Many aspiring poets dream about publishing their own collection one day but don’t know where to start. I’ve created a practical way to show them how it’s done. In under six months they co-author and publish a book with an experienced poet so that they can go out and do it for themselves.

Siaara's Extended Bio
Siaara Freeman was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, where she is the current Lake Erie Siren.
She was an early reader and her younger years were built on books. Theater soon found her and they got along marvelously, she began publicly performing poetry with Cleveland Playhouse at age fifteen, competing in the international teen competition Brave New Voices for four years.
She liked it so much she decided never to stop.
She has toured both nationally and internationally. Siaara has been the keynote speaker for Delta Mouth Poetry Festival , Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, Midway Music Festival , Norway Poetry Festival and others. She has been featured in For Harriet, Cleveland Magazine and elsewhere.
Her work appears in, West Trestle, The Offing, BOAAT, Tinderbox, Josephine Quarterly amongst other places.
She is the co-founder of Outsiders Queer Midwest Writers Retreat.
She is a 2022 Catapult Fellow with Cleveland Public theater.
She is a 2021 Premier Playwright fellow recipient with Cleveland Public theater.
She is a 2020 WateringHole Manuscript fellow, a 2018 winter tangerine chapbook fellow and a 2018 Poetry Foundation incubator fellow.She is a four year and PinkDoor fellow and staff member.
She is an educator & currently is the Curriculum Development Manager for a Cleveland based Art Org.
She has been an instructor with InsideOut Literary Arts, Twelve Literary Arts, Westside Community House Sisterhood Program, MetroHealth, and University Hospital.
She teaches allage groups and has taught within multiple grade schools and universities across the country.
.
Chances are she’s by a lake, thinking about Toni Morrison and talking to ghosts. In her spare time she is growing her afro so tall God can use it for a microphone and speak through her.
Siaara's Publications
“The Such Thing As The Ridiculous Question” -Split This Rock (2022) *nominated for Pushcart Prize
“In Attempts To Bring You Back”, “World in which the word Father is Replaced by Hood” * nominated for Pushcart Prize, and “Urbanshee Predicts The Birth Of Toni Morrison and Writes Her A Letter” -The Journal (2021)
“Haint Blue” -West Trestle Review (2020)
“Tiffany Haddish As A Recipe For Joy & Haint Green” -josephine quaterly (2021)
“Remembering Toni MOrrison: a short essay” Cleveland Magazine (2019) A Local Poet Remembers Toni Morrison
“When i speak of hunger” Offing 2019 aka the author speaks of necromancyhttps://theoffingmag.com/contributor/siaara-freeman/
“We Said I Love You, But I Think We Were Both Trying To Get The Last Word”- (b)OINK- http://boinkzine.com/author/siaara-freeman/ (2018)
“On Glorification”- BOAAT PRESS
Hexes for Your Exes- Button Poetry, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8j15NaVmc&t=51s (2017)
“Urban Girl Feed Her Heart To The Birds”Better American Poetry Volume 2 (2017)
“Upon Being Told It’s Not A Real Job Or The Siren Sees A Tiger Aboard A Ship & Makes A Metaphor” http://www.glass-poetry.com/journal/2018/march/freeman-upon.html (2018)
“Interview with Siaara Freeman”, Up the Staircase Quarterly https://www.upthestaircase.org/interview-with-siaara-freeman.html (2017)
“I Can Count to 10”- Jeff Taylor, Broken Head Press, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36131636-i-can-count-to-10-vol-2
“A Portrait in Blues”, Jayy Dodd, Platypus Press, http://platypuspress.co.uk/aportraitinblues (2017) th men want to know what is wrong with me
“I Met A Witch & She Gave Me A Name”-Three Drops from a Cauldron: Samhain 2017 (Print)
“A Sphinx Has A Bruise The Size Of A Coffin On Her Face.”, “O Negative Blood Receipt”- https://genius.com/albums/Drunk-in-a-midnight-choir/Issue-2-the-same-small-things
