Portals

by Laura Grace Weldon

The poems in the Halcyon Poetry Award-winning collection, Portals, seek new connections between our inner and outer worlds. This vibrant collection is packed with poems about wild places, ancestors, quicksand, the microbiome, protests, yeast, consequential strangers, and the fierce persistence of hope.

77 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2021

About the author

Laura Grace Weldon is the author of the poetry collections Portals (Middle Creek, 2021), Blackbird (Grayson Books, 2019), and Tending (Aldrich Press, 2013), as well as a handbook of alternative education, Free Range Learning (Hohm Press, 2010).

She lives on Bit of Earth Farm where she works as an editor, community educator, and marginally useful farm wench. Her writing appears in mainstream as well as literary publications, and she blogs about learning and mindful living at Relentless Optimism. She's Laura Euphoria on Pinterest. She's EarnestDrollery on Twitter. And she's on Facebook too often.

Reviews

[Joanne Durham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so lucky to get to walk through the portals that Laura Grace Weldon opens in this poetry book. When she writes, "I forget to be wholeness/on this cold afternoon," I know I will hold onto those lines when I forget to be wholeness. I love how she puts her own life in the context of living things that have existed for millions of years, and how deftly she speaks out about the many injustices we humans impose on others. She celebrates connections between people, whether in the Emergency Room Waiting Room or with the feed store clerk. She is a trusted guide to wide-awake living.

[Nancy Jentsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long been a fan of Laura Grace's poetry and this collection did not disappoint. So many of the poems spoke to me, especially the ones related to the pandemic - our shared experiences of the last months. But her poetry also prompted sleeping memories - our shared childhood fear of quicksand - and always reminded me of our interconnectedness with each other and the natural world. Thanks, Laura Grace!