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Renee Good, 37 was fatally shot by an Ice Agent on January 7th in Minneapolis after dropping off her 6 year old son to school. She described herself as a "poet and writer and wife and mom." Good’s death occurred at a time when U.S. Pres.Trump ordered some 2,000 ICE officers to be sent to Minneapolis as part of what an administration official called the “largest immigration operation ever. In the days after Good’s death, thousands of people participated in protests against ICE in Minnesota and around the country. Good studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and was awarded the school’s poetry prize in 2020. She won a 2020 Academy of American Poets University and College Prize, one of the top awards in the nation, for On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs. GUEST POETS; Jane Goette, An Old Song Jessica Mardian, A little over a week after January 7th Mark Fryburg, QUOTES Erica Joiner,What They Have Wrought Anne Deaton, Renee Good Has Gone to Wake the Dead… Katryn Broadoak, Murdered Good Skip Brown-(reading;) On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pig by Renée Nicole Macklin Good                                                                   

After finishing Beth Macy's latest bestseller, Paper Girl, I was eager to interview her.  Macy, an acclaimed writer known for exploring the forces unraveling America’s social fabric, was our guest writer for the Artemis Journal 2015 with her essay "Mining Life Along the River Bank." As a longtime reporter for the Roanoke Times, she witnessed our region endure factory closures, dwindling jobs, opioid addiction,and the hollowing out of our community. Her genuine curiosity has fueled her success, leading to award-winning, bestselling books and a Hulu series based on her book Dopesick, which she co-produced and starred Michael Keaton. Paper Girl is a meticulously researched book in which Macy returns to her roots in Urbana, Ohio. Driven to understand the growing political divide in our country, she spoke with former high school friends, family, and community leaders to explore why three out of four people in the county voted for President Trump. Nearly half the book consists of footnotes, and in-depth research underscoring of her investigation into the issues that have shaped and traumatized her hometown. I couldn't put the book down, and in this podcast episode, you’ll hear directly from the writer herself. While our time together only allowed for a glimpse into this remarkable book, there is so much more for you, my listeners, to discover on your own. CALL TO ACTION Through the process of writing her book, Beth came to the conclusion she must jump in and run for Congress! Enjoy—and remember, her books are widely available wherever you get your books. https://bethmacyforcongress.com/

Dr. Michael Godin is a facial plastic surgeon with a passion for storytelling. He also has a passion for storytelling. While he loves the world of plastic surgery, he has a passion for storytelling. His creative side had been nurtured as a child, he became an avid reader while growing up in Los Angeles San Fernando Valley. What Godin didn't know at the time was how much learning to write persuasively would help him in his medical career. He has written over 20 scientific articles and a bestselling surgical textbook. While he always found time to write, his ultimate goal was to create works of fiction. He survived surgical training during the 1980's at the beginning of the HIV pandemic, experiences that inspired his debut novel, The Big Prick. Learning to operate and surf, he continued to write, and took good care of his patients. The year's experiences culminated in his writing of Surgery Survival Guide: A Manual for International Precocious Medical Students, which sold at medical bookstores throughout the US and Canada. His debut novel, the Big Prick; received critical acclaim and reader response, he then went on to write his second novel, Fighting Gravity. This romantic comedy explores challenges of midlife, divorce and modern dating through the eyes of a New Orleans plastic surgeon. Drawing from his decades of experience in medicine and his understanding of human nature, Godin brings authenticity and heart to his stories about second chances and personal transformation. Dr. Godin practices facial plastic surgery in Richmond, Virginia and Southern California.

Sheila is the 2016 recipient of the American Library Association Sullivan Award “presented annually to a single Library Director nationally who has shown exceptional understanding and support of community service to children.” In addition, in 2018, Sheila was named Citizen of the Year, Humanitarian by the Roanoke Chapter of the NAACP and in 2024 she was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Community Service Award. In June of 2019, the National Civic League named Roanoke the first ever “All America Hall of Fame City” for Sheila’s work with Star City Reads and the Library’s impactful Feed Read and Grow initiative. In 2021, the Library received a National Bright Spot award from the Campaign for Grade Level Reading for their impactful community work during the pandemic. The Library received the Virginia Municipal League 2021 Innovation in Local Government Award (working with Youth category) for her work with families during Covid and in 2024 for an Innovation in Local Government Award (Safety) for a collaborative project with Police on gun safety for families. She was most recently received the 2025 100 Heroes Project Award from United Way as an outstanding Leader in the region. The Roanoke Public Library Foundation actively partners with Artemis Journal to ensure this year's journal is readily available to the public. This collaboration underscores our commitment to providing valuable literary resources for our community.

