About Me
My name is R.B. Simon, and I am black, queer, disabled artist and writer living Madison, WI. After recently graduating Summa Cum Laude from Edgewood College with a BS in Art Therapy (and a Psychology Minor), I currently work as a Substance Use Counselor with a focus on Harm Reduction and utilizing creativity for Wellness and Recovery. In my oodles of free time, I am also the mother of two daughters – a fierce and phenomenal 21-year-old who now lives on her own, and an amazing and exasperatingly precocious baby girl at home. My spouse and I live in a sweet little 1960s two-story home on Madison’s east side.
Whether visually or with words, I create to capture moments of ordinary (or extraordinary) life and distill them into something sacred, exploring the epiphanous moments that emerge. My words have found homes in Emerge Literary Journal, West Trestle Review, Plentitudes Journal, Obsidian, CALYX, Stoneboat Literary Journal, and Literary Mama, among others, and I currently volunteer as a Senior Poetry Editor for Harbor Review. My first chapbook, The Good Truth, was published in 2021 through Finishing Line Press, and my debut full-length poetry collection, Not Just the Fire, was released from Cornerstone Press in March 2023. My next full-length poetry collection, Bird, Bone, Blood, is due out in early 2025 from Milk & Cake Press. I continue to work on a full-length memoir as well.
My Visual Art
As a visual artist, I enjoy working with many mediums, ranging from as water soluble oil pastels, charcoal, acrylics, oils, watercolors, ink, ceramics, wood, and other mixed media. My aim for visual pieces is to use vibrant forms, shapes, depth, and color to evoke emotion, imagination, and curiosity. I believe there is a poem in every piece of art I create.
I have turned to creative expression for as long as I remember doing anything. Creativity has led me through and past a long history of trauma, mental illness, chronic physical illness, and substance abuse. The arts have been my stolid coping mechanisms and constant companions, and my goal is to share that creativity, insight, and inspiration with others. To that end, all proceeds from sales of my books and art go directly towards the completion of my CSAC (Clinical Substance Use Counselor) certification as well as a Masters in Art Therapy. I have found my calling in utilizing my own story, combined with creative modalities, to walk alongside others as they search to find healing and joy on their own pathway to recovery.
My Poetry Collections
The Good Truth
Finishing Line Press (2021)
Not Just the Fire
Cornerstone Press (2023)
Bird, Bone, Blood (forthcoming)
Milk & Cake Press (2025)
Praise for Not Just The Fire
Select Awards & Shortlists
- Shortlisted for Unleash Press 2023 Book Prize for Bird, Bone, Blood
- Shortlisted for the Julia Darling Memorial Poetry Prize, “Clutter”
- Third place in WI Fellowship of Poet’s Chapbook Contest, The Good Truth
- Finalist for 2023 Crosswinds Poetry Prize, “Epiphany”
- Finalist for Heartland Review 2023 Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, Spring 2023, “Holding Water”
- Second Place in the 2023 Plentitudes Prize, “The Rock”
- First Place in the 2023 Kali’s Moksha Zoyer Zyndel Poetry Prize, “indelible”
- Finalist for Nervous Ghost Press 2023 Book Award, Bird, Bone, Blood
