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/
November 9th, 2023
THE LOST PLEIAD by Wisconsin poet Donna Carnes is based on the universal myths about the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) brilliant star cluster seen in November, used to guide sailors home.
November 2nd, 2023
In an abecedarian poem, the first letter of each new line spells of the alphabet. THE RIPENING
ABECEDARIAN by Catherine Young is from her collection Geosmin published in 2022 by Water’s Edge
Press.
October 26th, 2023
So many of us love wearing costumes for performances, and as children many of us became something
other than what we were. HALLOWEEN by Catherine Young was published in Bramble in 2022.
October 19th, 2023
CIDER APPLES by Catherine Young is a poem of compounded sound describing October apples on an
abandoned tree. It was published in Barstow & Grand in 2022.
October 12th, 2023
APPLE SEASON by Minnesota Poet Laureate, Joyce Sutphen, from her collection Carrying Water to the
Field. The poet moves us from tree to kitchen to apple-rich foods with the work of her mother and
grandmother.
October 5th, 2023
In OCTOBER by Robert Frost, the poet pleads with October to go slow. OCTOBER is in the public domain.
Conflagration Invocation – Sept. 28, 2023
CONFLAGRATION INVOCATION is by Wisconsin poet Karen Ostrov. While watching over her toddler grandson in Oregon during the September 2020 wildfires and Covid 19 restrictions, the poet considers Rosh Hashanah 5781 and the binding of Isaac along with her role as a grandmother, sheltering her grandson for future generations.
The Shots Came Quick-September 21, 2023
Deer hunting in our region is often a means of survival. Catherine Young reads The Shots Came Quick from her collection Geosmin.
The Last Apples-September 14, 2023
Catherine Young reads Joyce Sutphen’s poem The Last Apples from her collection Carrying Water From the Field
Purple Lines- September 7, 2023
Perhaps you remember mimeograph coloring sheets at school? How did they help celebrate season? Catherine Young reads Purple Lines from her collection Geosmin.
Baptism- August 31, 2023
Learning to read and decode the woods is like climbing into a canoe and letting the waters carry you. Catherine Young reads from her collection Gesomin.
Elderberries- August 24, 2023
August’s ripening elderberries bring to mind the return to school and letting go. Catherine Young reads Elderberries from her collection Geosmin
Letter To The Fifteen-Year Old Artist: On Winning- August 17, 2023
Wishes might be like soap bubbles that disappear or they might be like dandelion seeds that multiply. Catherine Young reads Letter to the Fifteen Year Old Artist:On Winning from her collection Geosmin
For Those Who Thought They Could Buy a Farm-August 10, 2023
How would a life long dairy farmer tell the story of a place? Catherine Young reads For Those Who Thought They Could Buy a Farm from her collection Geosmin
Boy at the Fair August 3, 2023
Summer is fair time. Catherine Young reads a poem of a child’s experience at the State Fair
Waters, Silvered and Rime – July 27, 2023
Waters Silvered & Rime by Catherine Young are 2 poems of endless summer in the waters of a Great Lake, from her collection Geosmin.
The Queen of Summer- Thursday July 20, 2023
Catherine reads a summer celebration poem by Joyce Sutphen from her collection Carrying Water to the Field.
Shoreline Instructions for Lake Superior and Superior- July 13, 2023
Catherine reads two poems to celebrate the south shore of a Great Lake in summer. Shoreline Instructions for Lake Superior and Superior from the collection Geosmin.
Clouds Rise Up Like Fish and Carrying Water to the Field- July 6, 2023
Catherine reads 2 July poems from the rural landscape: Clouds Rise Up Like Fish, a poem by Tom Hennen from Darkness Sticks to Everything:New and Collected Poems and Carrying Water to the Field, a farm poem by Joyce Sutphen from her collection of the same name.
July 4 and Sweet Land of Liberty- June 29, 2023
Catherine Young reads 2 poems from her collection Geosmin giving different views of the July 4 holiday.
July 4, an ekphrastic poem based on a painting depicting viewers of a small town parade
Sweet Land of Liberty is a vibrant tableau of many cultures of America gathered at our state park holiday picnic.
Harrow and What Every Girl Wants- May 25, 2023
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Midsummer and Firefly Nights- June 22, 2023
Catherine Young reads 2 poems celebrating the sweetness and long light of June from her poetry collection Geosmin: Midsummer and Firefly Nighrs.
The Oat Binder-Thursday June 15, 2023
Catherine reads a farm poem by Minnesota poet Joyce Sutphen from her collection Carrying Waterto the Field.
Poems Appear-Thursday June 8, 2023
Catherine reads Poems Appear from her poetry collection Geosmin where a dreamer has to choose to follow Muse or reality.
Passerine- Thursday June 1, 2023
Catherine reads Passerine from her poetry collection, Geosmin where the poet becomes a swallow in the afterlife.