“But It Will Take”- Gingerbread House– https://gingerbreadhouselitmag.com/2017/11/30/6-2/ (2017)
“What is a wall”, “Alt Facts”, “Urban Black Girl Reads”- Poets Reading the News http://www.poetsreadingthenews.com/author/freeman/ (2017)
When I Bite My Tongue I Think of the Year I was Addicted to Xanax”- Cahoodling https://cahoodaloodaling.com/when-i-bite-my-tongue-i-think-of-the-year-i-was-addicted-to-xanax/
“My Mother Is An Enchanted Portrait (from Delphi Riddle To Bellatrix Black While in Azkababan)” ; “Joy Lane is Not Dead” – Wusgood Magazine http://wusgood.black/2017/05/featured-artist-siaara-freeman/ (2017)
“My Father’s Gone but one of his Friends Still Asked”- Door is a Jar Magazine. https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B073RTTP4P&tag=bing08-20&linkCode=kpp&reshareId=G6YRPEKE2ZYZ4EF55EQE&reshareChannel=system (2017)
“It Is Hard To Tell Someone On Fire That You Are Drowning”-Hermeneutic Chaos Literary Journal- http://www.hermeneuticchaosjournal.com/it-is-hard-to-tell-someone-on-fire-that-you-are-drowning-by-siaara-freeman.html (2017)
“The Jokes Are All In My Head “- Slamchop
“Urban Girl Is Her Own Nemesis Or What To Do” and “Urban Girl & The One Night”- Pinch Journal (print issue) (2017)
“Someone Asked Me If My Hair Was Mine Today”-Ghost City Press https://ghostcitypress.com/poetry-4/2017/11/30/siaara-freeman (2017)
“Urban Girl & The Origin Story; Urban Girl & The (Urban) Urban Legend” milk journal
“Urban Girl Finds,” “Urban Girl Loses,” & “A Pissy Couch”- Black Napkin
“The Girl Is From The Hood”- 3 Elements Review- http://www.3elementsreview.com/journal-issues/3elements-review-winter-journal-issue-13-2017.pdf (2017)
“The Sun Was Forced Into Early Retirement”, “What Was Taken Out and Rereleased”, “Cannibal Capers” and “Things I Traded in the 90’s and Early 2000’s”- Freezeray Poetry http://www.freezeraypoetry.com/siaara-freeman.html (2017)
Inside My Stalker’s Religion, Inside, After My Cousin Quez Was Murdered, The Signs Of The Negropocolypse, Gramma
“The Odd Couple: Hufflepuff and Slytherin Talk Friendship”- Black Nerd Problems- http://blacknerdproblems.com/the-odd-couple-hufflepuff-and-slytherin-talk-friendship/ (2017)
“Collection of Micropoems”-Rinky Dink Press, (2016)
“Urban Girl Upon Identifying Her Father’s Dead Body”, “Urban Girl Speak on Death”, “Urban Girl Writes Another Poem About Her Dead Father”- Black Napkin Press (2016)
Urban Girl Writes Her City’s Name on Tomorrow- Up the Staircase Quarterly https://www.upthestaircase.org/siaara-freeman.html (2016)
“Urban Girl Writes A Poem After She Hears About The Pulse OR Her Heart Breaks & The Poem Splits In 2” and “Urban Girl & the Answer-less Hearts”- Glass Poetry Press http://www.glass-poetry.com/journal/pulse/freeman-splits.html (2016)
“Urban Girl & The Origin Story”, “Urban Girl Thinks of What Her Mother Must Think…”, “Urban Girl Describes 3 Close Encounters with Death” and “Urban Girl Finally Responds to Your Mama Jokes”- Theories of HER anthology, Mercurial Noodle Press https://www.amazon.com/Theories-HER-experimental-Various-Authors-ebook/dp/B01LZYD50T (2016)
“For Amber Rose, A Reclaiming, Because I Could Not Be A Good Girl”–cahoodaloodaling’s Trigger Warning http://cahoodaloodaling.com/issue-20-trigger-warning/ (2016)
“Lavender, Stepped On”, “He Is Named Incorrectly After A Joke That Is Named Incorrectly After A City That Is Really Named Incorrectly After A Man”; “Gerald Johannsen Being Interviewed By Riley Freeman On The *N Word*”, “Ode to Dijonay Yvonne Jones of “The Proud Family” (who was originally to be named *Delinquenetta*)”, Freezeray Poetry http://www.freezeraypoetry.com/siaara-freeman1.html (2016)
“Urban Girl & The Pending Blood”, “Urban Girl Catches A Glance Of Herself In The Mirror Before Stripping”- Balkan Press (print issue, 2016)
