Chera Van Falcon Burg
Chera Van Falcon Burg is a poet, filmmaker and psychologist. Her debut book of poetry, What We Can See, was published in 2024. She also produced the film, Call of Life, about the drivers of the current mass extinction crisis and its cultural and psychological underpinnings. The film won numerous awards, including the Best Science Communication Film at New Zealand's Reel Earth Film Festival. Chera was executive director of a non-profit environmental organization and presented on climate change at the UN. She has a doctorate in psychology, was a professor of psychology, and a psychologist/supervisor at San Quentin State Prison.
Poetry
What We Can See, May 2024, Four Windows Press
2024, Four Windows Press
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What We Can See is a 90-page book of poetry by Chera Van Falcon Burg, poet, psychologist, award-winning filmmaker and environmental activist. The poet and scholar, Estella Lauter, said, "This is a beautiful book of poems – full of captivating images, astute insights into human psychology, compelling observations of the natural world and wisdom about our place in it." In his analysis of the book, Chicago poet, jazz musician, and literary journal publisher, Al DeGenova, said "Van Falcon Burg offers poetic answers true to her experience and vision, which share wisdom deeply felt and powerfully written." Published by Four Windows Press, who has published books by the American Book Award winner Terence Winch and the AWP Novel of the Year winner James Janko, describes this book as an extraordinary first book of poetry by an extraordinary poet that deserves a place on the American literary stage. It is accessible poetry that goes beyond most books of poetry as a result of Van Falcon Burg's innovative use of language and the power of her expression. Her poems, drawn from life experiences and beyond, are explorations into how to make sense of a world with increasing environmental and social challenges.
