Joanna Yonder has one more year in her term as San Miguel County’s Poet Laureate. But she’s got some plans for the position before she goes. 

Yonder stopped by K-O-T-O this week to talk about her final year as the public bard.

But first, she shared two poems. One is inspired by the recent passing of a cherished community elder.

Says Yonder: “These things land really heavily in our community. And I just wanted to make space for that. Meanwhile, I know a ton of people are feeling the swelling of Spring. In so many ways, poetry can be a vehicle for all kinds of emotions. So I have a poem about loss and a little poem  about what's to come:”

Hearts go on, they say, and it is true that we're still here. 

Lifeblood moving through our bodies one day and one long 

inhale at a time — we miss you 

and the sky, some days, feels like an unfair 

blue because you are not here to see it

all our lives are fleeting as a season.  What spans 

wider than our earthbound sojourn?

Just the bonds we share.  

When one of our own leaves us, we will still, forever, have 

the impulse that you're here

right at our side.  And we will always

have the notion — still — to turn to you and point towards 

the dawn.  ‘Look at that,’ our souls say to each other. 

‘Look at that.’

_____

‘Flight’

This morning hummingbirds are gathering cobwebs 

and lichens a sure sign 

they are soon to nest.  

New chapters sometimes start with building, sometimes destruction 

The nestlings will emerge sometime out yet, but 

their mother has a thing or two to teach us. 

First: that newness comes from unexpected places, 

often smaller than imagined.  

Secondly, though it may take time, flight is both a birthright and 

a miracle.  

Think of this as you are lifting off, 

think of what is burgeoning,  

the beautiful and boundless thing that is 

about to hatch.

While Yonder was at KOTO, she also discussed her ambitions to create an endowment fund for the Poet Laureate position going forward. Below is an excerpt of that conversation. 

Joanna Yonder: For the first time ever, our Laureate could be supported by a modest stipend. This position was opened up through the county in 2008. So, it's been around for quite some time and it’s evolved quite a bit since it first began. 

I think it's very important to note two things: one, you know, it's 2024 and we're not paying artists in exposure anymore.  And number two, when you expect people to do work for free, or even when you offer them the gift of volunteering for free, that work by nature is only available to the people who have the privilege of time to give to it. And I believe in building frameworks that invite in people who haven't traditionally had time free — people who could free up more time if they were paid to do it, you know?  

So my hope is to seek funding for this position. Not for me, but for whoever's next, for the next Poet Laureate. So whoever you are out there, hopefully you're listening and hopefully you know that this is going to be a paid thing and it's not lavish, but it's something to say: ‘we legitimize your art by paying it. And also we invite you to create this art and make space in your life for it. 

KOTO News: You have done some sort of research into other Poet Laureate positions around the country as part of this process. What did you find out and what did you find out about our position in San Miguel County?

JY: Well, I learned that San Miguel County is one of the first County Poet Laureate-ships in Colorado, which is very cool. Here we are, small but mighty! Way to go, San Miguel County. 

I also learned that it's a very different place to place how this works. But in general poets are funded for their time! And in general, the two to three year term is typical.  There are some really beautiful programs, like the new Durango Poet Laureateship involves what they're calling a ‘Rising Poet Laureate.’ So the position builds in some mentorship which I would love to see happen in our county as well. 

KOTO: You say it's been an incredibly positive experience, being Laureate — which of course — but do you have speculations about what it will be like to be a poet who doesn’t have that calling, doesn’t have that duty to be the public bard?  

JY: I think it will change, because I will have a little more space to dedicate to my own poetry projects. Opening up that space, creatively sounds really cool. And I also know I'll miss it in some ways. It's really been such a special experience. 

That was San Miguel County Poet Laureate, Joanna Yonder, sharing a pair of poems and reflecting on her final year in the position.