Hi there! I’m Chantelle. Welcome to my little corner of the Internet.

Bell & Chisel is a curated space for poetry and prose that weaves my lived experiences with the sentiments of a writer whose love language has always been myth and metaphor. I particularly enjoy writing prose poetry, most recently falling in love with its borrowed forms—especially the structure and unexpected creativity of “hermit crab” poems—as well as the magical surrealism found within the “new prose poem.”

Even when I accidentally stumble into writing a beautiful free verse poem, it almost always begins as a block of justified prose poetry.

Over the years, I have written everything from staff training manuals and periodic newsletters to interpretive gallery text for small museum exhibits and rousing feminist commentary. But my real love has always belonged to prose and verse. My poetry was first recognized in high school, when I turned an ordinary essay about the plight of the White Rhino into a poetic appeal for empathy and intervention.

I currently reside in the quiet space where suburbia meets old forest and fading wetland. I live there with my longtime companion and our sweet and spicy rescue cat, Hazel—who is slowly learning that biting is, in fact, bad.

I’m glad you found me. My debut chapbook will be coming out next month, and you can explore excerpts and upcoming details right here.

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