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Jeremy Mark Ritch

@jeremymarkritch

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Poet -New book coming 2026!
Artist & Writer
MA TESL
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I graduated today with my masters degree. It was kind of surreal seeing where I came from and where I’m at now. A world away from the past lives yet tethered to so many people, places and memories. It was a special day with my friends, family and colleagues. I have to say it means so much to have people rooting for you and showing up—however it looks. In many ways a graduation ceremony is anticlimactic because it’s a formality but in other ways it is an end to a chapter shared in community. I saw friends graduate who I have such high regard for and love dearly. I also stood there accepting a degree I earned at an age where I can see myself in both past and present tense quite vividly. I appreciate the hugs and well wishes. The unspoken words and simple nods of gratitude. In the end I have to say I’m blessed by my wild life, the obscene and sacred, the sober and addicted, the chaos and the calm. It’s all part of this journey. Thank you all. #grateful #graduation #love taken in Kent State University by @jeremymarkritch
57
10 months ago
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Took a trip to the city today on my own. I love trains. I also love @thisispattismith taken in Manhattan, New York by @jeremymarkritch
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7 months ago
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Just feeling a bit emotional as I head into the last week before I graduate. I never expected to do this.never believed it was possible. I grew up with teachers that said I was a loser, a failure, trash. I heard voices in@my head for years calling me towards the darkness. My life expectancy was 25 based on the people telling me I was nothing and I tried to make that happen. Every year since is a surreal trip and now I’m here 25 years later. I’m honest about my imposter syndrome. My doubts and my fears.i am proud but I’m not too proud. I know the fragility of life—this time of year reminds me. I am here to represent all my friends who passed before me—who would have cheered me on. To the lost loves and faded photos. To the ones yet to be. I’m doing my best even if my life is often too much for some to believe. I’m still here. That’s bigger than any piece of paper. #survivor #graduation #life taken in Kent, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
8
10 months ago
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This is probably a long shot but I’m getting to that point. I am out of work and need to generate income so I’m just putting this out there. I am a ESL/EFL (English as a Second/Foreign Language) instructor. I hold a Masters Degree in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language). I would be interested in taking on private tutoring clients. If you are looking to improve your English proficiency. Want to work on business English, conversational English or academic English—I can help with that. We can do structured lessons or just have conversations. I’ve taught k-12 and adults so I can craft a program to your needs. My training was done at Kent State University and at the Kent State Florence Summer Institute in Firenze Italy. While there I taught Italian high school students and Italian Military reviving a certificate from Istituto Geografico Militare (Military Geographic Institute). I also taught German 2nd-9th grade online while in Italy and german adults. I had a group of senior who averaged 80 years old and a professional lawyer who just needed some interview coaching. I am posting this because I feel with the job market being as it is I need to use my skills where I can. I will discuss rates and all that if interested. Send me a DM and we can talk more. I can use Zoom or WhatsApp or any thing we need. I will work with your schedule and time zone. Also please share this with your friends who may need this or know someone. It would help a great deal #eslteacher #esltutor #eflteacher #tesolteacher #lessons by @jeremymarkritch
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a day ago
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Sorry for the shirtless pick but seeing myself lose weight at this pace is both encouraging and surreal. I don’t get excited much or even really pat myself on the back much. My A1C went from 11 in June to 6.5 in September. It’s should be around 5 by my next appointment in 4 months. I should be on less meds by then too. The hope is remission by 2027. My bloodwork was awful in June and now the only issue I have in my blood sugar which is now consistently averaging between 90 (fasting) and 130 (after a meal). I was 230lbs when I was diagnosed in June and now I’m almost to 200lbs. My blood pressure was averaging 145/95 and now it’s 108/70 and my cholesterol have all gone to not just safe levels but great levels. I’ve been told I need to be more proud of myself and that I can be woefully unenthusiastic about things I accomplish. However today I’m bragging. Fuck yes I am. My doctors were telling me how amazing it is that I’ve turned this around. The medications are working but the change in my diet has really been the key. I’m on a lot of pills and an injection, it’s a discipline but I’m doing it. I got sober 14 years ago. I was a drunk and an addict. I did it. I’m using that same drive now. I’m seeing results. I’m proud of myself. #weightloss #diabetes #work #discipline #health taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
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7 days ago
