I am thrilled to announce the release of Prayer Gardening, a poetry collection I co-authored with Constance Brewer. We’ve exchanged poems with each other for several years, discovered our common territories as writers, and enjoyed the way our poems sometimes talk to each other. It was only natural for us to collaborate on this collection,Continue reading “PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT”
Author Archives: Kathleen Cassen Mickelson
On the Road in France
I’ve been traveling for the past week and a half through different wine regions in France, along with my partner Mick and our friends Susan and Ned. We spent one night in Paris, three nights in Epernay, three nights in Tours, and are wrapping things up with four nights in Saint Emilion. We’ve tasted lotsContinue reading “On the Road in France”
When Birds Hit the Window
Every fall, our crabapple produces bird-enticing fruit. All kinds of birds gather in its limbs, eat their fill, sometimes get a little woozy. They run into our bedroom window, which looks out on the crabapple. We’ve tried hanging sun-catchers in that window, closing the curtains, leaving the curtains halfway open, anything to reduce the illusionContinue reading “When Birds Hit the Window”
A CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE FARMER
Today, I chat with poet Nicole Farmer about her book, Honest Sonnets, recently published by Kelsay Books. The book is a memoir in sonnets, and if you have ideas about what sonnets look like, forget those ideas and read this book instead.
Labor Day Weekend 2023
I grew up in a union household. My father was a union member and civil servant, running the motor pool at Fort Snelling in Minnesota. He instilled in me the understanding that when people band together for the good of all, the results include reasonable hours of work, holidays, health insurance, a life outside ofContinue reading “Labor Day Weekend 2023”
August Languor
I love the word, “languor.” It’s indicative of everything I associate with late summer: the mood, the laziness, the inertia that always hits me about now, the desire to just lay around and do nothing. Or to meander around outside, listen, inhale, feel the calm of the overflowing garden, surprise a tiny bunny. August’s lullContinue reading “August Languor”
Oregon, Ocean, Mother-Daughter Time
Above my writing desk hangs a magnetic bulletin board on which I have photos of my kids, grandkids, partner, friends. One of my favorite pictures is of me with my daughter Abby when we went to New York City after she graduated from high school ten years ago. In the picture, we are each holdingContinue reading “Oregon, Ocean, Mother-Daughter Time”
Under Lake Superior’s Spell
A summer weekend in northern Minnesota is a time-honored tradition. There is always a lake nearby, with Minnesota’s more than 10,000 lakes. Lake Superior is my favorite, its water never completely still, its laps against the shore the best kind of late night lullaby. Loons call to each other, their eerie songs blending in withContinue reading “Under Lake Superior’s Spell”
Breathless in July
This summer has not been typical in Minnesota and I’m not spending as much time outside as I’d like thanks to the wildfire smoke drifting over all of us.
I Wonder. What if? Let’s Try.
Lately, I’ve been exchanging poems once a week with my friend Connie. These are not poems ready for public consumption; these are whatever I’ve generated over the previous week. Our agreement is to produce seven poems each and send them to each other every Wednesday. No worries about how raw they are, no pointing outContinue reading “I Wonder. What if? Let’s Try.”
One Minnesota Crone 