Landward
with Catherine Young
Thursdays around 8:25AM
Catherine Young is a performing artist and writer whose life is devoted to protecting water. Trained in fluvial geomorphology, Catherine worked as a national park ranger, naturalist, educator, farmer, and mother before completing her MFA in creative writing in British Columbia. Her prose and poetry has been nominated for Pushcart Prize and Best American Essays and is published internationally and nationally, including in the anthologies The Driftless Reader and Contours. She is the author of the memoir of place, Black Diamonds: A Childhood Colored by Coal (Torrey House Press)and the ecopoetry collection Geosmin (Water’s Edge Press, Midwest Book Awards Silver Medal).
Rooted in farm life, Catherine lives with her family in Wisconsin’s Driftless bioregion. Her podcasts and writings can be found at: www.catherineyoungwriter.com/
When Freshly Painted-May 18, 2023
Catherine reads her farm poem, When Freshly Painted, from her poetry collection Geosmin
Some Glad Morning-Thursday May 11, 2023
Catherine reads a spring poem by Joyce Sutphen from Carrying Water to the Field.
By the Creek Bank-Thursday May 4, 2023
Catherine reads a poem by Tom Hennen from Darkness Sticks to Eveything:New and Collected Poems
Tightrope- Thursday April 27, 2023
Rexalling our role in averting tragedy is like walking a tightrope. The poem Tightrope by Catherine Young is from her poetry Collection, Geosmin.
Verdancy & Hymenoptera: Wasps l, Thursday April 20, 2023
Catherine reads 2 poems from her collection Geosmin. Many colors refill the April landscape in Verdancy. Hornets build homes in Hymenoptera: Wasps l
Eloquence Engraved in Stone-Thursday April 13, 2023
Catherine reads from her poetry collection Geosmin. Eloquence in Stone uses and epigraph from Tony Hoagland’s poetry to describe Driftless region geology
Shepard of Trees-Thursday April 6, 2023
Catherine reads Shepard of Trees from her poetry collection Geosmin where a caretaker asks trees what they need.
Panoramic-March 30, 2023
Catherine reads Panoramic from her poetry collection Geosmin and descirbes a lifetime as a landscape.
Compost and Revolution- March 23, 2022
Catherine reads 2 poems from her collection Geosmin, Compost and Revolution are two views of the cycle of life on a farm.
Volute-March 16, 2023
Catherine reads Volute from her poetry collection Geosmin. In Volute a fossil tells people how everything in the world curls-whether we can see it or not.
Women Tending-Thursday March 9, 2023
Women Tending by Catherine Young from her poetry collection Geosmin.
Women Tending moves through time and is told in 3 voices
From women tending house and home; the women making bricks & pottery for home; the women who make art-those women who tend towards what calls us to create. The poem celebrates the gifts of women have given to the world throughout history in March- Women’s History Month.
Aubade for the Never Ending Flow of Milk-Thursday March 2, 2023
Aubade for the Never Ending Flow of Milk by Catherine Young from her poetry collection Geosmin.
An aubade is a poem that is written for dawn, a poem that greets the morning, lamenting the end if night wehn lovers ms part. On a farm, audbade can take quite a different meaning after a long night of tending the birth of livestock and readying for the day.
In February it Begins and Maple Syruping- Thursday February 22, 2023
Catherine reads two poems from her poetry collection, Geosmin. In February it Begins and Maple Syruping for the spring season of change and the sweetness we crave.
Lichen and Late Winter-Thursday February 16, 2023
Catherine reads 2 poems from her collection Geosmin: Lichen and Late Winter
Lichen-decorates the bark lke a living wrapping on gift, one that’s hard to put into the woodstove.
Late Winter in Wisconsin is the difficult time of freeze and thaw, an anxious dance. We want the melt, but not all at once!
Geosmin- Thursday February 8, 2023
Catherine reads Geosmin from her poetry collection Geosmin
January Brink-Thursday February 2, 2023
Catherine reads January Brink from her poetry collection Geosmin.
There are people who love summer as a time fo gathering outdoors, but some love snowy winter even more. January’s clean and spare, and the snow and ice catches is the most beautiful light. January is an edge; a brink.
Mapping the Empty Lot- Thursday January 26, 2023
Catherine reads Mapping the Empty Lot from her poetry collection Geosmin.
The narrator in this poem visits a childhood house after many years and finds it a gap in the city block where it had stood.
Stone Circle-Thursday January 19, 2023
Catherine reads Stone Circle from her poetry collection Geosmin.
From the perspective of geologic time, stone is always in motion. Glass is a slow liquid that pools over time. Stone Circle was inspired by a lively and colorful painting of Gathering Stone Circle in Cumbria U.K. where time becomes relative.
Minus Forty-Thursday January 12, 203
Catherine reads Minus Forty from her poetry collection Geosmin. In the deep cold weather there is a garden made of ice.
Chickadees and Sylvan-Thursday January 5, 2023
Catherine reads two poems of season.
Chickadees by Minnesota Poet Laureate, Joyce Sutphen, from her collection Carrying Water.
Sylvan (L’Homme Vert) from poet, Donna Carnes, portraying each of the four seasons hrough the eyes of a tree in the imagist style.
A Parallelogram- December 29, 2022
Catherine reads A Parallelogram from her poetry collection Geosmin
A Parallelogram is based on the photo “Met” of a many storied, many painted atrium with reflections and echoes of parallelograms through which could be seen snow-covered trees. The poem is an ekphrastic response to imaginary divisions of latitude and longitude lines as all lines are imaginary.
Lost at Sea and At a Loss- Thursday December 22, 2022
Catherine reads 2 poems, Lost at Sea and At a Loss from her poetry collection Geosmin
Lost at Sea considers how coal has given us light, heat, electricity, clothing, medicines-but it is fossil fuel, sunshine stored in carbon, and it has been the major contributor to climate change, which in turn leads to glacial melt and sea level rise.
At al Loss refers to “at al loss for words” for the amazement of the living lad here in Southwest Wisconsin and concern for what we could lose. The word Migizi- at the end of the poems is the Anishinabenowin word for bald eagle. Migizi flies at dawn to see if humans remember to greet the day so that the world may continue. And canon refers to a song round that wraps round and round.
In Dark Times We Gather Light-Thursday December 15, 2022
Catherine reads In Dark Times We Gather Light from her poetry collection Geosmin. The poem is a hybride about bees and nuns, darkness and light and the ceremonial procession St. Lucia Day, December 13th as well as spring’s promise of renewal.
Lighting the Menorah-Thursday December 8, 2022
As the sun sets across the world, people light up the darkness. In each hour the menorah candles are lit, prayers are sung, and light steadily progress in homes as the sun leaves them behind. Lighting the Menorah honors Hanukkah, one of many celebrations of creating light in the darkness.
In the Antique Mall and Art Goes Unbidden- December 1, 2022
Catherine reads In The Antique Mall and Art Goes Unbidden from her poetry collection Geosmin.
Perhaps you’ve had the experience of walking into an antiques store to find objects and tools that you’ve grown up with are now antiques. That’s where In the Antique Mall started.
It is said that the hills of southwest Wisconsin harbor a lot of creative eccentric people. The second poem, Art Goes Unbidden is an observation of my rural neighborhood.