Hike with a Poet: With special guest Northern Michigan Poet, Michael Delp
Join docents Cathy Stocker and Sharon Oriel for a most special Hike with a Poet.
As we make our way through the ecologically diverse Houdek Dunes Natural Area toward Houdek Creek, the largest tributary flowing into North Lake Leelanau, we will listen to a selection of river poems by Northern Michigan poet, Michael Delp.
Why is this hike special?
Because we will have the actual poet with us!
Michael Delp is a much-loved author of several collections of poetry and a collection of short stories. He is the former Director of Creative Writing at Interlochen Arts Academy and he will be reading from his poetry collection, The Mad Angler.
These poems are bold, emphatic, mythic, spoken by a voice and presence clearly devoted to the sanity of the natural world. This is a voice that can rail against greed and ignorance in a way that doesn’t drown the love at the heart of each poem:
Either everything counts or nothing does,
no middle ground these days,
yet I navigate the dark,
tangled river between these two countries of counting and not counting,
never knowing on which side to set up camp, build a fire,
find enough coals to continue on, praying for some direction
to rise up out of the ash.
from The Mad Angler’s Lament
Let’s hike, listen, and wonder together how during times of turbulence poetry might help us make a meaningful direction for ourselves. Let’s follow the Mad Angler himself and see where he leads.
This hike will be easy in pace, with frequent stops for listening to poems and for conversation. Space is strictly limited to 15 participants–all will receive a copy of Michael’s book, The Mad Angler.
