So Much Depends on the Light

In the tradition of nature poets like Mary Oliver, Susan Coultrap-McQuin pays close attention to the land around her, especially to what she finds in her own Minnesota backyard: a prairie of wildflowers, a hillside of oaks, and a pond that reflects the sky. In this landscape, she watches monarchs and bumblebees, nuthatches and hawks, turtles and foxes, as well as her grandchildren's play, and all these make their way into her poems. Filled with vivid imagery and engaging metaphors, her poems invite readers' own reflections on nature and the seasons of life, on grief and delight, on those we love and on those we will leave behind. Many poems convey feelings of awe and reverence in response to nature's beauty and mystery. They express a spirit of gratitude and peace. Above all, these poems give special meaning to the importance of place-the place we choose for living our life and for leaving our legacy. 

EARLY PRAISE:

"Her poems are compact; her language concise, and she knows how to leave something for the reader. I love seeing the world through Susan Coultrap-McQuin's generous and hopeful eyes."

-JOYCE SUTPHEN, Minnesota Poet Laureate, 2011-2021

"Here is a poet who might also be naturalist, illustrator, spiritual advisor; with vivid specifics, charm, and reverence, she lures the reader into savoring the rhythms of a life."

-KORY WELLS, author of Sugar Fix

"...poems of exquisite tenderness and attention...calling us to be, again and again, beguiled by surprise."

-AMIE WHITTEMORE, author of Nest of Matches

"Be prepared to bask in the gentle beauty of the earth, take in the wind over the prairie, sip the nectar of the monarch, and exult in the rich pollen of Susan's pen. My heart is full of light in this wonderful collection."

-ELLEN LAGER, author of When a Tree Falls.

"Susan tells tales of the prairie with grace and panache. She scatters pollen with her pen until our senses bloom like flowers."

-ANNETTE GAGLIARDI, Poet Laureate, League of MN Poets