Author Archives: Heather Kempton

Rooms Without Doors Cover Art

Here’s a quick peek at the artwork I’ve chosen for the cover of my chapbook, Rooms Without Doors (forthcoming Dancing Girl Press & Studio). Nushabad, the tunnels under the city by Franco Pecchio. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) licence. The original photograph is available on Flickr. Licence details availableContinue reading “Rooms Without Doors Cover Art”

The Digital Kōan

Contributed to the special issue on Divine Algorithms: Religion and Faith in the Era of Artificial Intelligence in Religions with an article on using AI chat to question the nature of the constructed self: Kempton, H. (2026). The Digital Kōan: Artificial Intelligence, Non-Self, and Contemplative Practice. Special Issue of Religions – Divine Algorithms: Religion andContinue reading “The Digital Kōan”

Kintsugi and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

I’ve been working with Mickey Espino, artist and psychologist (in training), on a Kintsugi and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) project following the completion of his Masters. This has led to the publication of our article: Espino, M. & Kempton, H. (2026). The art of mending together: Integrating Kintsugu and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy forContinue reading “Kintsugi and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy”

The Rowan Tree

Poetry has always been my natural creative language. For years, most of my artistic energy went into crafting poems, shaping words on the page and exploring the themes that continue to inspire me: mythology, folklore, spirituality, mystery, and the landscapes of the imagination.When my son was very young, however, poetry became more difficult. Not becauseContinue reading “The Rowan Tree”

Rooms Without Doors

I’m delighted to announce that my special project chapbook, Rooms Without Doors, has been accepted for publication by Dancing Girl Press & Studio. I’ll share more details in the coming weeks, including a glimpse of the cover artwork. Compared with Saturn Yields to Jupiter, this collection is less lyrical and relational, and more concerned withContinue reading “Rooms Without Doors”

Against the current: Sole authorship as method in contemplative and conceptual scholarship

I’m pleased to share that my article, “Against the current: Sole authorship as method in contemplative and conceptual scholarship”, has been published in Accountability in Research.Drawing on my work on mindful solitude, the article explores sole authorship as an epistemic and ethical methodological condition within contemplative and conceptual scholarship. It argues that in forms ofContinue reading “Against the current: Sole authorship as method in contemplative and conceptual scholarship”

Choosing book cover artwork for Saturn Yields to Jupiter

Kelsay recently sent me a selection of possible cover images for Saturn Yields to Jupiter. Choosing a cover is a curious experience. A poetry collection contains many voices, moods, and subjects, yet a single image must somehow stand in for the whole. Most of the images offered were attractive enough, but they tended towards aContinue reading “Choosing book cover artwork for Saturn Yields to Jupiter”