Author And Poet Dr. Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg To Give Readings In Tucson
by Debra Thornley on Jan. 10, 2010, under life, poetry
Dr. Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg to Give Readings From New Book
Dr. Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg will present several readings from her new books The Sky Begins At Your Feet (a memoir on cancer, community and ecology, Ice Cube Press), and Landed (poetry, Mammoth Publications) during her promotional book tour stop in Tucson, Jan. 15th -17th. Dr. Mirriam-Goldberg is the 2009-2011 Poet Laureate of Kansas. Her career as a poet, fiction and non-fiction writer, teacher, mentor and facilitator focuses on how literature can help us live more meaningful and vibrant lives. As founder of Transformative Language Arts, she also values social and personal transformation through the spoken, written and sung word.
I spoke briefly by phone with Dr. Mirriam-Goldberg this past week. When asked about her books and upcoming readings, she said:
“Both books I’ll be reading from focus quite a bit on an environmental perspective, actually a bio-regional perspective which is learning how to live, from where we live and having a sense of place be one of the great guiding cores of our lives to show more about who we are and what are callings are and how we might respond to them. And at the same time I believe very much that the most local place we live is in our own body and so both the poetry and the memoir focus quite a bit on living in the body, asking more questions than answering them. The memoir of course because it focuses on cancer and community and facing great physical challenges.
So it comes from a very personal place?
Absolutely and also looking at [and asking], for all of us as we age and change, ‘How can we cultivate a greater love for our own body? How can we see the miracle that we live in, and that we are in that light instead of subscribing to too many societal views of beauty that can be very diminishing?’ In the collections of Poetry (Landed) there is a whole section of yoga poems that have to do with embodiment, Earth and spirit, and the big questions that constantly grab me. How am I supposed to live? What does it mean to be?
The Sky Begins At Your Feet
Of all of your published works, which has meant the most to you?
Landed
It’s usually the one I am working on at the moment. I am working on three right now. I have felt very close to Landed and The Sky Begins At Your Feet because I’ve done so many readings from them and I have felt such a deep connection with almost every audience. It almost feels like we are co-creating a reading together and it feels more like a conversation than a performance.
Would you talk a little about your writing process?
My process of writing anything, but especially poetry, is one of coming to the blank page and having no idea what will happen. That scares me in a way, but I also love it because it feels very new and fresh so I try to let go of it and pay attention at the same time. I try to do my writing when I am a little tired and a little off guard. Sometimes a poem comes very easily; sometimes I revise it 36 times. I spend a lot of time reading poetry out loud, and I spend a lot of time copying it over, either hand-writing something that is typed up and revising it as I write, or typing something that is hand-written because by doing that I start to tighten up the words quite a bit.
Dr. Mirriam-Goldberg is the author of seven other books, including three collections of poetry, the award-winning Write Where You Are, and editor of The Power of Words: A Transformative Language Arts Reader. Her poetry and prose has been published in over 50 literary journals and anthologies. Founder of Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College, where she teaches in the low-residency Individualized MA Program, Dr. Mirriam-Goldberg has extensive experience facilitating writing workshops for many populations, and giving readings and presentations. She also offers writing and singing workshops and performances with singer-songwriter Kelley Hunt through their business, Brave Voice.
Dr. Mirriam-Goldberg received her Ph.D. and MA from the University of Kansas (poetry, women’s studies, mythology) and she is certified in grassroots organizing from the Midwest Academy, and poetry therapy from the National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy. She is the recipient of the Kansas Arts Fellowship in Poetry, the Rocky Mountain National Park artist-in-residency, the City of Lawrence Phoenix Award, and other honors.
Dr. Mirriam-Goldberg’s schedule for the weekend includes:
Fri., Jan. 15: 7 p.m. at the Silverbell Trading Company, 7119 N. Oracle Rd. : A reading from The Sky Begins At Your Feet, Her Memoir on Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body. Dr. Goldberg will be available for book-siging following the reading. The Sky Begins At Your Feet. For more information call 520/797-6852.
Sat., Jan. 16: 6 p.m., a reading from The Sky Begins At Your Feet :Finding the Sky That Begins At Our Feet As We Change and Age: Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg Reading From Her Memoir on Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body, following the Havdallah Service, Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road. The Sky Begins at Your Feet is a story of finding strength and beauty through our connections with each other, the earth and sky, and our own bodies. Come to a reading by the Poet Laureate of Kansas followed by an opportunity to write what holds light for each of us (reading aloud optional). 520/327-4501.
Sun., Jan. 17: 10 a.m. followed by a reception, Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road. “Landed: Poetry, Wonder, and the Power of the Word to Land Us in the Center of Our Own Hearts: A Reading with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg.
Sunday, Jan. 17: 2 p.m., Historic Y Courtyard (5th Ave. and University) “Coming Home to Earth, Sky, Body and Community: A Reading with Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg and Special Guest Jefferson Carter” sponsored by Sky Island Alliance. Jefferson Carter is the author of eight collections of poetry, most recently My Kind of Animal.
