Walking in Wadena

There’s something both comforting and gratifying about seeing your own words taken in by a new audience. Being invited, held, and given space to share for a moment.

This past weekend gave me the chance to reconnect with poetry in two different, but equally welcoming settings in Wadena, Minnesota. I began with a talk at the Wadena City Library as part of Author Talks: BookEnds Season 7.

BookEnds is the library’s long-running visiting author program, originally started by the Wadena County Historical Society. Each season features conversations with writers and artists from around the region, hosted by the library.

I spoke about my background in writing and my poetry collection Ordinary Omens. I chose several poems to read from the book and followed with a Q&A session for attendees. We finished with a group poetry exercise, exploring the ordinary moments in our everyday lives that might carry hidden or deeper meaning, and how language can lift those moments into poetic form.

During my visit, several people told me they had already encountered my poems along the walkways at Wadena’s Green Island Nature Preserve, where the collection was featured throughout October and early November.

Hearing their descriptions of seeing my poems “in the wild” made me want to experience it myself, so after the event I headed out to Green Island. There was indeed something peaceful and fitting about finding the poems tucked along the forest trails. Many pieces in the collection are tied to the natural world, and reading them there felt powerful and restorative. Although it's close to town, somehow the space they've created is quiet, contemplative, and open enough to let the words settle as you walk.

I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with the Wadena audience, and to experience my poetry as part of the wonderful natural space at Green Island.

If you’d like to watch the BookEnds conversation, that video is linked here. Also consider a visit to Green Island and take a moment to enjoy the quiet of the forest! I've added photos from my visit to my website's portfolio page.

Ordinary Omens; A dream reading at Auntie's Bookstore

I wanted to take a moment to talk about the joy I felt in finally debuting my poetry collection, Ordinary Omens, with a reading at Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane this past September. Sharing my work there had been a dream of mine ever since my days in the MFA program at Eastern Washington University, so this was an incredibly special opportunity to see that dream come to life.

I was joined by my good friends and fellow poets, Maya Jewell Zeller and Laura Read, whose support and camaraderie made the evening even more meaningful. Together, we celebrated the beauty and magic that can be found in life’s ordinary moments, something that’s at the heart of Ordinary Omens.

Returning to Spokane to share my published work with the friends and colleagues I made over the ten years I spent learning, writing, and living there felt like a real full circle moment. Spokane’s literary community has always been close to my heart, and this event was truly special for me.

If you missed the reading in person, feel free to check it out the YouTube video I created for it at this link.

If you’d like to hear more about my journey in creating and sharing this collection, you can also read my interview with the Spokesman Review, published just prior to the event.