You can find me on Instagram with the handle @cranesaremypassion.
Greetings from my corner of the natural world. My poem, “Primal,” was runner-up in the Chattanooga Writers Guild July writing contest. The winner was “Ocean Balm,” a lovely poem by Becky Parker. You can view the poems here.
Items published in The Hellbender Press and The Chattanooga Pulse appear in groups at the end of this list.
My essay, “How I Became a Poet,” appeared in the online literary magazine Waxing and Waning from April Gloaming Publishing.
https://www.waxingandwaning.org/issue-11/how-i-became-a-poet-by-ray-zimmerman-_cnf_/.
I told the story of Audubon Acres in The Tennessee Conservationist:
https://digital.tnconservationist.org/publication/?m=58294&i=725674&p=22&ver=html5.
My article about freshwater snorkeling in Appalachia appeared in Appalachian Voice.
https://appvoices.org/2022/08/25/snorkelers-explore-appalachia/.
An earlier version appears here: https://appvoices.org/2020/09/09/snorkel-appalachia-freshwater/.
My article about hawk migration also appeared in Appalachian Voice: https://appvoices.org/tag/hawk-count/.
My short story “Life After Writing” won an award from the Chattanooga Writers Guild and appears on their website
https://chattanoogawritersguild.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/10-2020-ray-zimmerman-life-after-writing.pdf.
My poem “Hellbender: was recognized by Tennessee Magazine and appeared on their website:
https://www.tnmagazine.org/poets-playground-nov-2020-winners/. It is the last in a long series of poems, so you have to scroll down.
Published in The Hellbender Press
My interview with a rattlesnake expert: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/rattled.
I reviewed Sounds Wild and Broken, a Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction finalist by David George Haskell:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/the-sounds-of-science.
My article on the North Carolina Snorkel Trail: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/wnc-creek-snorkels.
My article about Tennessee’s wintering Sandhill Cranes: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/sandhills-fly-in.
My story about the Tennessee Aquarium program to restore Lake Sturgeon in the Tennessee River:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/sturgeon-release.
My story about an exhibit of art made from washed ashore plastics:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/like-a-message-in-a-bottle-plastic-washed-ashore-signals-a-growing-threat-to-our-health.
The Trails and Trilliums Festival at Tennessee’s South Cumberland State Park:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/feedbag/hike-and-learn-at-trails-and-trilliums-festival-in-south-cumberland-state-park.
Get off the Grid Fest in Chattanooga:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/middle-tennessee-is-a-leader-in-electric-car-production-what-better-place-to-celebrate-alternative-energy.
Keeping cigarette buts out of the waterways.
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/keep-your-butts-out-of-the-tennessee-river.
The Story of a Wildlife Rehabilitator in Chattanooga:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/wildlife-rehabbers-return-birds-to-the-sky-in-chattanooga.
An interview with Hellbender researcher Brian Miller:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/hellbenders-falling-off-highland-rim-of-tennessee.
The Hellbender restoration project at the Chattanooga Zoo:
https://hellbenderpress.org/item/65-zoo-researchers-raising-hell-benders-in-chattanooga.
Published in The Chattanooga Pulse
A review of a book of poetry by Helga Kidder:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/the-written-word/reviewing-helga-kidders-latest-collection-of-poetry/.
A review of a book of poetry by Finn Bille:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/the-written-word/reviewing-finn-bille-s-new-book-of-poetry-the-kings-coin/
My article about Robert Sparks Walker, poet, and literary naturalist:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/features/pulitzer-prize-nominee-has-won-all-the-hearts-of-chattanooga/.
An article about the poetry open mic scene in Chattanooga, published just before Covid-19 hit:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/features/chatty-on-the-mic/.
An article about freshwater snorkeling:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/entertainment-news/from-page-to-screen-casper-cox-searches-for-hidden-rivers/.
A prize-winning essay:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/the-written-word/the-dance-of-leaves/