February 23, 2025
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LocalLit book spotlight: Kathleen Ellinger of Joliet

Nearly a year ago, I wrote a feature story about Kathy Ellinger, a visual artist, poet and lay contemplative. In the story, Ellinger said she has not missed a day of Mass since 1990. Ellinger has self-pubished many books of poetry based on her Catholic faith. On Tuesday, I will review one of them, "Cry of the Poor."

By DENISE M

Here is its Amazon description: "Cry of the Poor" is a collection of poems from previous works that focus primarily on social justice issues. In addition to creating my own cover design, there are poverty drawings throughout this book which capture the urgency of the needs of the poor. "The poetry in this book moves the heart to be compassionate and to assist those less fortunate than ourselves: the starving, the refugee, the homeless and the poor in general throughout our world and in our own country of the United States." To her Ellinger read two of her poems, visit To hear Ellinger read two of her poems, visit bit.ly/2YLH3IN and bit.ly/2z7zuwR.

Here is its Amazon description: "Cry of the Poor" is a collection of poems from previous works that focus primarily on social justice issues. In addition to creating my own cover design, there are poverty drawings throughout this book which capture the urgency of the needs of the poor. "The poetry in this book moves the heart to be compassionate and to assist those less fortunate than ourselves: the starving, the refugee, the homeless and the poor in general throughout our world and in our own country of the United States." To her Ellinger read two of her poems, visit To hear Ellinger read two of her poems, visit bit.ly/2YLH3IN and bit.ly/2z7zuwR.

KNOW MORE Each week LocalLit will deliver an original short and family-friendly story by a local author – or a review of a book written by a local author – to the newsletter's subscribers. To submit a story or book for review, contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 ordunland@shawmedia.com. To sign up for the newsletter, visit theherald-news.com/newsletter/locallit/#//.

#LocalLitJolietKathy EllingerKathleen EllingerCry of the PoorLocalLit short story newsletterDenise M. Baran-UnlandCatholic poetryinspirational