Poet . Essayist . Teacher.

“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light.”

—William Wordsworth

I am a poet, essayist, and educator whose work explores the intersections of spirituality, poetry, ecology and embodied arts. For over two decades, I have taught and written on the philosophy and psychology of Yoga as creative inquiry—bridging the ancient and the contemporary through poetic practice, intuitive arts, and literary expression. My creative work draws from lived experience as a teacher, writer, and Sannyasin, to create work that integrates ontopoetics, ecology, and the study of consciousness.

Support my work: Subscribing to my Substack

Services

  • Śivani is a brilliant light! Shining bright and full some days, and soft and dappled others. She is a carrier of consciousness, opening up poetry and poetics to welcome us in safely. She builds a community, and keeps her classroom warm with her vividness, spirit, and humor, forming a very loyal core group of students. For me personally, she offers a nurturing and cozy platform where she has helped reveal spiritual layers within the poems to me that I may not have noticed on my own. If understanding the craft of poetry seems daunting, she can teach you how to believe!

    - Adam, California

  • In her poetry classes, Sivani Howe teaches us not what a poem means, but how it means— how the words rub up against one another, how they rhyme or simply chime, how they are bridges between the lines, how they are orphaned from tired use, how they progress down the page, how they are there for our enchantment, and how they take us someplace new. She helps us see the poet’s mind at work, and that our pleasure results the craft.

    Kitty, Washington DC

  • Sivani welcomes her students as fellow travelers and creates a safe space for engaging in and sharing our own experiences with poetry and with our own work. Throughout each lesson, Sivani invites questions and comments to gauge our grasp of the lesson. She really, really wants us to get it! I read more closely, listen more deeply, and write more bravely because of Sivani’s encouraging and inspiring approach to studying and writing poetry. I consider her classes among my most valuable, and am deeply grateful for the experience. Sivani’s classes should come with a warning: if you show up and play full out, you will change your writing, and, as I am finding out, it is also changing my life.

    - Monica, USA

  • Sivani's delight in poetry is contagious. She is one of those unique souls who teaches as well as she writes. Already I'm making long strides toward my goals. Thank you, Sivani.

    Kathy, USA

  • I am a very beginner poet, having barely read or written much poetry, but I've felt very empowered through Sivani's craft teachings to read and write poetry now. I have a huge repertoire of craft knowledge I can look for in poems now. I really enjoyed the close reading course and then the revision course: what I'd consider her most advanced courses so far and loved how we put the teachings into practice. She's taking us on such a journey and I love it. But I see the future poetry courses, and I can just say it's exactly what I want and to please keep it coming!

    Gabriel, USA

  • I am coming home from “The Love of Language and Land Retreat” at’ Niwas seeing the world through poetry. It was amazing how deep we went in such a short time. This weekend is for anyone seeking true connection to land, self, others and the magic of poetry.

    Alanna, Canada

  • During the Love of Language and Land Retreat” at ‘Niwas I felt safe to truly listen, feel and connect deeply within myself, the community, land and love. To utter my inner experience through language and be witnessed in a supportive community was transformative. The whole experience gifted me more self awareness, clarity and empathy.During the Love of Language and Land Retreat” at ‘Niwas I felt safe to truly listen, feel and connect deeply within myself, the community, land and love. To utter my inner experience through language and be witnessed in a supportive community was transformative. The whole experience gifted me more self awareness, clarity and empathy.

    Danielle, Kaslo

  • Sivani Howe embodies precisely the qualities that every good teacher needs: a thorough knowledge of her subject and the ability to transmit what she knows in a way that captures and holds attention. But more: the 'the secret sauce' is her obvious enthusiasm for poetry, a love and delight that never wans.

    Patrick, Canada

  • It was such a delight being a part of Śivani Howe’s Craft Toolbox classes! Each session shed fresh light onto different craft elements, which (even as an MFA poetry student), surprised and inspired me in new and nuanced ways. Not only does Śivani have a masterful technical knowledge about the many craft elements poetry, she also takes care to ensure her students feel welcome and safe, making room for warmth, growth, and a wonderful spectrum of perspectives.

    Erica, Seattle