The River of Perpetual Departure is Connie Johnstone’s first book of poetry. Her poems have appeared in many journals: Amethyst Review; The Brussels Review; The Calendula Review; Comstock Review; Ginosko Literary Journal; Gyroscope; Loss: Anthology 9; The Orchards Poetry Journal; Ravenous: le Terroir de Montolieu; Paris: Great Cities Vol. 1; Spoon Knife Anthology: Numbers; Tule Review; Voices 24; and others.
She published a novel, The Legend of Olivia Cosmos Montevideo (Atlantic Monthly Press) and edited an anthology, I’ve Always Meant to Tell You (Pocket Books). She was a professor of English/chair of creative writing at American River College; Hospice chaplain, Kaiser Permanente, specializing in Narrative Therapy. Degrees include MFA Bennington and MTS Harvard Divinity School. She is at work on a second book of poems, Black Snake in a Bamboo Pole.
Paperback: 68 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (September 16, 2025)