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This was a promo shot for my first poetry collection released in 2013 called “Sidewalk Stories and other Poems” released on Autumn&Colour Records. It was taken in Harrisburg PA by @danifreakinfresh on a very cold day. 13 years later my 8th book “Whispering Hope to an Olive Tree” will be announced soon. I just finished signing the contracts. I will need to do new promos too. Cleveland peeps! Let’s do a shoot! If you own one of my books I’d love to see a photo of you with it! #author #photoshoot #poet #books by @jeremymarkritch
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8 days ago
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Ending a genocide and speaking out about it is most important issue to me, I don’t care that others don’t think that. Being pro-Palestine has been a cause I’ve supported 30+ years. The collective liberation of all oppressed people is bigger than any other to me. This is because we are global citizens not bound by borders. This is not a Democratic or Republican platform. Unfortunately that is not a fight corporate parties will stand up for. It is a leftist position. I will never be ashamed of it. Seeing political candidates taking money from PACs that directly support or represent genocide is a reason not to vote for them. The support of War and the refusal to intervene to help end the deaths in Gaza, Lebanon, Kashmir, Congo, Sudan etc is abhorrent. Supporting governments that bomb children regularly and use chemical weapons on civilians is unacceptable. Supporting governments and sending our tax money to genocidal governments to fund more bombings is absolutely against all moral and ethical principles. It’s not about party, it’s about stopping the destruction of human life by terroristic governments that are aided and abetted by our leaders. Maybe that’s just me? I’m not a debating person nor do I care to compete with anyone’s weird political ego. I’m just saying stopping genocide and the fight to liberate all oppressed people is more important than performative politics or cancel or cringe culture. Happy Sunday #politics #palestine #thoughts taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
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13 days ago
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SA crimes are most often committed by men. They are not reported much of the time. When it happens to a man and a part of the LGBTQ community, it’s rarely reported or taken seriously. As a child I was at a Halloween sleepover. The father of the kid decided to dress as a devil and terrorize us all night. Jumping out, grabbing us and waking us as we tried to sleep. I don’t know what happened but it never left me. His alcohol breath or his devil face. I still have dreams about it sometimes. As an adolescent (13) I was SA by a group of guys who wanted to beat me up because I stood up to a bully. When I was walking home they threw rocks and eventually surrounded me. They took my backpack away, tossed it, and hit me. Then one of the kids had them hold me down to force me to perform a sexual act on him. A group of older kids intervened including a friend with an aluminum baseball bat. It was very violent. I still think about often. In my 20s I was violently assaulted by a group of frat guys and while it wasn’t SA they did call me “F**got” and threaten it as they beat me. I suffered facial fractures and a loss part of my tooth from kicks to my face. A few years later. I was drugged at a bar, loaded into a cab and woke up in a squat house. A person on top of me. It was a woman. I was so confused. I was also freaking out cuz I didn’t know where I was and had to get to work. She offered to walk me to the train. I told a few people but they said it couldn’t happen cuz I was a man. Plus I they said I knew her and had walked to the train with her so it wasn’t SA. I was never a guys guy. I tried to be in my early teens. I was an awkward art kid but had learned violence early. I learned to fight, to not trust and to be a character not who I really was. It took my til my 40s to truly embrace myself. I’m still learning • Bisexual Men: Nearly 37% to 47% have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, compared to about 21% to 29% of heterosexual men. LGBTQIA individuals are nearly four times more likely to be victims of violent crime overall compared to non-LGBT individuals. Not doing this for sympathy but sharing my story. #survivor #sexualviolence #speakout taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
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16 days ago
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Today I was offered a book deal for my latest poetry book. It is a very important collection to me. Many might not love it, it is political. It’s empathetic. It’s about my feelings about Palestine. About war. About May 4 1970 at Kent State. It’s about my 30+ years dedicated to activism and justice. Yes it is controversial to some but my hope is it will be inspiring to others. Encouraging and thought provoking. I’ve written and self published 7 other books of poetry. Many have had politics intertwined but this one is special. I’m excited to have a publisher that believes in it too. I do wish everyone that eventually reads it will find something in it that resonates and if it doesn’t, I am still proud of this work. I’ll be announcing the details of release and the publisher very soon. Thank you to everyone that has ever read my work and bought my books. You made a difference. Thank you. #poetry #politics #publish #poet #empathy taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
6
23 days ago
