“ My mother was a poet, although both my parents worked as journalists, as did both of my grandfathers. When I was a teenager, I remember finding a copy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’ s A Coney Island of the Mind on my mother’ s bookshelf, and being struck by the power of his words. I wrote my first poem outside of class when I was about 14. We were at a family picnic up Rimini Gulch near the Continental Divide in Montana, and I was moved by the beauty of the mountains and the clean blue air. I needed to capture praise for what I was witnessing. I think most of my poems are ones expressing gratitude or witness,” Conger remembers.
Conger entered graduate studies in psychology at Antioch University- Seattle intending to be an art therapist.
“ I felt, however, that I did not have enough art training. Then I discovered the field of poetry therapy after reading an article by John Fox, CPT( Certified Poetry Therapist) author of Poetic Medicine, and Finding What You Didn’ t Lose. I signed up for an intensive workshop in Washington, D. C. and found my tribe. Here was a community of word lovers and healers and I felt at home in the truest sense. Simply put, poetry therapy involves a belief in the use of poetry for growth and healing,” said Conger.
Conger encourages a safe, generative space to create. She said,“ I believe that creativity is innate in each of us, but societal expectations and schooling often stymies this natural urge. Unfortunately, too many people are threatened by poetry. They are afraid that they won’ t get it, so they avoid it. Some of this is from having to“ autopsy” a poem in school where the teacher would“ dissect” it, often pronouncing that there could only be one meaning, and if you disagreed or had a different feeling about it, you were wrong. You, the reader, bring your life experiences and understandings to the poem. It is interactive. My approach to poetry is more invitational and inclusive. My favorite quote about poetry is this by John G. Stackhouse:
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“ Poetry condenses, compacts, crystallizes experience and insight. The best poetry is translucent, prismatic, kaleidoscopic: It lets light in and then splits it up, plays with it, in order to reveal something of the world previously unnoticed, or insufficiently celebrated, or inadequately mourned.”
28 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE