Life at the end of summer is the usual patchwork: Losses in the midst of beauty and awe. Wonder alongside fear and uncertainty. A bouquet, a bookshelf, a collage, a quilt square and then another. An aspen forest and a family. New poems patching themselves together into whatever they will become next: first words, then lines, then poems and sequences and books, maybe, all building upon each other into a body of work that is kin to my own body.
Along the lines of poems becoming, this Sunday Nov 1, I will be in conversation with my long time poetry companion and friend Barbara Rockman, on the theme of “Ripening: The unfolding practice of poetry.”
We plan to read work across several books to watch how our voices, and poetics deepen and develop over time. What themes or forms appear fully formed from the beginning? What was present but in a seed state? How has the seed grown? What has remained constant and what has taken us by surprise?
And underneath it all are the eternal questions of what it means to write poetry across one’s lifespan, to stay devoted, to remain ready for the poem we never expected, to prepare for the mystery of future work by remaining steadfast to the practice of poetry. What an honor, really.
Join us and our hosts Saddle Road Press this Sunday Nov 1, 2026 at 1:00 Mountain Time via zoom
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What are some of the squares in your patchwork these days?
