Poetry as Personal Myth

Jesse Carsten, PhD (they/he) is a mythologist and multidisciplinary artist, poet, musician, and educator. They hold a doctorate in Mythology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and a BFA in creative writing and performance studies from the Art Institute of Chicago. Their doctoral thesis centered on the cosmic jazz composer Sun Ra's revolutionary personal mythos as embodied creative practice. Jesse has been composing music under the Half Shadow moniker for more than a decade, and self-publishes essays, chapbooks, and zines. Salt, a book of prose poems and photographic images was published, in collaboration with visual artist B. Ingrid Olsen, by Hassla Press, NYC in 2017.