Meet JoAnn Lord Koff

Find Out About JoAnn's Upcoming Exhibit
  • My acrylic photograph, “Sitting on the Edge of Sunrise,” is accepted into “Beauty Will Save the World,” at the historic Arts Club of Washington, DC., as part of the ARTS4US Group, from September 3rd through the 25th 2021.
  • My Black and White photograph, “Moonlit,” was a finalist in the ART4US International Juried Art Show,  CounterCurrent,” February 2 – 28, 2020 at Gallery B, Bethesda. Md.
  • I am a member in the ARTS4US group. My photography is on their website at: art-4-us.com/joann.
  • I was voted ‘Best Author’ Inside Nova 2021 Best of Prince William County
  • “Mrs.” was published in the poetry book entitled Preserving the Past
  • “Iris Dancing” placed 14th in Writer’s Digest 72nd Annual Writing Competition
  • “Illuminations on Ocracoke Ferry” placed 30th in the 72nd Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition
  • “Candy Corn Calligraphy” placed 47th in the 72nd Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition
  • “Hieroglyphics” placed 48th in the 72nd Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition
  • “Santorini Dreaming” awarded Honorable Mention for being in the top 15 percent of the 18,000 entries in the 73rd Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition 
  • “Skipping Rocks” awarded Honorable Mention for being in the top 15 percent of the 18,000 entries in the 73rd Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition 

JoAnn’s artistic statement

I am the sum of all my experiences, joys, doubts, travails, and successes.

I am a canister of hope, a pillar of strength and a sensitive voice etched in shyness that seeks out truth and justice.

I am artistic, a poet and a photographer.

My accolades do not reside in college degrees, prizes, or certificates, but in trying to be the best person I can be at every moment of every day.

The power of writing down a word is multiplied by the number of words in the line, by the lines in a stanza, by the number of stanzas in a poem and so on and so on until your story is told. Words are the most powerful tool we share in society.

Words shape reality; they define and announce everything by name. We crunch them so finely that we create new crispy ones in a microsecond; like wildflowers, they evolve anew daily.

Like a soulful cello strumming deeply, words resonant. Language traverses the schism between emotion and thought.

As a writer, I handpick my words. To me, words are like cellophane; I see into and through them; they energize me; they crinkle; they are the tools of my trade; words can change the world.

 

JoAnn’s longer bio

JoAnn Lord Koff is a resident of Northern Virginia. She is married with two children and one grandchild. Her philosophy of life is deeply rooted in her multi-cultural heritage. As a young child, she lived in Charny, France, and moved around within the United States while her father was in military. She attended Lynchburg College where she majored  in English, Writing and Secondary Education. Her love of history, her passion for the arts and her taste of originality is clearly depicted in her book, the first from Sappho Publishing, Sand, Pebbles, Fossils, and Rocks. This book is a culmination of decades of poetry that she has written and photographs she has taken all around the world.

JoAnn’s thoughts on poetry

Poetry is an ancient filament of expression illuminating a point of view lyrically through sparse, carefully selected words, to create images, that connect to the poet’s heartfelt vision of an event, person, or object. In so doing, poetry becomes a timeless art that touches and often pierces its readers with vivid insights and discoveries that makes a poem a special gift that sustains itself through time, memory, and recitation. These, herein, are the sand, pebbles, fossils, and rocks that have chiseled, shaped and metamorphosized me.

Publications

  • Black Bough Poetry – “So,” “Spring Mountain”- Freedom-Rapture
  • Gargoyle Magazine – “A Target on My Back”
  • In the Midst, a COVID-19 Anthology – “120 Species of Wuhan Market”
  • Green Ink Poetry – “Aeolus,” “The White Cube,” Collection 5: Storm Chasers; “Angry Clouds,”
  • Collection 6: Discovery; “The Poetess” and my corresponding photograph
  • Northern Virginia’s Poetry Collection – “Candy Corn Calligraphy,” “My Friends Remind Me”
  • Blog Talk Radio’s Juneteenth’s Open Mic Poetry Reading, “A Target on My Back”
  • International Poetry Circle – “When I Was Five,” “Mrs.”
  • Nova Bards – “Santorini Dreaming”
  • Spilled Ink – “Iris Dancing,” “What’s Normal Now,” “Eloquence Within Scales,” “Skipping Rocks,” “The Same Three Ivory Keys”
  • PWC Poet Laureate Circle – “RaT-A-TaT”
  • Soundcloud.com – “So,” “Spring Mountain”