Gunilla Theander Kester, Ph.D
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, POET, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, CLASSICAL GUITARIST
Gunilla Theander Kester is the author and co-author of six books, including a scholarly study, two poetry chapbooks, one full length poetry collection, and two collections dedicated to the victims of Flight 3407.
Current projects include a new collection of poetry and a memoir entitled “Streetness Speaks.”
December 11, 2025
GOOD NEWS TO SHARE
Buffalo Corner Reading Series returns December 18. Join community members for poetry readings, Hanukkah candle lighting, Havdalah blessings, and wine and cheese reception. Details here.
My most recent essay—The Poetry of Hanukkah and Christmas—is now posted in Consequence Magazine.
My father-in-law, Paul Kester, turns 100 this month. Please enjoy his guest column “A Childhood Shattered, A Life Regained” in Consequence Magazine.
Solstice Literary Magazine has printed “To Play JS Bach ‘Fugue in C’” in its Winter Edition.
I have a new essay to share in Consequence Forum: “Clean and Bare: the Poetry of Tadeusz Różewicz.”
“Simchat Torah 2023” is published in The Deronda Review, Vol. XI No. 1. (p. 24-25)
My essay “Sensuous Genius & Violent Creativity: Vladimir Mayakovsky,” is posted on Consequence Forum.
October Hill Magazine has accepted “Is It a Poet’s Role to Stir Up Trouble?”
My article in Consequence Forum focuses on Nelly Sachs, the Jewish refugee and 1966 Nobel Prize Winner of Literature.
A Childhood Shattered, a Life Regained
By Paul Kester
The year is 1938. In Germany, Hitler and his Nazi party have been in power for five years. Restrictions and special laws have made life more difficult for its Jewish minority. For me, a twelve-year-old boy, that year’s summer vacation is special. My sister, who’s fourteen, has left for the United States, but I still go, by myself, on our usual visits to our relatives in Westphalia. The visits include train rides, reunions with adoring uncles, aunts, and cousins, and great get-togethers with the local kids. By late August, I’m back home, starting my third school year at the Gymnasium, together with my friend Leo. We are the only Jewish kids in a class of thirty-five but suffer no hostility from either teachers or students. After school, I enjoy activities in the Jewish sports club, continue Jewish religious studies, celebrate birthday parties, go to the movies, and join our Sunday family excursions in the beautiful Taunus mountains around our hometown Wiesbaden. A happy childhood, barely affected by the worries of the grown-ups.
Paul Kester celebrates his 100th birthday in December 2026.
Buffalo Corner Reading Series Returns!
Current & Upcoming
Recently published or forthcoming in the following:
Abridged, Abstract, After Happy Hour, Atlanta Review, ballast journal, Book of Matches, Call Me [Brackets] University of Alabama Creative Writing, Cider Press Review, Concho River Review, Consequence, The Deronda Review, Doubly Mad Journal, Glint Literary Journal, Great Lakes Review, Hot Pot Magazine, I-70 Review, J Journal, Kestral, Naugatuck River Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, New Millennium Writings, Nixes Mate Review, Oberon Poetry, Ocean State Review, October Hill Magazine, On the Seawall, Packingtown Review Journal, Pangyrus, Paterson Literary Review, Pendemics Journal, Pine Hills Review, Pirene’s Fountain, Plainsongs, Potomac Review, Redactions, Saranac Review, San Pedro River Review, Silk Road Review, Silkworm, Slant, Slipstream, Solstice Literary Magazine, South Florida Poetry Journal, Stone Poetry Quarterly, SWWIM, The American Journal of Poetry, The Citron Review, The Deronda Review, The Inquisitive Eater, The MacGuffin, The Worchester Review, Third Street Review, Tikkun, Trampoline, West Trestle Review and Whale Road Review.
Nominated two times for the Pushcart Prize and once for Best of the Net.
Gunilla Kester and Mir Ali perform Yad Kiya Dil Ne
