Bearing Witness to the Wind

Bearing Witness to the Wind

New Poetry Collection Explores the Eternal and Ephemeral

(WOODBURY, CT - August 15, 2022) - Does the world really need another book of poetry? Ask Woodbury Poet Laureate Sandy Carlson that question, and you will get an emphatic “Yes!” in reply.

“Poetry is about paying close attention to the world; what you write is what you see, hear, feel, think. At its heart, poetry is the gift that comes from paying close attention to experience and putting words on those experiences of the heart and mind,” Carlson says. “Through poetry, we find out who we are as individuals and as a community. So, I say, ‘Bring it.’”

Carlson, who has penned four previous poetry collections, says Bearing Witness to the Wind explores the eternal and the ephemeral–the tangible beauty and love we experience in this world and how we endure when beauty, love, and loved ones pass.

Explaining the impetus behind this book, Carlson says: “I lost my mom in November, 2019, before Covid sent us all home, and my dad in April, 2020, in the early days of quarantine. I spent a lot of time thinking about the gifts I received from them over the years in terms of love and learning and keeping a sense of humor. I spent a lot of time thinking about this inheritance of the heart and wondering what becomes of our spirit when we move on. This collection explores that question.”