Emilie Lygren and Anara Guard

On the 2/28/24 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Dr. Andy begins the episode by reading a recently published essay, “The Many Friends of Tito,” a piece written in memory of both Dr. Andy’s late father and late childhood friend. The first guest of the hour is Emilie Lygren, a panelist from the 2024 San Francisco Writers Conference Poetry Summit. In her poetry writing process, she utilizes scientific observation on both her words and herself in order to bring her poems to the edges of understanding. She also shares the joy she finds in working with children, ways poetry can flourish amidst community, and her upcoming workshop on April 17th. She then reads a poem that explores place, nature, and gender nonconformity. Finally, Anara Guard introduces her newest novel set in 1969 and 1970 about a teenage girl who runs away from her parents. It is titled Like a Complete Unknown. On Saturday, March 9th, Stories on Stage, Davis will be featuring excerpts from this novel at 7:30pm at the Pence Gallery.

Emilie Lygren is a poet and educator whose work emerges from the intersections between scientific observation and poetic wonder. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology-Biology from Brown University, and has published poems in several literary journals and anthologies. Emilie's first collection of poems, What We Were Born For, was selected by Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye as the Poetry Foundation’s monthly book pick in February 2022. Emilie has also developed dozens of publications focused on nature journaling, outdoor science education, and social-emotional learning through her work at the award-winning BEETLES Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science. In her writing and teaching, Emilie calls on awareness and curiosity as tools to bring people into relationship with place, self, and community. She lives in San Rafael, California, where she wonders about oaks and teaches poetry in local classrooms.

Anara Guard is author of the prize-winning novel, Like a Complete Unknown, a collection of short stories, and two poetry collections. Her poems have received the John Crowe Ransom Poetry Prize from Kenyon College, a Jack Kerouac prize, and first place from the California State Poetry Society. Her work has been published in “Persimmon Tree,” “The Ear,” “Gold Man Review,” “Under the Gum Tree,” and elsewhere. She lives in Sacramento.

The Poetry Night Reading Series is excited to feature poets Maceo Montoya and León Salvatierra at 7 PM on Thursday, March 7th, 2024, on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.