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Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
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Meet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer lives with her husband and daughter in Placerville, Colorado, on the banks of the wild and undammed San Miguel River. She served as San Miguel County’s first poet laureate (2007-2011) and as Western Slope Poet Laureate (2015-2017) and was a finalist for Colorado Poet Laureate in 2019.

Devoted to helping others explore their creative potential, Rosemerry is the co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast on creative process , co-founder of Secret Agents of Change (a surreptitious kindness cabal), and co-leader of Soul Writers Circle. She also directed the Telluride Writers Guild for ten years and co-hosted Telluride’s Talking Gourds Poetry Club.

She teaches and performs poetry for mindfulness retreats, women’s retreats, teachers, addiction recovery programs, scientists, hospice, literary burlesque and more. Clients include Camp Coca Cola, Craig Hospital, Business & Professional Women, Deepak Chopra, Think 360, Ah Haa School, Desert Dharma, Well for the Journey, and the Women’s Dermatological Society.

She performs as a storyteller, including shows in Aspen at the Wheeler Opera House, at the Taos Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. Her TEDx talk explores changing our outdated metaphors.

She believes in the power of practice and has been writing a poem a day since 2006. Her daily poems can be found at https://ahundredfallingveils.com/. Favorite themes in her poems include parenting, gardening, ecology, love, science, thriving/failure, grief and daily life.

She has 12 collections of poetry, and her work has appeared in O Magazine, A Prairie Home Companion, PBS News Hour, American Life in Poetry, on fences, in back alleys, on Carnegie Hall Stage and on hundreds of river rocks she leaves around town. Her poems have been used for choral works by composers Paul Fowler and Jeffrey Nytch and performed around America. Her most recent collection, Hush, won the Halcyon prize. Naked for Tea was a finalist for the Able Muse Book Award. Other books include Even Now, The Miracle Already Happening, The Less I Hold and If You Listen, a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. In April 2023, Samara Press will release her next collection, All the Honey.

She’s won the Fischer Prize, Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge (thrice), the Dwell Press Solstice Prize, the Writer’s Studio Literary Contest (twice) and The Blackberry Peach Prize. She’s anthologized in Poetry of Presence, How to Love the World, The Path to Kindness, Send My Roots Rain, What Wildness Is This, Come Together: Imagine Peace and To Love One Another.

She’s been an organic fruit grower, a newspaper and magazine editor, and a parent educator for Parents as Teachers. She’s now writing a novel. She earned her MA in English Language & Linguistics at UW-Madison. One-word mantra: Adjust. Three-word mantra: I’m still learning.

Slipping Into Something a Little Less Comfortable: The art of changing metaphors: That was the theme of my TEDx talk in Paonia, Colorado, in February. How might you change your life (and the world!) if you could identify and change just one of the metaphors framing your thoughts? Watch the TEDx talk—and share it with your friends!

Resume & Bibliography

Resume – Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Bibliography – Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Headshots

Click the images below to download a full resolution version. Please credit Joanie Schwarz.

Interviews

Interview with Laurie Wagner on daily inspiration and imperfectionism
Interview on Process and Daily Poems with Bill Pearse
Why Try Poetry?—DGO Magazine
On Inspiration, Egg Sacs & the Communion of Poets: interview with Kaye Lynne Booth.
Tethered by Letters
A 10-Question Self Interview in The Nervous Breakdown
A Conversation on Envy and Creativity with Christie Aschwanden

Articles

Virtual Tour of a Playshop
A Little More on Yes: 3 Good Books
An article on the poets of San Miguel County, Telluride Magazine
Poet Erika Gordon talks about Rosemerry and recites Rosemerry’s poems

Audio

Interview on Shelter in Place
Interview and reading on Rattlecast
Interview on Poetry Voice Podcast
Rigorous Willingness on KDNK
Biographical Interview on the
Jane Crown Show  
How to Unknow Something on KSJD

