"An extraordinary collection about everyday life."
— Nikolas Mavreas, IndieBookView (starred review)
"[Window and Mirror] reminded me why I love poetry."
— C.R. Hurst, Readers' Favorite
"So many poignant poems here stop me in my tracks, inviting me to be deeply present with what is offered, and to carry that invitation to situations I contend with beyond the author's reach."
— Carol Barrett, Ph.D., author of Reading Wind and Pansies
★ Starred Review · IndieBookView
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ABOUT
A poet who started late and kept going
Ted Virts left a graduate writing program at age 74 to focus on his own creative path. His debut collection, Window and Mirror, published by Atmosphere Press, explores the sacredness found in the quiet moments of everyday life, reflecting a lifetime of observation and a late-blooming dedication to the craft of poetry.
His life has included preschool teaching, labor in startup manufacturing, Planned Parenthood management, and pastoral ministry and supervision.
Collaborators
Ted's writing life is closely tied to the people and organizations around him.
Ministry in the West
Through pastoral ministry and supervision, Ted has been deeply involved with communities throughout the western US: miners and ranchers in Northeastern Nevada, suburban families in Sonoma Wine Country, agricultural and oil producers in Bakersfield, liberal and conservative churches in the Central Valley of California.
Writing Studies
While in Central Oregon, he studied with Ellen Waterston, the 2024-2028 Poet Laureate of Oregon, and completed a year-long writing course designed to help writers develop their skills and find their voice.
His community work included reading to kindergarteners through a Bend Oregon school district and serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in foster care. Ted participates with churches providing humanitarian assistance along Arizona Borderlands where he now lives.
Community Work
BOOK
Window and Mirror
Poems by Ted Virts · Atmosphere Press
The introduction of Window and Mirror begins with a question: What are we doing here? The emphasis is on both the doing and the place. Ted Virts' poetry collection meanders through life experiences with story, blessing, myth, and the day-to-day realities of pain, delight, humor, and wonder.
Virts explores life with an undercurrent of curiosity, faith, emotion, loss, hope, acceptance, and presence. His poems link tragedy at the southern U.S. border, the death of his father, the constant plea for political donations, the nightly news, and a description of Christmas as an artichoke. The link? The sacredness of everyday life.
This collection has been praised for its clarity, its lack of pretension, and its deep resonance with the Southern Arizona landscape that Virts now calls home. Whether navigating grief, celebration, or the simple stillness of aging, Virts writes with a mastery that belies his late start in the publishing world.
Publisher: Atmosphere Press · Formats: Paperback · Hardcover · eBook
Contact
Get in Touch
For readings, review copies, and press inquiries, write to Ted directly at virts@pacbell.net