around our neighborhoods, integrating place-based learning, and sharing our discoveries through our collections.

We’ve featured guest editors like Meghan Perry and Nancy Pop. We’ve created plant and poetry education like coloring books, writing guides, and more. Now we've migrated to publishing independent poetry/ authors like Heidi Sander, Lucia Coppola, Lisa Lundeen, & Alexandra Crivici Kramer.

And of course our annual "Plant People: An Anthology of Environmental Artists." We collaborate with artists to create notebooks with art on the cover like Leslie Walker, Erica Dionora, Rachel Johnson and Marcus Stuart. We also co-create with other organizations even films like POETS ARE THE DESTROYERS directed by Nancy Pop.

Also, our logo was made by my badass sister Jane Robinson. She drew a plant that was sitting on a stack of books in Kelsey and I's living room. Then local artist, Kylie Carey, brought our vision to the digital space and here we are. I'm so thankful to all the cool ass people who have joined this journey with us. You are Plants & Poetry!

We are slowly revamping our newsletter and seeding a few exciting projects that we'll share very soon. If you feel called to get involved, please reach out! This tiny, independent literary arts and publishing house needs people like you!

P.S. We are based in NW Arkansas, but we collaborate with writers, editors, poets, and artists across the globe, far and wide plantsandpoetry4us@gmail.com.