Episode 2 - Into Soft Memories with Michael Kleber-Diggs

Episode Two is a deep dive into the other host of Into a Darker Wilderness, Michael Kleber-Diggs, author of the poetry collection Worldly Things.Guest bioMichael Kleber-Diggs (KLEE-burr digs) (he / him / his) is the author of Worldly Things (Milkweed Editions 2021), which won the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, the 2022 Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award in Poetry, the 2022 Balcones Poetry Prize, the 2021 Poetry Center Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2022 Minnesota Book Award. His essay, “On the Complex Flavors of Black Joy,” is included in the anthology There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis, edited by Tracy K. Smith and John Freeman (Penguin Random House 2021). Another essay, “There Was a Tremendous Softness,” appears in A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars, edited by Erin Sharkey (Milkweed Editions, 2023). His poems and essays often explore themes of intimacy, community, empathy, and grace, practices he believes are distinct and interdependent. Among other places, Michael’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry, Poem-a-Day, Orion Magazine, Literary Hub, Sierra Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, Alaska Quarterly Review, Great River Review, Water~Stone Review, the Under Review, Poetry Daily, Poetry Northwest, Potomac Review, Spillway, and several other journals and anthologies. Michael is a past Fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, a past-winner of the Loft Mentor Series in Poetry, a Minnesota AARP 50 over 50 Honoree, and a Poets & Writers Five Over 50 honoree. Since 2016, Michael has been an instructor with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. He also teaches Creative Writing at Augsburg University and Hamline University where he works with both undergraduate and graduate students. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize three times and Best of the Net once and has been supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation, and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. Michael is married to Karen Kleber-Diggs, a tropical horticulturist and orchid specialist. Karen and Michael have a daughter, Elinor, who lives in New York City and works as a professional dancer.Selected references from this episode:The Givens FoundationPrestidigitationCatfishSwimmingLap swimming in the Twin Cities (Yelp) (new V3 Sports facility on the Northside)Minnesota lakesCreatures in lakesWichita, KansasOld tackle boxesSwimming while BlackMilkweed EditionsFollow Into a Darker Wilderness wherever you get your social media (⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠), subscribe to our newsletter, and become a member supporter at our website, ⁠IntoADarkerWilderness.com⁠ (and maybe ⁠pick up some merch⁠ while you're there 😉).