Merry Fortune is a contemporary American poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, social activist and conservationist

Conservationist

Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...

. She is a former editor of The World and former coordinator of the Monday night reading series of the St. Mark's Poetry Project

St. Mark's Poetry Project

The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church was founded in 1966 in the East Village of Manhattan by the poet and translator Paul Blackburn, it has been a crucial venue for new and experimental poetries for over four decades....

. She is an editor of Pagan Place, an arts magazine. She has collaborated with musicians Don Christensen, Pat Place and Julia Murphy on a 3-CD compilation State of the Union. Of German and Indigenous

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

 descent (Kanienkehaka/Hotcak), Merry was born in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 and currently lives and works in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Books include Ghosts by Albert Ayler (Futurepoem Books

Futurepoem Books

Futurepoem Books is an American small not-for-profit press based in New York City. Futurepoem was founded by Dan Machlin in 2002 and focuses on publishing innovative poetry, prose and hybrid literature. The press has a rotating editorial board. Each year three new editors select books sent in...

, 2004). Her work has been published in anthologies

Anthology

An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...

 including The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, The Portable Boog Reader, and The Unbearables Help Yourself! Anthology (See Ron Kolm

Ron Kolm

Ron Kolm is an American poet, editor, activist and bookseller, based in New York City. Kolm came to New York in 1970 and got a job at the Strand bookstore, where he worked with Tom Verlaine and Patti Smith....

). Her poems, articles and reviews have appeared in The Poetry Project Newsletter, Boog-City, Lungfull!, Brooklyn Review, Fire (UK), High Times, Tamarind, Rattapallax, CanWeHaveOurBallBack?, G, and 6ix.