Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the North Dakota State University Press annual release party. The Press celebrated their fall catalogue with readings, food, music, and some lively conversation.   

Among those reading was David Solheim, whose work has contributed to the recent blossoming of poetry in NDQ. This spring, NDSU Press released his book of poetry, Seasoned, which is lovely, and everyone should get a copy either directly from NDSU Press or from Buffalo Commons Press. 

To celebrate his book, I thought it would be nice to look back on some of his poetry from recent issues of the Quarterly, including a sneak peek at his poem in our latest issue (NDQ 91.1/2). I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy these poems and maybe that’ll be the nudge you need to buy his latest book of poetry.

From NDQ 86.3/4:

Remembering My Children

Woven on empty branches,

Winter nests are gray
As barn boards. Inside,
The straw still fresh
As broken bales.

From NDQ 90.1/2:

Rite of Passage

When I am done with breathing, scatter

My ashes across the wide Missouri.
From Fort Mandan, or Double Ditch, or
The mouth of Burnt Boat Creek,
I’ll depart the heart of North America
To enter eternity.

The Far West will paddle-wheel
My cremains from sandbar to sandbar
Down the Mighty Mo.
Drifting from island to island
In the Father of Waters,
I’ll inch my way to the Gulf,
The saltwater mother of all, and
Reenter the cradle endlessly rocking.

And finally, something from NDQ 91.1/2:

RFD

In my own aging

I recall my grandmother
Watching the country road
For the mail carrier.

If the vehicle paused

At her mailbox,
We would walk
The gravel trail

To discover what was left.

Anything—a Sears catalog,
Decorah-Posten, or a letter
From Norway or South Dakota—

Brought her joy. When she wrote back

Or paid a bill, she raised the
Red metal flag on the box.
A stop sign for the carrier.

I write in my study

With an eye out for mail delivery.
The flag goes up and down
From day to day

Like a cardinal in winter trees.

~

Having published poems, reviews, essays, and interviews in dozens of periodicals, David R. Solheim recently had his fifth book of poetry Seasoned published by North Dakota State University Press. Solheim’s books of poetry and his non-fiction A Week on the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers: Thoreau’s 1861 Minnesota Journey Revisited are available via buffalocommonspress.com. He was the ND Statehood Centennial Poet and is an Emeritus Professor of English at Dickinson State University.

91.1/2