The Interlude, Settling In
Art & Poetry Pairings for the Busy Patron - Mary Oliver, Winslow Homer, landscapes, and nature
Welcome back to The Interlude– my bite-sized Quiet Parts weekly, bringing art and poetry pairings straight to your inbox with a little bit of context to enrich your practice of patronage.
Each week I share what I’m reading, seeing, and how I’m staying invested in culture as I move through the changes of my day-to-day life.
This week’s theme is settling in– settling into college, into myself, into familiar rhythms and new routines; settling in despite the wild instability of college life that awaits.
I return to a poem that brings me great comfort in unsettling settling:
“You do not have to be good… you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” – Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese.”
**If you are new to Quiet Parts, I am a 21-year old poet, and Quiet Parts is my reader-powered poet’s studio where I do things like share poetry, flesh out scholarship, publish my newsletter, and curate guides / recommendations on what inspires me.
Once I was the National Youth Poet Laureate, now I am legally an adult and yet so much more a baby than I was. Amongst other things, I am experimenting with form and developing a consistent writing practice. For exclusive access to me and my content consider becoming a paid Quiet Patron or perhaps funding the caffeine that sustains my practice.
Thank you for reading so far, I’m so happy you’re here.**
But you are allowed to be good, and you seem to be very good.