Poetry is everywhere. Poetry is in the way we speak or sing or the ways we imagine. Poetry offers space and possibility. And poetry is the best kept open secret we have. Because as it turns out, poetry can sometimes have the unfortunate reputation of not being for everyone. 

Thankfully, state poets laureate are working to change this perception and helping people find the magic and meaning in poetry. New Mexico State Poet Laureate, Lauren Camp, is no exception. Now midway through her three-year term, she’s made it her mission to traverse the vast reaches of the state to build community and poems. 

Camp’s passion for poetry is infectious. Whether making poems as collages or writing about goatheads or night skies, her poetry invites readers and other poets and would-be poets in.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Lauren Camp’s website

In Old Sky: Poems Inspired by the Grand Canyon

New Mexico Epic Poem Project/New Mexico Arts

Article: New Mexico’s Queen of Poetry, El Palacio, spring 2023

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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine

Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann

Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler

Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)

Theme Music: D’Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

For a transcript and full show notes, please visit podcast.nmculture.org