‘One of the things that poetry taught me was patience….’
On Monday, I had the pleasure of sitting down in the studio with New Mexico Poet Laureate Lauren Camp. We talked about her new poetry collection, Worn Smooth Between Devourings, and Imagine Nature, a coloring and activity book from the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
“I think of this book as very much a love letter to New Mexico,” Camp said of her new book. “This has poems both about the wonder, the awe of New Mexico, and witnessing. There’s a lot of environmental attention here, a lot of attention to the biosphere, to the fires, to the intensifying heat, the drought.”
As the world speeds up and crisis after crisis unfolds, I find myself yearning toward the quiet of poetry—not to escape the world or turn my attention from it—but to navigate manageable steps toward community, healing, action, and dialogue.
So, Camp’s words resonated with me this week, especially when she said “For me, one of the things that poetry taught me was patience and a sort of generosity to myself. …. I don’t think we have a culture that is slow now, ever, anymore. And I keep holding this space open for poetry, for myself and trying to do it for anyone else.”
Please tune in Friday night for the full conversation on New Mexico in Focus and check out our YouTube and Instagram pages for video of Camp reading two of her poems from Worn Smooth Between Devourings.
And! You don’t just have to look at your phone or computer screen! On Saturday at 10, she and I will be in conversation at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. Come out to hear Camp read from her book—and to join the conversation.
Some of the news to check out:
• “Mora selected for future reforestation center” (Danielle Prokop, Source NM)
• “Pentagon: National security depends on ‘forever chemicals’ like those made by 3M” (Patricia Kime, States Newsroom)
• “Final testing underway at $486M air system for nuclear waste site near Carlsbad” (Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current Argus)
• “Water Authority working on bosque restoration” (Cathy Cook, Albuquerque Journal)
• The Albuquerque Journal’s Top of the Mind question this week uses some interesting language: “Re the ABQ-BernCo Air Quality Control Board, as members seek a so-called environmental justice rule, do you think members of the board are balancing the concerns of local residents and the concerns of local businesses as well as businesses seeking to locate here? Further: What is your view of the air quality in Albuquerque? Does it require a serious response?” (Last week, Mayor Tim Keller vetoed the two bills we’ve been covering regarding air quality in the city.)
• If you missed last week’s show, please take a moment to watch the segments from Antonia Gonzales and New Mexico in Depth reporter Bella Davis. To read more on the dismantling of the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force, read Davis’s work at the NMID website.
Lastly, I love this. That’s all.
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