AI can complete virtually any cognitive task, at least as well as a human. So, how does Artificial Intelligence, typically associated with human intelligence, affect our lives? Artemis Speaks is my platform for investigating and interviewing artists and writers, and I must be mindful of this process in the work I publish.  AI as a tool can perform tasks associated with human intelligence, and almost everyone has experienced this tool, which has maximized the achievement of defined goals. As a photographer, I have used Photoshop for a long time. We have all used spellcheck.  But beyond that, AI is seeping into all aspects of our lives, including search engines, virtual assistants, language models, strategy games, drone systems, medical advancements, Robotics, autonomous vehicles, and more. And the question is…How will it affect us in the here and now as well as the future?  I am digging deeper into the field of AI with two guests today, all from different careers who have used these AI tools, and hear their experiences with AI.  My guests are; Skip Brown, Musician and owner Final Track Studios, Artemis Speaks co-producer  Susan Saandholland, conceptual artist and writer

Today’s guest is Ann Goethe, a prolific writer known for her poetry, novels, musicals and plays, including operas. She is a recipient of The Virginia Arts & Humanities Prize and has served as a Fellow at the Sewanee Writer's Conference. Ann co-founded several initiatives, including ReNew The New, Giles Political Action, and the Giles Early Education Project. Her musical *COMING OF AGE*, explores middle school experiences, was adapted into a film by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. However her proudest achievement is the musical "JOSH," which addresses the serious topic of teen suicide. Her novel, MIDNIGHT LEMONADE, was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discovery Prize; her novel GONER was a finalist for The Indy Press literary award in 2016. She wrote the libretto for TRAVELS, an opera performed by Opera Roanoke. As the founder of the Blacksburg New School, now in its 54th year, Ann continues to inspire and shape the future of education and the arts through her work in literature and education.              Her poem "TREE TALK" was featured in Artemis Journal 2025.

Elani Spencer is a 19-year-old poet based in Roanoke, Virginia. She was born and raised in Rochester, NY, and currently attends Hollins University where she is pursuing a bachelors of art in Creative Writing and a minor in Business. She is Roanoke’s first ever Youth Poet Laureate, and she has appeared at many local art events, in newspaper articles, and on television programs like WDBJ7. Elani is currently interning with the Roanoke Arts Commission and she is also acting as the social media manager for Artemis as well as a reader for the editorial team.

Exploring the world of AI   Host Jeri Rogers Editor Artemis Journal   As a publisher of poetry and art journals, I find the AI revolution compelling. This groundbreaking technology is ushering in rapid changes that will reshape nearly every aspect of our lives. We are witnessing a remarkable surge of innovation that has the power to disrupt entire industries while simultaneously creating new and unexpected opportunities for everyone involved. Are you captivated by AI's immense potential and eager to discover its creative possibilities? Or do you feel overwhelmed as you navigate this new technological landscape? No matter your experience, this interview will show how two inspiring individuals harness AI's power in their work. Today's guests are; **Susan Saandholland** is a passionate photographer on a continuous quest for creative discovery. She serves the community through her video and photographic contributions to non-profit organizations and individuals. Recent beneficiaries of her work include the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Keith Lee Dances, The Anne Spencer Museum and Garden, the VTC School of Medicine, Riverviews Artspace, and the Academy Center for the Arts. Susan is interested in capturing light and time to share imagination, mood, and storytelling moments. You can explore her stunning work on Instagram, Photoshelter, YouTube, and the Artemis Journals. **Skip Brown**, an accomplished audio editor, has been deeply engaged with music since he picked up a guitar at 13. At just 15, he recorded his first album at CBS Studios in NYC, and since then, he has performed countless shows across the country. His extensive experience includes operating a large commercial recording studio and producing successful festivals and civic center events. Despite a flourishing career in finance, Skip has never wavered in his dedication to music and sound. He has cautiously embraced the use of AI in his recording studio. Skip has been integral to the "Artemis Speaks" podcast for four years, showcasing his engineering and audio editor skills.

Smith serves as a Consultant in Poetry and Prose at St. Christopher's School and Poetry Editor at Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature. His poems have appeared in Artemis for nine years since 2016, when he was our guest poet. His poem Corporeal appears in our current Artemis Journal 2025.  His books are available on Amazon.

Join co-producers of our Podcast, Jeri Rogers and Skip Brown, as they reflect on four years of podcasting interviews with artists and writers published in the Artemis Journal. Getting ready to launch the next edition of Artemis Journal 24, they look at the event promoting their guest speaker, U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.

