Lisa Kamolnick
Lisa Kamolnick caught the poetry bug in elementary school but didn’t begin a structured practice of poetry until 2019.
“I love how poetry asks you to be awake to your world then uniquely express what is real and true. Writing a poem can be like tackling an impossible-to-solve puzzle. It’s maddening. But when a poem finally comes together or if it flows out as if it were channeled through you? That’s magic,” she says.
Kamolnick writes free verse and other forms. She chooses the form to meet a submission requirement, because the form is suited to the topic, or it’s the “shiny new thing” that caught her attention.
Her training includes a bachelor’s in English from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, and the poetry community.
“The poetry community is full of generous teachers. I attend writing workshops, critique workshops and open mics. I read poetry and books on craft. These activities stretch my knowledge base and provide practical experience. I also lead a critique group, co-host an open mic, serve in society leadership roles and occasionally lead workshops.
“Teachers, professors and poetry-loving friends have introduced me to poets, styles, forms — and the list keeps growing. From haiku masters to contemporary poets, I find inspiration for topics, structure, voice and other poetic elements,” she says.
Kamolnick is fascinated with human nature, the human condition and the natural world. If she pays attention, almost anything can spark a poem. She starts with an inspiration or prompt. Some poems move fast, but her normal pace is slow, often with many revisions. Some poems take years to finish. She isn’t sure poems are ever really finished. She has even revised some of her published poems.
When a poem is ready, she submits and waits for results. She is in an online group that provides accountability and encouragement for members to reach 100 rejections in a year.
She serves as Poetry Society of Tennessee’s president. From high school students to senior citizens, their members range from beginners to Poets Laureate. They live across Tennessee and beyond. Poets find a supportive community with opportunities to learn, grow and be published and promoted. Those interested can learn and connect at www.poetrytennessee.org.
Her recent work has been published in Abyss and Apex, Rawhead Journal, Slipstream, Tennessee Voices Anthology, Cadence, Emerald Coast Review and Encore. “[un]masked,” which appeared in Black Moon Magazine, was nominated for Best of the Net.
For more information about Kamolnick, visit www.lisakamolnick.com.
Relapse
You hover; smile like starshine
alongside the inviting aroma
of basil and tomatoes,
when you take a turn
in our tiny kitchen
and lose your way. How strange
to become disoriented
in such a familiar place. A glitch
of physics? Dark magic
disappearing act? How tragic
this disordered rearrangement—
you, missing without clues.
I hear the sudden snap
of an aluminum tab
and the universe crackles,
tears open, splits atoms, stirs
a room around, becomes a black hole
laced in amber with white fizz.
A hint of hops and barley hangs
mid-air, then dissipates, moves past
my hesitation, stretches to singularity.
Your mouth, a flash of recognition amid
countertop tilt. Now everywhere I turn, the dark
pulls away—you, me, the smell of this place.
First published in Abyss & Apex, Issue 95: 3rd Quarter 2025
(reprinted with permission)
