Our Mission
Our mission is to use the power of both written and spoken words to change the world. The goals we strive towards include peace, environmental responsibility, equality, freedom, and justice for all.
Our History
Poetic Justice began when our founder, Diana K. Serquina, attended a workshop called "Poems of Witness" by John Fox of the Institute for Poetic Medicine. She and a group of about a dozen other writers came together in Spokane, Washington for a half-day workshop, during which they read and wrote poetry about social justice issues, including the war in Iraq. The workshop was held on September 22, 2006, the day after the International Day of Peace, which had no formal observation in Spokane that year, to the dismay of many of the attendees at the workshop. At the close of the class, several members of the class expressed an interest in "taking it to the street" so that their words could be shared with a wider audience. Diana offered to plan an event for the following year's International Day of Peace, and to form a group of writers who were interested in that kind of event. The initial list of interested writers included many from that workshop. Since then, other poets from Spokane have expressed interest in the group, and thus Poetic Justice was born. Although we began as a local group, we welcome you to our online community no matter where you call home.
Founder/Editor in Chief: Diana K. Serquina
Diana has been writing poetry since childhood, and has been involved in various types of activism since her college days. She earned a BA in English from the University of Nebraska in 1992, and she is now pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Writing through Naropa University's low-residency program. In addition to her poetry, she writes personal essays, including a monthly parenting column for the Great Falls Tribune, a Montana newspaper. She is also a regular guest speaker at the North Idaho Unitarian Universalist Church.
She lives in Spokane, Washington, with her husband and son, where they attend the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane. Diana's activism springs directly from her Unitarian Universalist faith, theology, and principles, including her congregation's motto that "What We Do Matters." She is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Poets Cooperative, the National Association for Poetry Therapy, the American Academy of Poets, and the Poetry Society of America, as well as the WordGarden poetry group in Spokane. She is also the founder of and advisor for a local branch of the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots environmental and humanitarian program for youth.
Diana has had poetry published in local anthologies, and in small publications including Writer's Newsletter, Snake River Reflections, and Thirteen Poetry Magazine. In addition to the monthly column she writes for the Great Falls Tribune, and other articles published in their family section, she has written for newspapers, magazines, and online publications including the UU World, the Yuma Sun, Career World, TZero, Essential Assistant, Blade Magazine, Brew, Laptop Magazine, Computer Buyer's Guide, and PC Novice. She was the guest poet on the Spokane Open Poetry Program on Thin Air Community Radio (KYRS) on June 18, 2006, and on August 5, 2007 . |