“Urban Girl Feeds Her Heart to the Birds”- Tinderbox Poetry- https://tinderboxpoetry.com/urban-girl-feeds-her-heart-to-the-birds (2016)
“Urban Girl Gets Slut Shamed or How Cleopatra Must Have Felt In Rome”- Crabfat Magazine; http://crabfatmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CFM-QPOC-COMPLETE.pdf (2016)
“The Spoils of War”- Chicago Literati -nhttps://chicagoliterati.com/2015/05/11/the-spoils-of-war-by-siaara-freeman/ (2015)
Therapy in Creativity: How One Poet Uses Art for Protest and Healing http://theculture.forharriet.com/2015/07/therapy-in-creativity-how-one-poet-uses.html (2015)
?Button Poetry Intro Page https://buttonpoetry.com/siaara-freeman/
https://getlitanthology.org/poemdetail/205/ GetLitAnthology-Urban Girls Writes Another Poem about Her Dead Father
Videos/ Podcasts
The Drug Dealer’s Daughter- Button Poetry, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsTUP-uUmns (2014)
Hexes For Your Exes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8j15NaVmc
Orange Is The New Blood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxPpYCg0m6g
Urban girl writes her cities name on tommorow
Siaara Freeman | Greyt Big Talk | Podcasts on Audible | Audible.com
Picturing Motherhood Now Cle Museum of Art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvvMuCFmuew
Create Your World ClePubLibrary https://youtu.be/Kgr-vIHNn1U
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zami-w-siaara-freeman/id1528426440?i=1000502773066 Queer Discourse with Lou Barret
Special appearances:
Delta Mouth Poetry Festival Keynote
Kalamazoo Poetry Festival Keynote
Midway Music Festival Keynote
Norway Poetry Festival Keynote
Siaara has appeared at multiple universities,
Including but not limited to:
Oberlin. The Ohio State, Allegheny College, Michigan State, Louisiana State, Penn State, and more
Siaara's Videos

Your Publishing Guide – David Tensen
Australian poet David Tensen brings form and beauty to our deep spiritual yearnings. Drawing from decades of experience in pastoral care and spiritual development, his poems have found their way into hearts of every age across the globe. Raw, honest, accessible and prophetic, David’s writings both uncover pain and bring healing to it.
“I founded Poetry Chapel after publishing my third book. My collections were selling well but writing can be a lonely experience and I have always believed poetry should be experienced communally. My background in therapy and business gave me the small group and tools to see Poetry Chapel become a wild success. I can’t wait to encourage and empower you to prosper and heal in your poetry writing journey.”
THE QUICK FACTS
Here’s what we do together over 5-6 months starting May 2023:
- Create a supportive, encouraging and healing community.
- Gather via Zoom 10 times.
- Share and submit poems for feedback.
- Write poems covering themes / prompts.
- Publish a collection of poems in a softcover and eBook that will be available worldwide.
I’d like to serve you by:
- Creating a safe space for you to explore and improve your gift.
- Pointing you towards voices and resources to help you discover your own style and story.
- Coach you through the self-publishing process using major print-on-demand services.
- Being available to answer your questions.
- Getting your name out there by leveraging my network and influence.
Cost: $1690 US Dollars (USD).
Still interested? Read on… application button here and at bottom of page.
Previous Collective Author’s Testimonials.

Nicole C.
“The opportunity to take part in the Poetry Chapel Collective was a transformative, encouraging, supportive experience.
… I rediscovered my voice.”

Carly C.
“I’m proud of what we created together and of how much growth we experienced individually and collectively with David as our guide.”

Andrew C. A.
“This was a course of unexpected surprises and tests that prompted change in the ability and scope of my written expression, and heart motive for doing so.”
