Erik K. Mortenson won the 2012 Accents Publishing chapbook contest along with Sarah Freligh. His chapbook, The Fifteenth Station, tells the tale of a young African woman dealing with the HIV she extracted from her husband. Split into fifteen sections (the fourteen stations of the cross as well as the titular fifteenth station), Mortenson’s poetry has been called “the plainsong of passion,” by Lynnell Edwards (author of Covet), “a most desperate and beautiful story wrought from the least of us.” J. Kates (winner of Accents Publishing’s 2010 chapbook contest with Metes and Bounds) says, “The Fifteenth Station performs one mighty task of poetry: Gospel-truth. This sequence translates the Passion into compassion, from condemnation to resurrection[…]”

But more than that, Mortenson has gained attention from various publications for his philanthropic efforts. Aside from raising awareness for the HIV epidemic, Mortenson donated the cash prize from the contest to Partners in Health, a charity dedicated to spreading modern medical science and outreach to the poorest and sickest communities of the world. Specifically, Mortenson is interested in helping Rwandans receive medical aide and HIV treatment. When interviewed by The Hill School, Mortenson said that his understanding of the stations of the cross mean that “if this chapbook were ever published, I could not profit from it in anyway.” He has since donated all proceeds from the sale of the chapbook.

In the aforementioned article, Mortenson describes the difficulty with writing from this character’s perspective. “As her disease progresses, the actual writing became more difficult to do,” he says, lamenting that “Part of a writer’s job is to inhabit these people[…]”

Randall Horton interviewed Erik for the Tidal Basin blog, saying of The Fifteenth Station, “The woman’s voice is so authentic, it is harrowing”, while also commending Mortenson’s poetic style. For that interview, click here. For Sue Repko’s summary of The Hill School’s article about Erik Mortenson, click here. And, finally, click here for The Hill School’s article.

The Fifteenth Station is currently available from Accents Publishing for $5. Aside from Mortenson’s complete royalties, Accents donates half of our profits to Partners in Health.

You can also find our books at the Morris book shop, Joseph-Beth, and Sqecial Media.

E. K. Mortenson is the author of a chapbook, Dreamer or the Dream (Last Automat Press, 2010), and a full-length collection,What Wakes Us(Cervena Barva Press, forthcoming). His work also appears in both print and online journals and anthologies. He was the 2008 recipient of the Leslie Leeds Poetry Prize and is poetry editor atKugelmass: A Journal of Literary Humor. He writes and teaches in Pennsylvania where he lives with his wife and two children.