Video

SHYFT in Perspective: A 40-minute poetry prompt class on resilience
Stubborn Praise: A reading with Rosemerry, James Crews and Danusha Laméris 
Gateway to the Unknown: A free 40-minute poetry prompt class 
On Play, Daily Poeming, Metaphor & More: An interview & reading on Rattlecast 
It’s About Time for a Good Time: A reading and conversation with poet Jack Ridl
How Shall We Live Now? Here I read with authors Amy Irvine and Craig Childs
Pandemic Poems? Here I share three.
What Is the Role of Poetry in the Pandemic? On April 3, 2020, I did an online reading with Albert Flynn DeSilver and explored this.
Prompts for Writing in the Pandemic? I did a live class for the Ah Haa School, and here you can watch the recording.
Poetry Off the Page: I am a big fan of performance poems, and it was a thrill to win the Live Performance at BlackBerry Peach Performance Poetry Prize this year … the video of the award ceremony (and performances) is now available on You Tube.
Change Your Metaphor, Change Your Life: Alan Wartes and Issa Forrest have the most remarkable radio/video show, Interview on Metaphors and Creative Process on Think Radio, and here they interview me about metaphors and showing up vulnerably.
Interview on Poetry and Living in Telluride on Telluride TV: I was recently interviewed on Telluride TV by Elissa Dickson, and we talked of how I came to live in this remote town and how poetry shapes my life here.

Live Performance at Wellspring of Imagination 2017
Live performance in collaboration with dancers, cello, piano, poets, musicians
Live performance at Ziggies in Denver, reading from The Miracle Already Happening
Live ½ Hour Poetry Performance on Comcast Channel 54
Five-minute excerpt from Poets Co-op TV Show
Poetry discussion with Catalyst High School
Rosemerry Choreographs a Spontaneous Production of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

Praise for Rosemerry

Rosemerry touched their hearts.

Our students and staff benefited so much from Rosemerry’s visit. In just one afternoon of writing with her, people were surprised at how much they learned about their writing and their own process. She created a safe place where people were willing to risk. And the performance: Wow. I’ll never think of a sonnet the same again. Rosemerry has a way of grabbing the audience and delivering poetry in a way that makes it feel urgent and fun. As one woman said, ‘In my work, I just touch the surface of people. Rosemerry touches their hearts.’

Ruth Hackford-Peer
Associate Director of Student Life, Adams State College

Revel in your own creativity.

To participate in one of Rosemerry’s poetry playshops, or to listen to one of her beautiful presentations, is an invitation to revel in your own creativity. She welcomes her audience into a landscape of words with a generous and irrepressible spirit, and speaks with a boundless compassion. Her love of poetry reaches out and connects with her listeners, opening a space with her audience that invites them to consider themselves, and their art, and their world, in new ways. To hear Rosemerry share her poetry is a felt gift. Her listeners cannot escape being touched.

Melissa Stacey
co-founder and organizer, Writers and Scribblers Literary Retreat

I think you have shifted the consciousness of my entire client base.

For this, and many other things, I thank you. You are perhaps the most professional person I’ve ever worked with. I’m amazed.

Craig Soren Nielson
Rural Community Assistance Corporation

Through poetry, humor & song, Rosemerry brings the room to life.

Her highly interactive approach gives each child the opportunity to become a participant in a beautiful, creative experiment. With the support of Rosemerry, children are allowed to shine, to sing, to be silly – to be themselves, and everyone in the room leaves with the knowledge that living in this space of openness is always a possibility.

Erika Gordon
Coordinator for enrichment programming, Ridgway Elementary School

Wow, what a great response to both your reading and workshop.

Almost with tears in their eyes. Really. I have to tell you what was most mentioned as your fans applauded you; your family life, your reactions and theirs; it felt and sounded so real and most all of us have children so we all could relate. Unforgettable, you are.

Kathy Berg
Cortez Public Library, Poetry Corner Presents

My Books

Upcoming Events

Apr 18 2023
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Lunch Book Launch for All the Honey

Apr 25 2023
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

All the Honey with Ford & Fitzroy at Sherbino

Apr 29 2023
11:00 am - 2:00 pm

The Poetry of Truth: Writing What Truly Matters

Zoom
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A Poem a Day

RSS A Hundred Falling Veils

  • Time Away from Posting, Link to The Poetic Path, and Link to Launch for All the Honey April 18 April 1, 2023
    Dear friends,  Every year I take two weeks off in April to be with my family and not post poems. As always, when i return I will post a big bouquet of all the daily poems I’ve written while away … and then the daily posting will resume again–April 16.  If you are missing a […]

More from: A Daily Dose of Poetry

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Praise for Rosemerry

Wow, what a great response to both your reading and workshop.