THE LONGER FACTS, DATES AND TIMES
We have several goals for our time together. Firstly, to gather and share our collective life experiences using poetry as a common language. Secondly, to show you how to self-publish a book. Thirdly, to give you the opportunity to have several your poems featured in a collection which we’ll print and release in time for Christmas. We’ll elaborate some more and hopefully answer some questions along the way.
Gathering and Stretching:
Poetry can move us in ways that prose and instruction cannot. One of our highest priorities will be to foster psychological safety, which is why we will be selecting participants as best possible and modelling vulnerability and inclusion. This is not a College course or lecture on poetry, but we will certainly discuss some of the practical aspects of writing poetry for private and public spaces. You will receive constructive feedback on your poems, but there are no marks or grading. It will be an immersive and diverse experience aimed towards healing and discovery of the genius in you. As mentioned earlier, you’ll be given homework most weeks which may include things like writing poems for others or writing from prompts. We hope to be a coach or mentor for you in this space.
Self-publishing know-how:
Throughout the course, Siaara and David will be sharing the tools, services, and methods I used to release their 6 collective books. Our hope is, by the time we’ve finished, you’ll be empowered to perhaps publish books of your own. No, you don’t need a big-name publisher to endorse and promote you anymore. You don’t need thousands of dollars and room under your bed for boxes of unsold books. Print-on-demand has disrupted the book market and you’ll be given insight into the whole process as we write and publish a book together. In our first course, one of the new poets, Franki, published his own collection, with my help and encouragement.
Creating a collection together:
We envisage a collection of around 70 poems available in soft-cover and eBook on the market for Christmas – (depending which intake you sign up for). The first half of the book will be poems Siaara will have written, the second half will be a collection of poems from participants. This will mean, for example, you’ll have a single author profile page with a little about you (socials, other books, background) followed by 3-6 poems you have written during or before the course. We’ll be vetting these poems for suitability and quality to make sure they suit the feel, length and genre of the collection. Here is where you may have several questions so I’ll answer what I can below in the FAQs
COST
$1,690.00 US Dollars.
This amount will be payable 100% up-front
or 50% up-front ($845) and the remainder over 13 weeks ($70 p/w) total $1755.
* Because demand is high and spots are limited, a holding/booking fee of USD$140 will be required if you are accepted. This can be deducted from the upfront fee or 2 of the weekly fees.
If you cancel your spot this holding fee is non-refundable.
If the course is cancelled, holding fee money will be refunded.
This price includes:
- Access to all ZOOM sessions.
- 5 softcover books shipped to you.
- Cost price + shipping + 15% on further book buys (min order 5) for 12 months.
DATES AND TIMES – 2023
Saturdays at 12pm and Sundays at 4pm EST from May 20th- August 5th with breaks the weeks of June 17th/18th and July 22nd/23nd.
Date | Event |
Sat May 20/ Sun May 21 | ZOOM Gathering 1 |
Sat May 27/ Sun May 28
|
ZOOM Gathering 2 |
Sat June 3/ Sun Jun 4
|
ZOOM Gathering 3 |
Sat June 10/ Sun June 11
|
ZOOM Gathering 4 |
OFF Sat Jun 17/ OFF Sun Jun 18
|
OFF |
Sat Jun 24/ Sun Jun 25
|
ZOOM Gathering 5 |
Sat July 1/ Sun July 2
|
ZOOM Gathering 6 |
Sat July 8/ Sun July 9
|
ZOOM Gathering 7 |
Sat July 15/ Sun July 16
|
ZOOM Gathering 8 |
OFF Sat July 22/ OFF Sun July 23
|
OFF |
Sat July 29/ Sun July 30
|
ZOOM Gathering 9 |
Sat Aug 5/ Sun Aug 6
|
ZOOM Gathering 10 |
Sat August 12 (No Zoom) | FINAL DRAFT OF ALL POEMS DUE |
Sat 26 Aug (no Zoom) | BOOK LAUNCH TEAM START |
Sat Oct 21, 2023 (No Zoom) | BOOK LAUNCH DAY |
You can choose to attend one or both of these gatherings every week. Two sessions are hosted weekly to suit international time zones.