Ana Morales is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and works primarily with mixed media. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from James Madison University, where she studied studio art and art education. She works at LeisureMedia360 in Roanoke as the art director for publications, including the Roanoker Magazine and the Virginia Travel Guide. Morales has exhibited her work locally and nationally. ARTIST STATEMENT For many years, my work has primarily been informed by my life as a type 1 diabetic. I’m interested in art-making as an opportunity to play and experiment, and I think this stems from a lifetime of adhering to rules and routines for my health and well-being. Over the years, I have discovered artistic processes that mimic my daily life with diabetes—processes that explore repetition and routine, control, order, and risk. While my early work is quite literal, my more recent work explores the broader idea of illness versus wellness and the day-to-day fluctuations of my mental health.

Join the conversation with son Gary Isreal,  President of the Dorothy M. Gillespie Foundation, and daughter Dorien Gillespie Bietz, children of Dorothy Gillespie, as they reflect on the many gifts their mother had in a groundbreaking documentary Courage, Independence and Color. Artemis Journal was borne out of writing workshops for abused women. Ms. Gillespie donated her print celebrating Women in the Arts. The journal's mission is to support, develop, and encourage the talents of artists and writers from the Blue Ridge Mountains and beyond. Now in its 48th year, Artemis Journal looks back at its beginnings.

Jim Minick is the author or editor of eight books, including Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas (nonfiction), Fire Is Your Water (novel), and The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family. His work has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Oxford American, Artemis Journal, Orion, Shenandoah, Appalachian Journal, Wind, and The Sun. He serves as co-editor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel.  Minick’s honors include the Jean Ritchie Fellowship in Appalachian Writing and the Fred Chappell Fellowship at UNC-Greensboro. Minick has also won awards from the Southern Independent Booksellers Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, The Virginia College Bookstore Association, Appalachian Writers Association, Radford University, and elsewhere. His poem “I Dream a Bean” was picked by Claudia Emerson for permanent display at the Tysons Corner/Metrorail Station. He’s garnered grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Augusta University, the Georgia Humanities Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. His newest book, The Intimacy of Spoons explores the many metaphors of the spoon: from love and marriage to the spoon of a grave that holds our bodies; from the darkness of loss and night, where “the Big Dipper is nothing but / the oldest spoon pointing us home”; to the darkness of lungs transformed into art. The poems cover a wide variety of topics—cultural, political, familial, and natural—and always, underlying these poems is the song of birds—with broken wings or clear voices, avian muses filling our forests now or long gone. There are nods to Basho and Thoreau, to Eliot and Frost, Dickinson and Milton, this last, a long poem that retells the story of Adam and Eve from the point of view of Mal, the apple. Likewise, The Intimacy of Spoons shares a variety of forms, from sonnet, sestina, and villanelle to syllabics, lyrics, and a ballad. At the center of the book is the long poem, “Elegy for My Body,” which uses wordplay and contrasting voices to explore mortality, because “You can’t really do time; / it simply does us, / or undoes us, / us beings in the time being being beings / on Times Squared / waiting for the big ball to fall.” The poems of The Intimacy of Spoons return us to everyday stories and objects, common yet profound.

Sarah EK Muse, a native Virginian, is an award-winning artist, jewelry designer, and goldsmith known for her exquisite bespoke jewels that celebrate personal narratives and strengthen connections to the past, present, and future.  Serving as the backdrop for her inspirations, her private atelier, Studio 12, formerly a two-stall stable, is nestled in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, where she plays with dreamy gemstones and the finest metals. You can also find her meditating in the woods or growing food in her organic garden, hanging with her chickens, or cozied up to a fire with a good book. With over 25 years of experience making fine jewelry, Sarah’s ability to infuse soulful sentiment and style into her bespoke pieces sets her apart. She ensures that each jewel speaks directly to the heart of its wearer. Working hand in hand with her clientele, she creates a personal connection to design pieces that transcend the ordinary, weaving their story into an exceptional artistic vision and future heirloom. https://sarahmuse.com/

Michele Evans, a fifth-generation Washingtonian (D.C.), is a poet, writer, high school English teacher, and adviser for her school's literary magazine, Unbound. Before becoming an educator, Michele Evans studied at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts; King’s College in London, England; and the Graduate School at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. This 2023 Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of The ASP Bulletin poetry contest has been published in Artemis, The Write Launch, Tangled Locks, Sky Island Journal, Maryland Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her poem "anticlea" won first place in the 2023 ASP Bulletin poetry contest sponsored by Alan Squire Publishing. purl, her debut collection of poetry, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2025. You can find her at www.awordsmithie.com or @awordsmithie on Instagram. "Working in a school system is “heart” work. You keep our students at the center of every conversation, decision, and in everything you do. You know every student by name and by need and go above and beyond to provide students with what they need to succeed." Dr.  White, Roanoke City schools