Mike Bernhardt

Editor • Poet • Travel Writer

Buy

Voices is a Five-Star Reader’s Favorite!

October 5, 2021 No Comments

Voices of the Grieving Heart received a 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite, an independent review forum! Read the review below, or find it on the readersfavorite.com website:

Voices of the Grieving Heart by Mike Bernhardt is a compilation of work that allows a reader to meditate through the words of others during a time that is often the most difficult of our short lives. This is, of course, the grieving process following the death of someone we love. Bernhardt has carefully constructed this book with pieces contributed by other writers and artists, a collaboration that provides a range of touching entries that, in one form or another, readers of all backgrounds can connect with. Broken down into eight sections, Bernhardt gives readers poetic solace with pieces such as Dixie Pines’ heartbreaking ode to suicide in “How So?” to Maggie Jackson’s “My Next Love,” which depicts the defiant desire to love freely against the unrealistic determination to never feel pain again.

I had to set Voices of the Grieving Heart aside for the whole of last week as it touched upon my own grief following the recent loss of a loved one. It was my husband who started to read it out loud to me. Mike Bernhardt gave me a soothing ointment for the soul, and I am grateful for it. The artwork is gorgeous, with several pieces of photography by Cassandra English being the standouts. The sheer volume of contributors is mind-boggling with a headcount of eighty-three. It’s a tribe of individuals coming together as a collective in solidarity and in grief, but also in hope. It is permission to take all the time and space necessary to accept life, moving forward with a chunk of your heart missing, but also a bit of hand-holding so you know that when you are ready, there are others willing to listen. This is a beautiful anthology of work and I imagine many will find solace in its beautiful effort to help heal.

Herzlich Willkommen

September 22, 2021 No Comments

I first met Britta in the late 1990s, when she was only eight. Her father had died the year before. Her mother, Veronika, had been friends with my wife Yvonne since they’d met in Munich when Yvonne worked there in the mid-1980s. But it was my first time in Germany, and also the first time for our infant son, whom Britta loved to entertain.

Britta’s face looked unmistakably German: round and pretty with rosy cheeks, curly blond hair, and–despite her loss–joyous, blue eyes. Britta spoke virtually no English but she took pleasure with her older brother, Johannes, in teaching me a few words of German—most notably lecker, which means “yummy.” The two kids laughed deliriously whenever I said it. I’m still not sure if they laughed out of delight in having taught me the word or because of the way I said it. …

Herzlich WillkommenRead More »

I Spoke about Grief and Poetry for NAPT Author’s Corner

September 14, 2021 No Comments

On September 12, I was honored to present a talk about Voices of the Grieving Heart at a monthly Author’s Corner event for the National Association for Poetry Therapy. The audience was primarily mental health professionals who use poetry to support their clients. We talked about grief, what people who are grieving need, and how reading—and writing—poems about our grief can be a mirror in which we can see ourselves with more understanding and compassion.

I read eight poems from Voices, and I led a writing exercise that participants found helpful. This edited video is about 38 minutes long.

If You Missed Our June 6th Event…

June 13, 2021 No Comments

Six contributors to Voices of the Grieving Heart read their poems at this moving and intimate event. We were joined by my friend John Fox as well as special guest Kris Kington-Barker, end-of-life doula and former Executive Director at Hospice of San Luis Obispo County.

You can watch a recording of the event here:

We Had a Wonderful Reading in the UK!

May 27, 2021 No Comments

On Zoom, of course. On May 23, five British contributors to Voices of the Grieving Heart read their poems, including some that are not in the book. Thank you so much to Rosemary Palmeira, Rose Drew, Maggie Jackson, Gill Garrett, and Yvonne Ugarte! I read a few poems as well, including one from a sixth British contributor who couldn’t make it, Lucy Trevitt.

We were joined by John Fox, founder and director of the Institute for Poetic Medicine. You can watch the recording here:

Reknowned Poet E. Ethelbert Miller Reads His Poem, “Words”

April 23, 2021 No Comments

We have a new project to collect video performances of contributors, reading their contributions to Voices of the Grieving Heart.

The first video comes from E. Ethelbert Miller, who reads his poem, Words. Ethelbert is a renowned writer and literary activist whose poetry has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. He is a two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist Program Fellow to Israel and has taught at several universities. He also hosts a weekly radio show in the Washington, DC area. His 2005 poem honoring HIV/AIDS caregivers, We Embrace, is engraved on the pavement surrounding a circular bench outside the Dupont Circle Metro station in Washington, DC. I’m grateful to him for his support of this project.

 

Recent News