Artist Statement
I am an ardent believer in the power of the imagination. Creative work is a profound aspect of our lives as human beings: our surprising subconscious, our memories, our connections through ideas, our ability to be transported through art and language. Creative work unites us.
Books, in particular, are the building blocks of empathy and equity. Books allow us to enter the minds and hearts of people from the world’s great amalgamation of cultures, mindsets, beliefs, sexualities, genders, histories—writers’ voices inhabit us when we read.
I read voraciously because I am curious about the world. I write because I am curious about the creative process and dedicated to engagement with creative practice. I write books to understand myself. I write poetry to capture intensity of feeling, to examine the networks of cohesion that exist everywhere, and to marvel. Even in deep grief, I write toward our shared humanity.
After I give a reading, I often get the comment that the audience member doesn’t usually like poetry but that they liked mine. I hope my readers feel seen and invited in through their experience of my work and that they are changed in some way. Those readers are anyone who reads poetry, who cares for our threatened environment, who has lost someone, anyone who needs a gathering place for facing the world with courage.
Photography: @rosanneolson.com
I’m interested in intensity and consistency of voice in my poems. I have always been very engaged in the integrity of the line and the power of allowing a poem to find its true form—whether it be a prose poem or an open field composition or free verse couplets. I want the “I” in the poems to transcend confessional solipsism and serve instead as a metaphoric guide and mirror to readers. Robert Duncan is one of my aesthetic mentors, as is Anne Carson. I hope my voice is half as intelligent and beguiling as their voices seem to me. My themes explore what it means to be human, the “idea” of god, the mystery of death and nature in all its complexity. There is humor in those big ideas and sadness too. And always a celebration of beauty.
I live in the very northwest corner of Vermont, steps away from Canada. I moved here recently after almost 20 years in the PNW. I teach and do readings and give workshops. I’m becoming more and more involved with the arts organizations in Vermont and New England. I publish regularly in literary journals and have several books projects in progress at any given time. I am always looking for new friends who enjoy the same things.
My favorite writers: Terrance Hayes, Jorie Graham, Lauren Groff, Arthur Sze, Jake Skeets, Deborah Digges, W.S. Merwin, an ever-changing and expanding list.