Gunilla Theander Kester, Ph.D
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, POET, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, CLASSICAL GUITARIST
Gunilla Theander Kester is the author and co-author of seven books, including her most recent collection of poems: Hold Me Still. Other published works include a scholarly study, two poetry chapbooks, one full length poetry collection, and two collections dedicated to the victims of Flight 3407.
Current projects include contributions to Consequence Forum, a growing collection of poetry, and a memoir entitled “Streetness Speaks.”
Consequence Forum has published my review “Passionate and Defiant: The Poetry of Birutė Pūkelevičiūtė”.
“I Learned to Drink by Doing the Dishes” has been published in the Fall 2026 issue of the Apple Valley Review, now available online.
My poem, "Please Don't Kill Shadow" has been nominated for Best of the Net 2027 by Viridine Literary, an independent online creative literary magazine based in Chichester, South of England.
“Where Now, Aeolus, is Your Ox-Skin Pouch?” has been accepted by Trampoline.
“It Brings a Perspective” and “Homeless Alphabet: Cul-de-Sac, Adventure, Flooding” have been accepted by The Beacon Boston.
“Gunnar’s Painting” has been accepted by Artemis, the Roanoke-based, award-winning journal.
“By Eden’s Gate” has been accepted by The MacGuffin.
Passionate and Defiant: the Poetry of Birutė Pūkelevičiūtė
The “imaginary homeland” of Lithuanian writer Birutė Pūkelevičiūtė’s book of linked poems, Metūgės (New Shoots), includes fairytale, legend, and myth. Fields whisper of milk and honey, and forests house a throbbing heart. Then war arrives. The last section of these loosely connected poems is called “Tales of War.” While war becomes the theme, it is woven into a brocade of natural beauty and folkloric narratives. In our contemporary days of terrorist brutalities, this vision may seem old-fashioned and romanticized, but part of its power lies in this dichotomy.
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Main Street Rag Publishing Company has released my new book, Hold Me Still.
“In Hold Me Still, Gunilla Theander Kester is a pathologist of the soul. With a deftness that belies the depth of each incision, she uses a near microscopic scalpel to examine the intricacies of sensory perception. Each poem is a moment of memory or an examination of existence composed of precisely cut images that, together, give the reader a slide that is more than a slice of life. A stunning achievement!”
- Gary Earl Ross, novelist, playwright, short story writer, essayist, audiobook narrator, editor, director, and occasional actor.
Current & Upcoming
Abridged, Abstract, After Happy Hour, Apple Valley Review, Artemis Journal, 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,FOLIO, Glint Literary Journal, Great Lakes Review, Hot Pot Magazine, I-70 Review, J Journal, Just Buffalo Literary Center, Kestrel, Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Narrative Northeast, Naugatuck River Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, New Millennium Writings, Nixes Mate Review, Oberon Poetry, Ocean State Review, October Hill Magazine, OfTheBook, On the Seawall, Packingtown Review Journal, Pangyrus, Paterson Literary Review, Pendemics Journal, Perceptions Magazine, 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 Beacon,The Citron Review, The Deronda Review, The Inquisitive Eater, The MacGuffin, The Worchester Review, Third Street Review, Tikkun, Trampoline, Viridine Literary, 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
