Biography
Image: Kaitlyn Wood Photography
Alesa Bernat is the author of Everything Is Fine, a self-published poetry collection about Bipolar Depression. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in print and online literary journals and magazines such as Boreal Zine, Sad Girl Diaries, Black River Review, and North Star.
Bernat is the 2025 recipient of the Black River Review's Outstanding Creative Writing Contribution award. Her poem "Elegy for Heartache Resurrected" received Honorable Mention in Seneca Park Zoo's, Water into Words, 2024 Nature Poetry Contest. She participated in the Adirondack Center for Writing's Poem Village in 2024 and 2025. Bernat's work also appears in Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System's 70th Anniversary Anthology, True North: Words and Images from New York's North Country.
Bernat was part of the 2024 cohort of the “Artist as Entrepreneur Program” made possible by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and St. Lawrence County Arts Council (SLC Arts).
Articles Featuring Alesa Bernat
"After 10 years with no words to write, poet Alesa Bernat released her debut poetry and prose collection “Everything Is Fine.” In July 2023 she self-published the collection which delves into a woman’s journey through the diagnosis, treatment and aftermath of bipolar depression." ... (click title to read at Cardinal Points)
"Poet Alesa Bernat, (Lowville, NY) is getting noticed—one could say she is on fire. Her recent activities include being part of the 2024 cohort of the Artist as Entrepreneur Program made possible by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), St. Lawrence County Arts Council (SLC Arts) and held at St. Lawrence University this past fall." ...(click title to read at Tug Hill Artist Network (THAN)
"The unveiling of Volume XXXV (35) of the Jefferson Community College Black River Review (BRR), a journal of poetry, prose, and fine arts took place on May 8, 2025. The event was a celebration of the diverse writing and art talents of Jefferson students, faculty, staff, and alumni."
...(click title to read at Jefferson Community College)
About the Illustrator
Nik Barkley is the illustrator of the paintings and cover of Everything is Fine. He is a lifetime imaginative thinker, artist, and graphic designer. He resides in Massachusetts with his wife, 3 children and their rescue dogs. He has a particular knack for finding four leaf clovers everywhere.