Welcome to the June 2019 Blue Heron Review Feature! We are delighted to shine a spotlight on the work of author Shawn Aveningo Sanders, this month. Sanders is the co-founder of The Poetry Box® press, as well as managing editor for The Poeming Pigeon. Her forthcoming chapbook is, What She Was Wearing.

Shawn Aveningo Sanders shares with us poems of depth, vulnerability, and courage. She manages to skillfully, and with great sensitivity, approach topics of loss and pain, with a gentle touch. Through beautiful, honest details, we see into the life of things and the human struggles faced every day.

Please visit the Blue Heron Review Featured Author page of our site, to read 3 sample poems by Shawn Aveningo Sanders, and to learn more about her wonderful work in the poetry community!

(photo credit: Robert R Sanders Photography)

Shawn Aveningo Sanders started out as show-me girl from Missouri and after a bit of globetrotting finally landed in Portland, Oregon, where she miraculously overcame her fear of birds upon meeting two baby juncos in her backyard. Shawn’s work has appeared in over 140 literary journals and anthologies. She’s a Pushcart nominee (2015), Best of the Net nominee (2017), co-founder of The Poetry Box® press, as well as managing editor for The Poeming Pigeon. She was named Best Female Poet-Performer in Sacramento News & Review Reader Poll (2009) and was winner of the first poetry slam in Placerville, California (2012). Shawn is a proud mother of three amazing adults, and she shares the creative life with her husband. You can learn more about her at RedShoePoet.com.