"Speech and poetry are fundamentally rooted in the ecosystem—"

the detritus of fallen leaves, the curvature of a river bend, and the sound of rain on a heron’s wings. When we speak or write poetry that engages these voices we become participant in the patterns of the watershed.

About the Press

About the Press

Hiraeth Press is a publisher with a mission.

Poetry is the language of the Earth—not just poems but the slow flap of a heron’s wings across the sky, the lightning of its beak hunting in the shallow water; autumn leaves and the smooth course of water over stones and gravel. These, as much as poems, communicate the being and meaning of things. Our publications are all poetry, whether they are poems or nonfiction, and reflect the ideal that falling in love with the Earth is nothing short of revolutionary and that through our relationship to wild nature we can birth a more enlightened vision of life for the future. We are passionate about poetry as a means of returning the human voice to the polyphonic chorus of the wild.

Written River

Written River

Written River is a literary journal published bi-annually by Hiraeth Press which focuses on poetry and non-fiction prose exploring nature and our relationship to it.  Published on the Summer and Winter Solstices in digital format, we strive to encourage the discipline of eco-poetics and return the voice of the poet to the body of the Earth.  Eco-poetics is poetry in which the energy of the ecosystem flows through the poem, creating a written river of words which ebbs with the creativity of the entire Earth community.  Written River marks the confluence of many streams and many voices as they flow back into the nourishing ground of the watershed.

Our Titles

Our Titles

We publish a range of poetry and nonfiction dedicated to exploring our relationship with the earth. Our titles reflect our mission to participate in the re-creation of our culture in full participation with the earth community. Our nonfiction titles represent a diversity of perspectives on the topic of ecology, spirituality, and place-based literature. Each of our poetry collections, in their own way, ask “what use  are poets in times of need?” answering in voices of rivers and stones. Our books are food: come browse our collection and nourish yourself.