Virtual Craft Chat with Poet Lauren Camp

The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Lauren Camp to discuss her new collection, In Old Sky. Lauren is in conversation with Emily Holland, poet and Editor of Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal.
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New Mexico Poet Laureate Lauren Camp is the author of eight poetry collections, most recently In Old Sky (Grand Canyon Conservancy, 2024).
She was awarded a 2023 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. Other honors include a Dorset Prize and finalist citations for the Arab American Book Award, the Housatonic Book Award and the Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry. In 2022, she was Astronomer in Residence at Grand Canyon National Park. Lauren is the recipient of fellowships from Denver Botanic Gardens, The Taft-Nicholson Center for Environmental Humanities and Black Earth Institute. She was a visiting writer at the Mayo Clinic, and artist in residence at Lowell Observatory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Mid-American Review, Missouri Review, and The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day.
Her work has been translated into Turkish, Mandarin, Serbian, Arabic, French and Spanish. She teaches for Poetry Out Loud-New Mexico and leads her own community workshops.
She has pivoted from a successful career as a visual artist (1996-2008). Her portrait series, “The Fabric of Jazz,” traveled to museums in ten cities. More artwork can be found in cultural centers, hospitals, museums, U.S. embassies and other organizations around the world. For 15 years, she was a producer and host for Santa Fe Public Radio.
About the Book
In Old Sky is a captivating poetry collection born out of Lauren Camp’s residency as the fourth Astronomer in Residence at Grand Canyon National Park, promising readers an extraordinary journey through the depths of Grand Canyon and its iconic dark skies. In Old Sky marks a historic milestone as the first poetry book published by Grand Canyon Conservancy. Currently serving as the Poet Laureate of New Mexico, Camp spent an immersive month exploring the pristine natural darkness of Grand Canyon, delving into the night phenomena, and reflecting on the vast power emanating from the canyon. The collection includes vivid color photos capturing breathtaking landscapes from within the canyon to the cosmic wonders beyond. One of the highlights is an epic poem crafted from hundreds of responses by visitors during Camp’s residency, creating a unique narrative of collective experience.
The book features an insightful foreword by Grand Canyon National Park’s Dark Sky Ranger, Rader Lane, who expresses admiration for Camp’s intuitive understanding of darkness as an entity to be explored and lived in. Camp, an accomplished author of seven other books, brings her poetic prowess to illuminate the natural wonders of Grand Canyon. The book is a testament to the intersection of art and nature, inviting readers to embark on a literary and visual odyssey through the heart of one of the world’s most awe-inspiring landscapes.