Story in a Poem: The Elk in the Glade, One Year On
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since my first collection was published. The Elk in the Glade is a series of narrative and prose poems depicting the life of my great grandmother, Jennie Hicks, who pioneered Nebraska as a girl and later in life sold over 1,000 landscapes in oils from her smalltown home of Farnam, Nebraska.
I first want to thank Roxanne Hoffman of Poets Wear Prada for all her help in bringing the book into print. First time poet/first time publisher would have been a disaster without her. I am eager for you all to see my next book, Good Housekeeping, which Roxanne and Jack Cooper are bringing out in spring 2024. Thanks, guys!
The formal launch last November included a zoom event, hosted by my good friend, poet Lynn McGee, who was a strong advocate for this project. It included Crystal Werger, Executive Director of the Dawson County Historical Society Museum, which held the first ever museum show of my great grandmother’s paintings from February through August this year. My cousin, artist Claudia Fitch of Seattle, also joined that event.
Then we had an in-person launch at the beautiful Jefferson Market Library in Greenwich Village, in the Willa Cather Room, hosted by my dear friend, Cynthia Cathcart. This was cool because Willa and Jennie are almost the same age and were little girls on the prairie at the same time, only about 125 miles apart. And of course, Cather is one of my writing masters.
This past April, I did a book tour in Nebraska that covered seven venues in six cities, radio, television and newspaper articles, and enthusiastic audiences everywhere. A first-time writer could not have asked for more from their hometown and home state.
The thriving cultural sector in Nebraska is especially focused on writers, with workshops, readings, awards and lots of active cultural councils, libraries, and so on. You can see the stories and videos at www.crownrockmedia.com.
Another cool aspect of this experience was traveling the state with my mother, Doris Whitacre, who whipped up nice crowds and enjoyed seeing old friends in various places she’s been unable to reach during the pandemic.
The museum show was also a chance for a family reunion. Cousins came from across the country to celebrate Jennie, and to view paintings they had never seen before gathered in one beautiful gallery. Crystal and Cheri Bergman at the museum combined the 30 or so paintings on display with family heirlooms and period furniture from their collection to create a warm, cozy environment for these treasures. Jennie’s hometown, Farnam, then hosted a lunch at their senior center, followed by a tour of family homesteads and the cemetery.
I met many people who have vivid memories of Jennie to this day as a neighbor, someone they painted with, someone whose pictures were in their home as they grew up.
Thanks to all this support, we made a contribution to the Eustis Farnam Public Schools in support of their arts programs. I visited this school, where I met principal Taylor Jenner and art teacher Jeremy Walters. The energy in that building on a spring afternoon, and the clear commitment of staff and students to learning and community were, in the operative word of this piece, very cool.
Thank you to everyone who made all this possible. Crystal and her team at the museum, the libraries, museums, bookstores and centers who hosted readings, those who purchased the book, those who talked it up, read it, and reviewed it.
The story continues. You can check it out via bookshop.org or your local store, review it on Amazon, (thank you to all the reviewers who have given it five stars, so far!) and if you’d like me to show up with my slide show, the speaker’s bureau is always open. Just let me know in the comments.
I am very lucky to have had so much time with Jennie Hicks growing up, and to share her story. To this day, Grandma Hicks inspires me to navigate life’s ups and downs, to be kind, to engage in my community, and to explore creative passions. I am ever grateful to all who have made this journey such a profound and happy one.