“I’ve been so lucky to have good mentors,” American Alpine Club member Joanna Spindler has written on MountainProject.com, “currently riding the joy of year-round climbing in Telluride and its environs.”
“It’s paradise,” she said.
Substitute literature and poetry for climbing, and — a decade on — the same words pretty much describe Spindler’s professional and creative, as well as athletic, experiences in the box canyon. Elected to serve a two-year term as San Miguel County Poet Laureate in January, her job is to be a voice for the community, and to give voice to others.
“Particularly when it comes to being a laureate, there’s an emphasis on being out in the community, and responding to what the community wants,” Spindler said. “My role is to pass the microphone.”
She’s been doing that literally over the past year as host for the monthly Bardic Trails Zoom Poetry Series, the latest of which is Tuesday night.
‘Trails’ is one of two programs under the umbrella of Talking Gourds, a poetry series from the Telluride Institute cofounded by Art Goodtimes and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. The Gourds’ in-person gatherings, dubbed Walking, Talking Gourds, have resumed for the summer. There is one coming up July 7 in the Transfer Warehouse at 5:30 p.m., featuring guests Peter Waldor and Lisa Flowers.
Spindler would normally be the microphone passer at the Zoom series on Tuesday. Yet this time, she’s the guest reader, “so my dear friend and collaborator Art Goodtimes is taking over hosting,” she said, “and we’ll be kind of handing the hat back and forth. Bardic Trails has been a fabulous way to connect poets,” she added. “Even though it began in response to a time when we couldn’t get together, it’s continued allowing us to bring award-winning poets here from all across the state, and the nation. This summer, we also have in-person poetry in the Transfer Warehouse — such a special place for our community.”
Ask Spindler whether she plans a book of poetry, or (even) a website where one might go to read more of her work, and she demurs (you will just have to tune in Tuesday night).
“I have a few poems published online, on the San Miguel County page that features poets laureate past and present,” she said. “At the moment, I’m focusing on a lot of live and in-person events.”
You will just have to tune in Tuesday night to hear her read. Or, simply your eyes (and ears) open: Spindler’s poetric presence is almost ubiqitous, particularly these days. She’s performed at the Telluride Mushroom Festival, Summer Vaudeville and the Norwood Livery. She recently composed spontaneous poetry during the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
“Planet Bluegrass asked me to present a live reading,” she recalled. Spindler set up a booth affixed with a sign, The Poet Is In. “People would walk up to me, and after a moment of connection — from out of that heartfelt space — I would write a poem, for them to keep. I knew it would be a challenge.”
The format afforded Spindler practically zero chance to edit her words, the way she would for a polished piece. “It was a terrific poetic exercise,” she said. “It taught me a lot about how to pay attention and give intent to the audiences you’re writing for.”
This fall, she looks forward to pushing into the community even further, by hosting a poetry-writing workshop for youth. “I’ll be rolling it out once kids get back in school,”she said. “I think kids have the most authentic poetic voices of all. It’s easy to assume that a poem needs to have a certain rhythm, or a structure. In fact, it requires none of that. With kids, you can say, ‘It doesn’t have to rhyme, or have cadence.’ It’s important to affirm that poetry is a huge thing, but it’s about expression and resonance. What matters is what’s in your heart.”
And to take the microphone.
Talking Gourds’ Bardic Trails poetry reading series, with guest Joanna Spindler, is online Tuesday at 7 p.m. Visit telluridelibrary.org/events for a link. On Thursday, the Talking Gourds present poets Peter Waldor and Lisa Flowers in the Transfer Warehouse at 5:30 p.m. To learn more about the Talking Gourds’ programs, visit tellurideinstitute.org.
