Deborah Leipziger Member Member since 2021

Author. Poet. Advisor. Mentor.

Poetry Nonfiction Photography

Deborah Leipziger is an author, poet, and advisor on sustainability. Born in Brazil, Ms. Leipziger is the author of several books on sustainability and human rights. Her second collection of poems, Tell Me, was published in 2026 by Lily Poetry Review Books. Her work appears in numerous anthologies, including The Nature of our Times and Tree Lines: 21st Century American Poems. Her poems have been published in ten countries in such magazines as Revista Cardenal, Inkwell, The Bombay Literary Magazine, On the Seawall, and Salamander. She is currently working on a Lexicon of Change, which shares the vocabulary we need for social and environmental transformation. Deborah was a 2023-2024 Creative Community Fellow, selected by JArts, a Poet-in-Residence at the Vilna Shul, a cultural center in Boston, and a Writer in Residence at Northeastern University. She is a recipient of grants from the Brookline Arts Commission and a JOTA Fellowship from Brandeis University.

Location:: Sao Paulo
Birthdate:: 14 January
Social:: Blog/web
Instagram

Interview with Deborah Leipziger

Where do you prefer to do your creative work?

On my walks, I gather ideas and images. I prefer to write by hand in my journal.

Do you read literary journals and magazines regularly? If so, which are your favorites?

I love Nixes Mate Journal and SWIMM, as well as Lily Poetry Review and American Poetry Review. Ibbetson Street and On the Seawall. The Bombay Literary Magazine is also brilliant.

Who are your literary (or artistic) heroes?

Joy Ladin

H D

Padraig O Tuama

Marie Howe

Emily Dickinson

Maya Angelou

Georgia O'Keefe

Leonora Carrington

How much of a typical day (or week) are you able to dedicate to your creative work?

For me, living is a creative act. So is sleeping. All of it generative.

Some weeks are more devoted to writing then others.

What makes you procrastinate when you could be doing your creative work? What are your strategies for finding focus?

Prompts and classes help me to focus.

Where do you find inspiration?

Nature

Language

Art

News

What single creative achievement are you most proud of?

My daughters are my greatest creative achievements.

I am also proud to have read at the Grolier Bookstore and the Boston Book Festival. Mostly, I am happy to inspire other writers to create and to publish.

What advice would you give to a young, budding writer (or artist) with less experience than yourself?

Find mentors. Read voraciously. Reach out to writers you admire. Review the work of authors and artists you admire.

For your first draft (or sketch), do you prefer analog or digital tools, or a mix?

analog

Do you incorporate generative AI/LLMs into your creative process? If so, how?

Never

Last Updated: 30 Sep 2026