While she loves writing poetry, the challenging act of “paring and refining” her efforts is as enjoyable and intellectually challenging, Roane State Community College assistant professor of English DeAnna Stephens said.

Stephens’ poem, “Bundt Season,” was recently a finalist in the prestigious Lascaux Review. That literary journal provides a showcase for emerging and established writers and artists whose talents have lingering impacts.

Her poem “deals with the rituals surrounding death, and the complex ties we maintain with family,” said Stephens, who said she wrote her first poem when she was 13.

“I am drawn to poetry…because it connects the individual experience to the universal in a way that is different from other genres,” she said. [Read more…]