My interest in poetry emerged in childhood, as I listened to my mother’s voice reading to me and heard the rhythm and sound of well-chosen words. I have written poetry throughout my life as an avenue for reflection and self-understanding. Some early poems were published in journals and personal collections created for friends and family. After my professional career as a nonprofit consultant, story gatherer, and organizational learning coach, retirement offered me the chance to focus more deeply on poetry as a marvelous and even necessary art form.

All good writing requires meticulous word choice, concision in expression, and careful sorting of what should be included or left out. But poetry’s special appeal is that it can use as its subject a single moment or interaction, a single idea. Poetry can tell a good story. It can make meaning from the ordinary. It can examine an experience or idea for its multiple dimensions and contradictions. The spaces left open on the page can invite the reader to step into the poem, an embodiment of our shared human condition. And the brevity of form acknowledges that, just as in life, much is left unanswered.

An important aspect of my poetry practice is reading aloud, and hearing others’ poetry read. It is then that we can appreciate a poem’s inherent musicality and tone, that deliciousness born of how words sound when spoken. Or even sung. To my delight, several of my poems have been chosen by composers as texts for new music written for solo voice or chorus. When these works are performed, my poem becomes airborne, lifted off the page into a realm made possible only by the artistry of others. This experience led me to create an audiobook that joins my poems with music.

We are all readers and listeners, but not all language reaches us where it counts. It’s when we suddenly see ourselves on the page of what someone else has written that we are connected across the divides of our solitary existence. We are joined in our love affair with life, whether tempestuous or calm, discouraged or hopeful. In short, we feel ourselves recognized. That “Yes! How did you know?” is what I’m striving for.

Let’s Connect

Readings
Contact me to arrange a public reading at a bookstore, library, church, or anywhere folks gather for the love of language. You may also contact me to book a private reading in your home; an intimate setting among friends is a wonderful way to share an afternoon or evening.

Join us on a Thursday evening at the Midstream Reading Series, where I’m one of the co-hosts. This monthly live reading spotlights accomplished writers and introduces new voices.

Poem of the Month
Join my email list to receive an original poem in your inbox each month.

Collaboration
Connect with me to create new musical compositions using a poem as text, or to curate programs that celebrate the artistry of the voice through poetry and song.