This week on The Write Question, host Lauren Korn speaks with poet Lauren Camp, author of In Old Sky: Poems Inspired by the Grand Canyon, a collection born of Lauren's residency as the fourth Astronomer in Residence at Grand Canyon National Park and is the first poetry book published by Grand Canyon Conservancy. Lauren spent an immersive month exploring the natural darknesses of the Grand Canyon, and the collection includes vivid color photos capturing the area’s landscapes, terrestrial (the canyon) and beyond (the sky, the stars).
About Lauren:
New Mexico Poet Laureate Lauren Camp is the author of eight poetry collections, most recently In Old Sky (Grand Canyon Conservancy), which grew out of her experience as Astronomer-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park. She is the founder of the New Mexico Epic Poem Project.
Camp was awarded fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and Black Earth Institute. Other honors include a Dorset Prize and finalist citations for the Arab American Book Award, Housatonic Book Award, Big Other Book Award and Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry. She was artist-in-residence at Lowell Observatory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Hedgebrook, Denver Botanic Gardens, Storyknife and The Taft-Nicholson Center for Environmental Humanities, and a visiting writer at the Mayo Clinic. Her poems and essays have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Orion, Missouri Review, and Poem-a-Day. Her work has been translated into Turkish, Mandarin, Serbian, Arabic, French and Spanish.
She has pivoted from a successful career as a visual artist (1996-2008). Her portrait series, “The Fabric of Jazz,” traveled to museums in ten cities. More artwork can be found in cultural centers, hospitals, museums, U.S. embassies and other organizations around the world. For 15 years, she was a producer and host for Santa Fe Public Radio.
This conversation has been edited for time.
Mentioned in this episode:
Astronomer in Residence program, Grand Canyon Conservancy
Arts in the Parks, National Parks Service Artists-in-Residence programs
Lauren Camp recommends:
The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul Bogard (Back Bay Books; Little, Brown & Company)
The Book of Questions: Book of Yukel, and Return to the Book by Edmond Jabès and translated by Rosmarie Waldrop (Wesleyan University Press)
Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Grove Press)
Winter Stars by Larry Levis (University of Pittsburgh Press)
Sharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy by David Begay and Nancy C. Maryboy (Grand Canyon Conservancy)
100 Poems to Break Your Heart by Edward Hirsch (Ecco)
Lauren Korn recommends:
In Old Sky: Poems Inspired by the Grand Canyon (Grand Canyon Conservancy), Took House (Tupelo Press), and An Eye in Each Square (River River Press) by Lauren Camp
The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul Bogard (Back Bay Books; Little, Brown & Company)
Space Struck by Paige Lewis (Sarabande Books)
Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith (Graywolf Press)
Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón (Milkweed Editions)
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Copper Canyon Press)
The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry edited by Maria Popova and illustrated by Ofra Amit (Storey Publishing)
Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Grove Press)
This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path from Grief to Wonder (Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group)
—
The Write Question team for this episode was Lauren Korn, host, co-producer, and editor; and Chris Moyles, co-producer, editor, and sound engineer. This episode is supported by Montana Book Co., located in downtown Helena, Montana, since 1978, offering new books for all ages, vinyl records, and community activism. For delivery in Helena and shipping online, visit mtbookco.com.
The Write Question logo and brand (2022) was designed by Molly Russell. You can see more of her work at iamthemollruss.com and on Instagram @iamthemollruss. Our music was written and recorded by John Floridis.
Funding for The Write Question comes from Humanities Montana; members of Montana Public Radio; and from the Greater Montana Foundation—encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.
The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.
