E
astern Washington University professor
Paul Lindholdt is a writer but is also
known around Spokane for his interest and
involvement in environmental causes and
passion for the water ecology of the region.
With two book publications in 2018, and with
two important nonprofits as beneficiaries,
Lindholdt is actively reading and speaking
around the region.
You might have seen The Spokane River at your
neighborhood Costco. The Spokane River was
published by University of Washington Press.
This book is a collection of deliberative essays
by writers from around the region which touch
on all the aspects of the river – environmental,
cultural and recreational. The royalties for
this project go to the Spokane Riverkeeper
organization and are used to encourage the
care of the river and the nurture of its future.
(https://www.spokaneriverkeeper.org/)
HOMAGE TO MISTRESS BRADFORD
Out your home’s back door I scuttle ash
and trim the plantain where you pace
the creek path. You lower your eyes
when you pass, never make a sound.
You are listening for the noise of joy.
Your worry comes in feathered waves
as if a bird were in your throat.
And I picture you lisping on a limb
beside the creek, the song of flight
beneath your bodice buttons
Lee First, outreach coordinator for Spokane
Riverkeeper, said, “As a newly arrived
Spokanite, I am so grateful for Lindholdt’s The
Spokane River book. From 30 essays, readers
have the opportunity to become experts on
their river: gleaning from traditional stories of
the Spokane people to pollution from PCBs,
to how the river and the aquifer intertwine,
about geology and endangered trout, and much
more. The information offered by this book is
invaluable – if only every river had a readable
source of information close at hand.”
Lindholdt says about his recent poetry
collection, “I published a book of persona
poems set in the American colonial era, titled
Making Landfall. Any royalties from it will
go to the nonprofit website for Washington
State history titled HistoryLink (https://www.
historylink.org). One of the poems from that
book is being floated for a Pushcart Prize,” said
Lindholdt. The collection was published by
Encircle Publications but 24 of these 45 poems
have appeared in arts journals, history journals,
and stand-alone books.
forbidden by every dictate of your place.
And I know you fear him and that is why
you study your feet. And I hear your
breath catch whenever he calls your name.
And I wait daylong for magic words
to rise to your lips, for you to behold me
as more than indentured servant, as a man.
Lift your eyes one time if you would fly.
Then step into the birch grove where
I am abiding to remind you who you are.
July | August 2019
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