Poems to Listen By: Heart & Soil 07—Sparrows

Editor’s Note: “Poems to Listen By” is an audio series where over time we will explore some of the themes in the Poet Laura checklist, as well as Tweetspeak’s “Generosity” theme throughout 2021.

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Poems to Listen By: Heart & Soil 07—Sparrows

Presented by Laurie Klein

Audio script:

Andy Warhol once said, “Land is really the best art.”

Poet Jamie Morewood Anderson might agree. She lives on a hobby farm in the high mountains of Central New Mexico. Listen to her memories of a resourceful grandfather who worked the earth—sometimes, in startling ways.

[Sparrows poem]

A Malayan proverb says: “On the soil we stand on, that is where we carry the weight of the sky.”

I wonder: When darkness closes in, what image or restless memory links you to your “own fragile existence?”

When something cuts your heart, where do you find “inlet”?

I hope you’ll consider writing about this.

You’ve just heard “Sparrows,” by Jamie Morewood Anderson.

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“Sparrows,” by Jamie Morewood Anderson, Honorable Mention winner in the 2019 Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest (WinningWriters.com). Used by permission.

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Photo by David A. Mitchell, Creative Commons via Flickr. Audio and script by Laurie Klein with thanks to Pat Stien for direction. “Simple Gifts” (public domain). Musical performance, recording, and mastering, by Bill Klein.

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Laurie Klein

Laurie Klein inherited her mother's passion for reading aloud. Despite mispronouncing "manure" in Mrs. Englebert's 4th grade class—to hooting derision from classmates as she read Charlotte's Web—she later pursued Theatre Arts at Whitworth University, in Spokane, Washington. "Can you teach me to play 100 characters?" she asked. They did. To this day, Professor Emeritus Pat Stien (now 93), continues to mentor Laurie (soon-to-be 69). As with writing, one never masters the art. Laurie's performance credits stateside and abroad include plays, one-woman shows, storytelling events, poetry readings, audiobooks, videos, and spoken word recordings for albums and public radio.

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