ABOUT ELLEN FOOS

Ellen Foos is a senior production editor for Princeton University Press. She previously worked at Graywolf and Ecco Presses. A selfless and energetic promoter of poetry, she founded the monthly reading series "U.S.1 Poets Invite" at the Princeton, N.J. Public Library and has been production editor for the poetry journal U.S.1 Worksheets for the U.S.1 Poets' Cooperative. She has also organized memorable poetry slams for The Arts Council of Princeton. Ellen’s poetry has appeared in U.S.1 Worksheets, The Kelsey Review, Edison Literary Review, and Sensations Magazine. She founded Ragged Sky Press in 1992. She was the recipient of a fellowship to the MacDowell Colony in 2007.

Ellen's poem "Support-Group Puppets" was featured on Vox Populi, January 2020.

A SAMPLE FROM The Remaining Ingredients

Side Yard

When we tired of the backyard
there was the side yard,
accessory to our crimes,
a hideout, a conduit for racing
full circle around the house.
The best place to backtrack
when being pursued.

Lilac trees on the side
had a shaggy look.
It was easy to peek
into basement windows.
The neighbors were close
but never onto us.

Corner lots expanded blandly,
we had two sharp corridors.
Here’s why I left New York City,
no side yard.
Who speaks of
the White House lawn
and thinks side yard?

When I lost my father,
I thought how it changed me,
the side yard I’ll never visit again,
the ladder he stored there.

Ellen's poem "Support-Group Puppets" was featured on Vox Populi, January 2020.