WordTemple opens with a short tribute to East Bay poet and arts activist, Adelle Foley. Adelle, who passed away on June 27, 2016, was the author of Along the Bloodline, a collection of haiku praised by beat poet Michael McClure and California State Poet Laureate Dana Gioia. A second collection of her haiku is forthcoming. She served on the board of Poetry Flash for many years, as well as PEN Oakland. Married to poet, critic and radio personality Jack Foley, Adelle often performed her poetry with her husband — the duo creating lively, memorable evenings of poetry throughout Northern California and beyond. This tribute was created as a “last minute” homage; Hastings hopes to air more of Adelle Foley’s work in the future.

It’s not that I write

Because of what I see. I

See because I write.

— Adelle Foley

Following this tribute, host Katherine Hastings speaks with Lucille Lang Day, author of ten collections of poetry, including Self-Portrait with Hand Microscope (winner of a Joseph Henry Jackson Award in Literature); The Curvature of Blue; The Book of Answers; Infinities and her most recent book Becoming an Ancestor. Autobiography, ancestry, surprise, science, myths and the natural world are just some of the elements that make up this lovely new book. Included are deeply moving poems written during and after the death of her daughter, Liana, at the age of 50.

“Following centuries of fateful migrations, Lucille Lang Day becomes the California teller of tales that wow us with her own intimate versions of how need, time and again, restores our lives to living streams of love.” — Al Young, California Poet Laureate Emeritus.