Thanks, Gail.
I've never said that before.
Like, thank you for introducing me.
All right, reading Sandra Alcosser's poetry,
I find hard-working people constantly in action, fishing,
hunting, baking, kneading bread and up to their elbows.
I find food, asparagus, cherry wine, beef,
and even Mexican takeout.
I find people getting dirty, fixing cars, digging for worms,
making jam, wiping sweat on their overalls.
I find unexpected surprises, dark ones, even,
the revelations of Midwestern men and women.
I find animals, many animals, grizzly bears, lizards,
lobsters, golden mantle, ground squirrels,
wild cats and woodpeckers, peacock moths and hummingbirds,
a spittle bug, a blind dog, even a chameleon in a glass.
Considering her work, it's no wonder
that she was selected as a poet-in-residence
at the Central Park Zoo in New York City.
There she worked on the Language of Conservation project,
collaborating with wildlife biologists and exhibit
designers to create a large permanent poetry
installation celebrating the natural world
and the connection between species.
The Central Park Zoo project was such a success
that the Language of Conservation program
has been continued and expanded, and Sandra will tell us
tonight about the important collaboration taking place
between science and poetists-- poetists-- poets
across the United States.
In addition to her residency at the Central Park Zoo,
Alcosser has also served as poet-in-residence
at Glacier and Yosemite National Parks.
She is the author of seven books of poetry, including A Fish
to Feed All Hunger and Except by Nature,
which have been selected for the National Poetry Series,
the Academy of American Poets James Laughlin Award,
the Larry Levis Award, the Associated Writing Programs
Award in Poetry, and the William Stafford Award from Pacific
Northwest Booksellers.
She founded and directs the Master of Fine Arts
program in creative writing at San Diego State University
at each fall, and she divides her time
between San Diego and Montana's Bitterroot Mountains,
where she lives among bear, moose, elk, and mountain lion.
Tonight, she will speak of contemporary and ancient
bestiaries-- bestiaries as emblems of the soul.
She will also read from a new poetry manuscript
and share her experiences working on the Language
of Conservation Project.
Please join me in welcoming Montana's first Poet
Laureate, Sandra Alcosser.