“These poems, fruits of a lifetime, take us so many places, from former Yugoslavia and Paris to ‘the up and down of everyday,’ and into so many corners of the heart.”
— Katha Pollitt
Thanks to the Jewish Book Council for publishing my essay: How to Write Truths: Between Poetry and Journalism
A life-long commitment to social evolution — and, occasionally, revolution — animates the poems in Jo-Ann Mort’s debut collection, A Precise Chaos. Moving from Mostar to Oaxaca, Paris to Taormina, Poland to Israel/ Palestine, Mort’s peripatetic poems reflect her experiences as a trade union activist, a political organizer, and a peace activist in the Middle East. Refusing to evade the hard questions called for by a life honestly examined, she asks: “We, who are so righteous./Where does it lead us?”
My interview with Lara Stecewycz of Arrowsmith Press on A Precise Chaos.
“Jo-Ann Mort’s poems move with astonishing mastery between
the exigencies of history and the intensities of private life.”
–Brian Morton
Recent Articles
How to Write Truths: Between Poetry and Journalism
June 02, 2025 • Jewish Book Council
Upcoming Events
I’m thrilled to be the kick-off guest for the Garden Series at Carrie Lindsey Beauty this Tuesday, June 10th, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn for a "celebration of the clients and local artists who inspire us and elevate our communal consciousness".
I will be in conversation with another Carrie Lindsey client and fellow author Heidi Smith . The conversation will begin at 6:30 with a reading from the book to follow.
Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Past Events
Book Launch
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Cambridge, MA
And here’s a rough cut video of my Brooklyn reading, co-hosted by Community Bookstore and Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope