Follow a Fish Poetry Conversations and Inspiration

A random prompt led from 'Food Delivery' to the loneliness caused by addiction to biased news and painkillers.  We talk about both crises in America and about the narrative poetic form. Show notes with links are here. The print version of the poem with art work is here. 

Deborah reads her Tanka Japanese form poem that starts off about one thing and turns to something much darker. A tiny and powerful heroic love story, based on a real story that you can read in our show notes, as well as the written version of her story and the prompt for today. 

Sue and Deborah read and chat about poems they've written inspired by art, both about boats, the sea, and life's journeys. An Open Mic participant - Juniper "Beaux" Sanchez shares a beautiful poem and her art work "Story time". We hope you will also get out there, maybe to a local museum, looking for art that inspires you, then send in your work to us. Here are the show notes with links to poems on the page with the art work - particularly worth checking out for this episode, plus more information on stuff mentioned during our conversation!

Ekphrastic poetry is poetry inspired by art. Today, Johanna Ely, poet laureate emerita of Benicia, CA reads and discusses two poems from paintings - "Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose" which ends up with a discussion of sensuality and mother godesses to the Virgin Mary, followed by a wander down a back alley in the mysterious tiny town of Locke in the Delta lands of the San Francisco Bay - "Back Alley, Locke, CA. The show notes include links to ideas shared in the chats. See the links to read the poems and see the artwork that inspired them. 

'Ars poetica' refers to any poetry or prose that considers the art of poetry, especially poems that step outside of themselves to consider their own genesis and nature. Today, Sue’s poem 'Ocean' describes her creative process, and Deborah’s interleaving of two poems in 'Sanctus' is an example of poems that step outside of themselves. Lnks to ideas mentioned in the episode, as well as the printed works on a page with orignal artwork are in the show notes. 

Tom is an emeritus poet laureate of Benicia in the SF Bay Area. Today, he's performing a ‘poemSong,’ part poem and part song, which incorporates musical sounds with words. Think of an abstract work of art and how you have to suspend disbelief and just let the words and sounds in, and see where it takes you. It's not as accessible as many of our other offerings, and that's part of the poetry journey across bridges, down hills to the edge of a great river, the Suisun Bay, Benicia and "Rivertown". The show notes include the written version of the poem, the prompt and more about Tom.

Last time we read Clare’s poem, “Deope,” for the river Deben in Suffolk, which opened questions about the importance of particular beloved places in connecting us to the natural world and building the foundation for stewardship. Today Deborah shares her poem “Dreaming With Gray Eagle Creek.” Our wide-ranging conversation after the reading touches on the allegory of rivers and spirit, of water flowing and changing as the river stays more constant and the comparison of water flowing, to music. 

We introduce  Clare Hedin, who is a singer, songwriter, and sound healer. We invited her to join us on a podcast after hearing her beautiful reading of Mary Oliver’s poem “The Journey” at our first open mic. Clare is also a visual artist and filmmaker who has created a body of gorgeous, small videos centered on place. Clare shares a conviction that a deep connection to nature, often arising from a particular place, is the bedrock of environmental stewardship. Here is a link to Clare's work, a link to her 'small videos centered on place'; and here is a link to her poem on the page for you to read. 

In response to Teri's life's journey poem, Deborah shares the end of a journey of a mother and baby Orca based on the real story of Tahlequah, the mother carried her dead baby for 17 days. Then Sue shares a poem that describes accompanying her father during his last, hard days, also with an ocean allegory. The show notes have links to the pretty print versions of these poems with artwork, plus some information on items mentioned in the podcasts

Teri is a mover, shaker and beloved in the El Sobrante community. She wrote a poem with her son who died last year - the first she had ever written. We were so struck by it at our first poetry open mic we invited her on to the show. We hope you'll be as inspired by Teri as we are, with her insightful, sly and poignant poem that takes you along her unusual and inspiring life's journey. Here are the show notes with the poem and her community work. The prompt to send in, is "Life's Journey" of course :-). 

Deborah and Sue continue a discussion of aging from a deeply personal perspective, this time based around Deborah's ekphrastic poem "Indietro". See our show notes for details and resources mentioned in the episode, as well as a prompt for you to write your own thoughts about aging. 

Sue reads her poem "Shape of the Body" and Deborah and I talk about the challenges but also the satisfactions of aging, even in a society that prizes youth and looks. Our show notes link to resources mentioned in our conversation and to the prompt.

Deborah reads her beautiful and haunting poem "Wild" and we discuss how we live in and are part of nature, the way that she structured this piece as a poet, as well as some suggestions for how to rewild your own garden. See our show notes for details and today's prompt. Included are details of the Open Mic today at the Good Table Gathering Space, and for joining the "Restoring Nature, Restoring Ourselves" monthly community forum at The Shed, both in El Sobrante, Ca. Season 2 with our next episodes will be coming at THE END OF APRIL.

Restoring nature, nature restoring itself and the resilience of nature is celebrated in today's poem "Spring Break School". The conversation and the show notes highlight rewilding, with some inspiring examples. Nature longs for itself, it's resurgence is just below the surface, waiting to reclaim it's own. We hope you'll enjoy this playful poem and a bit of hope for the future. 

Today we continue our poetic exploration of the pandemic. Deborah reads her “Kneading the Challah,” which was published in the anthology Pandemic Puzzle Poems from Blue Light Press. This is a beautiful musing on the power of ritual like this had during the pandemic and how ritual can braid together generations. What rituals do that for you? Write to today's prompt in our show notes, where we also list resources mentioned in our conversation. 

Remember that terrible time that's disappearing in the rear view mirror? The sense of impending doom, the fear and isolation, before we knew exactly how it was spread and what to do to stay alive. The lock down. The great pause. Except for 'essential workers' to whom we owe so much. Sue shares her poem distilling details from that time and a tiny bit of hope as nature flourished in the quiet. For the written poem with artwork, as well as links to the fascinating world of epidemiology as well as the prompts and open mics, see our show notes and our website.

We read two short poems of Deborah's about wildfire, the first "Dry Lightening" is a frightening description of an approaching wildfire and if to evacuate or not, followed by "Return of the Golden Crowned Sparrows" which is about the resilience of nature, sparking a wide ranging conversation - rewilding, the ecology of fire, grace and the possibility of hope for nature (and ourselves) are all touched on. Lots of links in our show notes! 

We read and discuss a poem "Chimneys" that was written in response to the fire that destroyed most of Paradise, Ca in 2018, including Sue's beloved mother in law's home. Wildfire is a fear that creeps in at the end of every dry summer in California and other wildfire-prone zones. We examine the emotions and some of the science behind it. Lots more detail in the show notes here, including today's prompt "Wildfires". You can read the poem "Chimneys" here.

We read and chat about Sue's poem "Raven against Fate" and at the end, some natural history about crows and ravens because they are so fascinating! Show notes for all the links and more mentioned in the episode. The prompt for today is "Ravens, crows or black birds." Send to [email protected]. Check out our website for upcoming episodes and prior prompts and more. 

We read listener poems Pete Brown’s Seastar Sashimi and Allegra Sillberstein’s: Goldfish Gift Deborah reads her "In the Season of Crows" and Sue and Deborah chat about it before challenging you to write to today's prompt: Write an ekphrastic poem - a poem inspired by visual art. It’s best done in person rather than a photograph or online image. If you can... Send to us at [email protected]. Check out the website for upcoming episodes and show notes.  

Today, more in-your-face activist poetry compared to yesterday's. Deborah's poem questions what "Make America Great Again" means in a  satirical, sing-song rhyme, like a dark children's storybook. Sue shares "The Threat" offering comparisons with the two world wars and hope to awaken the angels in each of us to help us resist the threat that is now upon us. Write us a your own protest poem and send in to [email protected]. Poems, art and links mentioned are in the show notes at curiositycat.com.

A more interior take on activist poetry in this episode, Deborah and Sue discuss two poems and link it to their own activism and inspiration to write to the times we are in. We encourage you to send in your own, to the prompt based on Laura Hershey's protest poem "How to Write a Poem,"  which ends with "Write the poem you need." Send to us at [email protected]. Check out the written poems and open mics @ curiositycatpodcasts.com

Sue reads her poem about the death of a student, and the cycles of nature, war and peace and talks about it with Deborah. We invite you to write an elegy - a poem of loss, praise for the departed, and resolution - see https://poets.org/glossary for more detail and explanation.  Please also see the written poem and artwork at curiositycatpodcasts.com.

We read and discuss two poems about the grief of losing mothers to dementia, one "Canning Apricots" from Deborah Bachels Schmidt, and the other from a listener - Pete Brown's poignant "Two Ladies". Today's listener prompt is simply "Grief", however you interpret it. Please send to [email protected]

Deborah reads and reflects on her poem "Counting Poems" where she compares how many she's written compared to others, and reframes the 'distractions' of parenting as a kind of poetry itself. This episode is about freeing ourselves from the deadening effects of competition with others and ourselves, getting out of our own way in order to hear the still, small voices of creativity. The listener prompt is: Reflect on success as measured in a meaningful, personal way. Send to us at [email protected]

A reading and discussion of Sue's poem "Obscurity Unpacked", exploring the inner demons of depression and feeling unseen within our present culture of FOMO, celebrity worship, and the loss of person-to-person connection. Today's listener prompt: “Demons Within”. Please write something to this and send it to [email protected].

Deborah reads and talks about her poem about the goldfish in her garden pond, and gives tips for how to get your poetry out there - chap books, poetry open mics and more. See our website for details and the poem in written form here. Here are Deborah's tips for becoming part of a poetry community. Listener prompt: Fish, fishing and/or another analogy that captures your creative process. Send to [email protected].

What’s happened to following fish  Off the Mendocino cliffs? To following fish, and seeing where they lead? A reading and a conversation about the creative process. And fishing. With a prompt for listeners to submit their own work on the theme of fish and their own creative process. e mail to [email protected]