WEEKLY SESSION 1
EDT/EST, Eastern Daylight Time (US)
12:00p Saturdsays
PDT/PST, Pacific Daylight Time (US)
9:00a Saturdays
LONDON, United Kingdom, England
5:00p Saturdays
MELBOURNE, Australia
2:00a Sundays,
WEEKLY SESSION 2
EDT/EST, Eastern Daylight Time (US)
4:00p Sundays
PDT/PST, Pacific Daylight Time (US)
1:00p Sundays
LONDON, United Kingdom, England
9:00p Sundays
MELBOURNE, Australia
6:00a Mondays
Post publishing surveys indicated increases in:
Overall wellbeing 94%. Confidence in writing 91%.
Confidence to self-publish 85%.
Transformational 91%. Overall satisfaction 97%
FAQs TO READ
1. Will I get any books at the end?
As part of the course, you’ll be shipped 5 copies of the book for free. Do with them as you please.
2. Will I get royalties from the book sale?
No book sale royalties will be given to those who offer their poems for the collection. You will retain copyright to the poems you put in the collection, but you’ll be given a rights release form to sign – giving David Tensen the right to publish them in the book with no monetary recourse. If you ever have a poem published in a book or magazine, you will understand this is common practice. E.g. David and Siarra’s poems appear throughout publications, of which the value is in the exposure and collective influence of the other authors. If you do not want a poem in the book, you’ll be under no pressure to do so. It’s a ‘get too’ not a ‘have too’.
3. What if I want more book copies? And can I sell them?
What we can offer those who want more than the 5 copies included, is an opportunity to order more to be printed and shipped at a price of cost (which you’ll discover) plus 15% admin. This means for example you may want to buy 20 copies as gifts. Let’s say they cost $7 each wholesale plus $20 shipping. The cost will be $160 plus 15% ($24) admin fee for me to arrange the print and ship. Selling the books in person (at your church or among friends) is OK but you will not be allowed to sell them online via a website etc. That will be reserved for myself and the retailers the book goes out too. This wholesale cost will be available to you for 12 months after the publication date.
4. Where will the book be available to buy?
Wherever you can find Poetry Chapel Collections (there are 3) is a great indication. Basically, all over the world via Amazon etc. Bookshops are another story, but we’ll talk about that during the course.
5. Will my name appear on the book cover?
Yes, you’ll be listed as a contributor to the collection with your name appearing on the back cover and in the description of the book sold by online retailers. Siaara will remain as the main author and will be featured on the spine. ( If you want to remain anonymous, you may use a suitable pseudonym. )
6. What sort of poems will be excluded from the book?
For no other reason than personal preference, conviction, and the readership I’ve been establishing over the past 5 years of releasing poems I will not be including poems which are are violent in nature and tone. In style, most poems in my books are free form and/or contain rhyme but lengthy rhyme-based poems are not the main style I’ll be stretching you to write throughout the course. Having said that, if you are the next William Blake or Wordsworth exceptions can be made.
We’ll be leaning into your personal capacity for lament, love, empathy, and the human experience together. The poems will be vetted by Siaara and David for the inclusion in the publication so there is a sense of consistency in style and tone. The collection will most likely include language that may offend some readers or participants. If it goes against personal ethic or moral standards to participate in this kind of expression, this course may not be for you. In other words, there will likely be colourful language and themes in this collection.
7. What will the book be called?
No idea yet.. Title and theme generally emerge during the writing and collating phase. Doing this together will be a journey of discovery for us all. Collective consciousness is a fascinating thing.
8. Do I get a say in the artwork etc?
I hope to include you in the cover artwork process, but the final decision will lie with me. I can’t see 10+ creatives all agreeing on a single cover. Plus, there is a cover style on my previous books I hope to keep some continuity with.
9. Do I have to publish a poem in the book?
As mentioned under the royalties FAQ, if you do not want poems in the book, you’ll be under no pressure to do so. I hope most participants do, though. By the way, there is no change in price for those choosing not to have poems published in the book.
STILL INTERESTED? WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
If you’ve read everything and this sounds like something you’d love to be part of Poetry Chapel Vol. 4 Collection, this is the form to fill out.