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Diabetes is a learning curve. I’m currently on 7 medications, a new diet, and lots of doctors. I’m not young anymore, I’m not old but certainly not the same. Health is a thing you never really know until it turns on you. Now I’m working hard to reverse this, get it into remission. It’s not cancer but it’s a serious disease. It’s not because I was lazy or because I was reckless—those are myths. The truth is how it happens isn’t the reason you work, it’s a response to the reality not to the theory of why. My job hunt has been a struggle but adding this has been a real challenge that I think is proving my resilience. I’ve overcome addictions, alcoholism, and mental illness to get to stable levels of health in those places. I’ve worked hard, even if some walked away from me or feel I am too vulnerable for my own good. Truth is I know where I’ve been and where I came from. I’m proud of that. Now I’m heading into October. My birth month. I’m unemployed, dwindling funds and little prospects. My health is improving but it’s not an easy thing. I get scared. Worried. I cry when it gets too much. I have seen the way poverty can hurt you in so many ways. I gave up everything I had to go back to college in 2019, full steam ahead. Went through a lot. Had a 4 year battle with post concussion syndrome, Covid, a misdiagnosis, and now diabetes. Through it all I was able to achieve things no one in my family ever did. A bachelors, masters, traveling abroad, and staying sober. Yes in that journey I made friends, lost them, buried a few, and rekindled with others. As I head into my 51st year I have dreams still. I want to travel. I want to work a meaningful job. I want to teach. I want to die an up for those who can’t. I will love big and I will feel big too. If you are with me in my journey I am grateful. If you are just around to stalk my accounts or collect your tidbits for whatever reason, have at it. I’m too old to care if people like me but I if you do I’m grateful. I hope we all find that thing that makes us whole. #diabetes #health #musings #love #hope taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
2
24 days ago
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Today was weird. Weird in many ways. I was tired, just didn’t sleep. I’ve been watching my parents dogs while they’re away and taking care of the house. I’m also still adjusting to the 6 pills I’m taking daily plus a once a week injection. Dietary changes too. I started testing my blood sugar today as well which was a weird feeling. Pricking my finger sent me into a ptsd episode from when I was 4 in a hospital bed after suffering a brain virus that put me in a coma and nearly killed me that little needle prick brought me back to that time. How I hated getting my finger pricked then so much. It was a bit of a crazy moment for me this afternoon. Then I received 12 job rejections today. All of them basically the same. All in my field or adjacent. All automated and nearly word for word the same. I was deflated.spiraling about my life, my health, my future. I thought about the journey. The suffering of my self inflicted wounds and the healing path of restorative inner grace it took to peel away my protective layers.i was vulnerable. I was irritable. I was not myself. I felt alone but surrounded. I saw the tunnel ahead, the roars ahead and tge blurred vision of lost love that cruised past my blurring eyes. I felt dripping down like a rain gutter slob. I admit it was self pity mixed with a genuine fear of disheartening truths. I sent my book to a promising publisher with imposter syndrome choking my desire to be proud. I was sleep walking anxiously hoping I’d be forgotten not offered a way to make the book live. I wanted to self immolate on my effigy of melodrama. So I tried to move past it . Messaged friends. Hung out with my best friend and dogs. Watched tv and trued to eat. Then just face up to my bed before tomorrow can wake me up wounded. So it isn’t always a good day. It’s sometimes just a sad one. That’s okay. I’ll be okay. The journey is ongoing. #Friday #poet #jobs #musings #goodnight taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @jeremymarkritch
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a month ago
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These pics of me were taken shortly before 9/11. On September 11 2001 I was 25 years old. I was engaged to be married and an outreach worker/concert promoter in the Philly area. The day was a very strange one. My fiancé at the time was on her way to school, I went with her to use the computer lab. I heard someone say the “pentagon is on fire!” I shrugged.Then I walked out to the lobby of the building and saw a group around a TV. Soon I knew. Then the second plane hit live on TV. It felt deep in my stomach, when the towers came down I felt a lot of empathy and sadness. In the days to come I felt the anger, hatred, Islamophobia, and xenophobia leveled at brown people in my life and community. It was sickening. I was a leftist commie scumbag then but 9/11 and its aftermath certainly turned me more left. I still love my country, its nature, its people, and grateful for my privilege but the effects of 9/11 made me more of a peace activist and supporter of liberation movements. More of a believer in collective liberation of all oppressed people, and more importantly a global citizen that sees no need for wars that only kill for power or greed. Truth is, 9/11 was a horrific national trauma. An international wound. My NYC friends and loved ones especially were forever changed. Knowing some who perished because of the attack or in the aftermath, left a mark. It’s undeniable to say it changed our world and all of us in some way. The impact the US military left in the days, weeks, month and decades after. That’s a deeper wound. The destructiveness of the military industrial complex has killed millions of civilians and children. We are still killing today. That’s a far worse evil inflicted on our world. I take today to reflect, inward and out. I still believe there is a better world possible. #9/11 #september11th #peace #hope #love by @jeremymarkritch
1
a month ago
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