Tales of an Anxious Hiker by Heather Kolf

Heather Kolf’s poems venture out to where trees are reflected upside down in the still water of a pond, a leaf dances on the breeze, and a blue jay screams in the distance.  Through poems that are lyrical, meditative, and conversational—like an old friend guiding you through an unfamiliar landscape—this collection will take you on a journey into and through the natural world so that you might see it (and yourself) a little differently by the time you return.

–Matthew Olzmann, author of Constellation Route, Mezzanines and Contradictions in the Design

Carrying a pack heavy with grief, Heather Kolf hikes the Michigan woods in all kinds of weather– snow, mud, 70% humidity. Fueled by a grit fortified by imagination, humor and humility, she presses on, engaged by whatever she encounters: mosquitoes, fellow hikers, a leaf spinning in a cobweb, orange berries glowing in the sunlight, a river “awake and mumbling”. Travelling with her through these poems, we may gratefully share her affirmation that “nature/ is the original/magic”

–Bonnie Bishop, author of O Crocodile, Local Habitation, and River Jazz

From one potential murderous or “magic trick” of nature trail to the next, our poet-trail-guide leads us along in mutual grasping to allay our fears at whatever costs. Among our own delusions and our guide’s deft craft, we rally with our beloveds, a stuffed pig, and turkeys that know us well. Hailing saran wrap, mosquitos, and a deadpan interpretation of a hula hoop along the trail, we also find the sight of our own graciousness as we face our griefs, our existential dread. Solidarity and yes, still awe, emerges not only on the trails but also with ourselves that we’re still participating despite it all, in this mystery, nature all of us.

–Robin Carstensen, Poet Laureate of Corpus Christi (2023-2024), author of In The Temple of Shining Mercy