BLOOM is an illustrated book of poetry released in 2015 with origins in the author's experience of cancer diagnosis and treatment. 100% of proceeds go to benefit rare cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Jay Erickson - author
Jay had studied poetry in college and written off and on when he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer in 2013. As part of coping with the diagnosis and treatment he began to write more regularly in order to understand and process the experience. He maintained a blog to keep friends and family informed and would occasionally post poems because they often seemed able to communicate what prose could not. He was encouraged to write more and joined Sloan Kettering’s Visible Ink program through which he was mentored by poet Mary Tautin Moloney. Jay is a musician, producer, entrepreneur, beekeeper, carpenter, wanderer and gardener. He lives in Pawling, NY with his wife, daughter, chickens, dog, bees and cat.
Kate Diago - illustrations
Kate lives in Brooklyn and spends a good amount of time wondering what her next meal will consist of. She has an MFA in Painting from Stony Brook University and enjoys the process of art making using a variety of media. In her spare time she frequents art galleries, attends to her plants and takes pleasure in adding objects to her collection of small treasures. More at katediago.com
Amber Hares - book design
Amber is an artist who on a usual day is involved with a book in some form--conserving, binding, designing, editing, writing or reading. She holds an MFA from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, NY. Weekdays are spent at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia where she lives with a small family of plants and dreams about having more time to whittle.
Mary Tautin Moloney - editor
Mary Tautin Moloney is a freelance writer and editor with an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College. Her work has appeared in Tar River Poetry and Quarterly West, among others, and she was selected as a Bread Loaf Bakeless Camargo Residency fellow in 2015. Originally from Wisconsin, Mary lives with her husband and two children in Maplewood, NJ. She dedicates her work on BLOOM to friend Diane deCavaignac, who inspired her involvement with Sloan Kettering’s Visible Ink program, and to all those writing in the spirit of Jay Erickson, with great courage and generosity.