Nancy Walden •

In the Tent Called Amazement

In spare, lyric form, this author shares her love equally between the beautiful and the common. She writes
of the natural world with an attention to detail that occasionally becomes surrealistic. The blurring of humans, inanimate objects, and animals is common in Walden’s work, where the primary difference seems to be that humans are able to reflect on mortality. In the tradition of William Carlos Williams, she finds an endless source for writing poetry in the world of visual art. Her special fondness for Native American and Inuit art stems from seeing an [Inuit] image of a smiling snowy owl in a gallery window years ago. Her brief, breathtaking poems leave the reader with the sensual fullness of having viewed enchanting works of art in a museum.

About Nancy

Nancy Walden is delighted with both the work and the play of writing poetry. She has an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University. In addition to her langauge, Nancy contributes her visual skills to the Laurel Collective as one of its broadside and letterpress artists.

Boundary Waters

paddling by

twisted roots

restless young tree pulls away

from all that holds him

we canoe,

hot summer day

black and orange butterfly floats,

floats

tiny toad on

a warmed granite boulder

absorbs this,

just this

From The Quiet Eye: Thirteen Ways of Looking at Nature (Laurel Collective anthology, 2009)

Nancy on Writing Poetry

I catch glimmers. Then, with words, try to make them glimmer again for someone else.

When I work on writing a poem, I turn strong, shining moments this way and that way in my mind. I wonder where they came from, why they’re memorable, and what poetic energy I can add to keep them alive.

From The Double Meaning of Yield: Laurel Poets on Writing Poetry