Almost with tears in their eyes. Really. I have to tell you what was most mentioned as your fans applauded you; your family life, your reactions and theirs; it felt and sounded so real and most all of us have children so we all could relate. Unforgettable, you are.

Kathy Berg
Cortez Public Library, Poetry Corner Presents

Rosemerry, thank you.

For the first time in a long time I was moved to be creative and to use writing as a tool for healing. I could feel my stagnation begin to melt away in the Light that was presented today. I’ve been freeing up some space lately and asking that it be filled with people and things that inspire me to be the best version of myself and that is exactly what happened today.

Jackie
workshop participant

Revel in your own creativity.

To participate in one of Rosemerry’s poetry playshops, or to listen to one of her beautiful presentations, is an invitation to revel in your own creativity. She welcomes her audience into a landscape of words with a generous and irrepressible spirit, and speaks with a boundless compassion. Her love of poetry reaches out and connects with her listeners, opening a space with her audience that invites them to consider themselves, and their art, and their world, in new ways. To hear Rosemerry share her poetry is a felt gift. Her listeners cannot escape being touched.

Melissa Stacey
co-founder and organizer, Writers and Scribblers Literary Retreat

I think you have shifted the consciousness of my entire client base.

For this, and many other things, I thank you. You are perhaps the most professional person I’ve ever worked with. I’m amazed.

Craig Soren Nielson
Rural Community Assistance Corporation

Insightful, energizing, and entertaining.

Rosemerry, thank you so much for your inspirational program. The members of the American Business Women’s Association in Montrose left with fresh ideas on improving their work-a-day world and smiles on their faces.

Mavis Bennett
President, American Business Women’s Association, Black Canyon Charter Chapter

Through poetry, humor & song, Rosemerry brings the room to life.

Her highly interactive approach gives each child the opportunity to become a participant in a beautiful, creative experiment. With the support of Rosemerry, children are allowed to shine, to sing, to be silly – to be themselves, and everyone in the room leaves with the knowledge that living in this space of openness is always a possibility.

Erika Gordon
Coordinator for enrichment programming, Ridgway Elementary School

An extraordinary teacher and gifted poet.

Rosemerry’s talents have helped me achieve my dream of more publication. But what is most important to me is that I have learned to write with more confidence and understand more about how to craft deeper poems about deeper subjects. I have experienced healing, safety, trust, and fun in working with Rosemerry. When I bring a poem to her, I know she will continue to find ways to help me expand my creative potential. She never runs out of great ideas.

Phyllis Klein

An amazing talent to open up people’s creative minds.

There is some kind of magic in your smile, your encouraging energy, and amazing talent to open up people’s creative minds. You have facilitated a bit of a renaissance in our building. I have felt warm, enthusiastic vibes from even some of our more reserved teachers today. Of course, the students have it now and are exuding the joy of words big time.

Vicki Phelps
4th and 6th grade science teacher, Naturita Elementary School

Rosemerry touched their hearts.

Our students and staff benefited so much from Rosemerry’s visit. In just one afternoon of writing with her, people were surprised at how much they learned about their writing and their own process. She created a safe place where people were willing to risk. And the performance: Wow. I’ll never think of a sonnet the same again. Rosemerry has a way of grabbing the audience and delivering poetry in a way that makes it feel urgent and fun. As one woman said, ‘In my work, I just touch the surface of people. Rosemerry touches their hearts.’

Ruth Hackford-Peer
Associate Director of Student Life, Adams State College

A Better Place

The world is a better place because of Trommer’s poems.

Colorado Central Magazine
cozine.com/2018-september/book-review-naked-for-tea/

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  • Home
  • Meet Rosemerry
  • Hire Rosemerry
    • Creative Consulting
    • Inspirational Keynotes
  • News
  • Books
  • Presentation Schedule
  • Poetry
    • A Daily Dose of Poetry
    • Words for You
    • You the Poet
  • Podcast
  • Get in Touch

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