Encounters

Encounters focuses on interactions with family, friends and strangers, and my perceptions of them. “Imprint,” a poem about a child experiencing the natural world, introduces the collection with a warning not to forget the common, that it contains truths to be remembered and discovered. This thought carries readers into the rest of my collection. Diverse in subject matter, the poems range from the lighthearted to confessional and serious. In reading Wordsworth, I like the way he takes the common subjects and “throw[s] over them a certain coloring of the imagination,” making the usual seem unusual. “Amishland Cow Tipping” exemplifies my incorporation of this idea when the pushed cow tips, allowing it to see the world in a fresh way. While I want my poetry to be entertaining and enjoyable, I hope that it leaves my readers encountering the world in a new, fresh way.