Audri Svay, MATW ‘22, Publishes Poetry Collection

Audri Svay, MATW 2022, has published a book of poems entitled Between You and Me (Brethren Press, 2025). The publisher’s website describes the book as, “an intimate conversation about the distance between people” and notes that the book challenges ideas of acceptance, questions societal assumptions, and explores intersections of identity. The book is recommended, in particular, to those who have ever wondered about their purpose and place in the world.

“I wrote this book because what feels most important right now is being able to understand each other, to see the truth in each other’s experiences,” says Svay. “I’ve lived a lot of my life in the space between categories and assumptions, identifying with multiple sides of what feel like clear cut divisions. Between You and Me is my way of wondering aloud about what separates people, while holding close the reality that the stories of our lives aren’t so far apart. I’m excited for people to read this book to question alongside me — what are we holding onto that prevents us from holding our hands out to one another?”

Svay wrote several of these poems for the poetry class she took as part of her Master of Arts: Theopoetics and Writing program at Bethany. Others were composed while she served as theopoet-in-residence at the Church of the Brethren National Youth Conference and Sing Me Home Festival.)

Svay has ministered as pastor of Eel River Church of the Brethren. She has published poems in Messenger and Brethren Life and Thought. She has also taught in a variety of settings, most recently as an adjunct professor at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. Svay is currently pursuing a PhD from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2024 she received a Young Alumni Impact Award from Manchester University.

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