When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?
I always seem to turn to Seamus Heaney’s poems “Postscript” and “St. Kevin and the Blackbird.” I also love Mary Oliver’s poems, “If I Wanted a Boat” and “Wild Geese.” I love how both Heaney and Oliver weave landscape and place into their work, but I also really love the way Heaney uses language so that his work comes alive. I’ve always been in love with the way he uses kennings and with how his poetry is so musical. With Oliver, her work resonates with me because I’m often outside walking, hiking, or swimming. I’m elemental, so I find that my sense of spirit and place is most alive when I’m outside with trees, rocks, water, and sky. I crave smaller sounds that come from quieter places, so put me on the edge of a lake at dawn and I will just be in a state of bliss. Whenever I hike, I’m always muttering “Oh, that’s so pretty.” There’s wonder in the world if only we open our hearts and eyes to see it. These days, in pandemic times, it’s been my saving grace, to walk amidst the trees and birds.
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