On this week’s The Write Question, host Lauren Korn speaks with poet Lauren Camp about her latest collection, In Old Sky: Poems Inspired by the Grand Canyon. The book, released by Grand Canyon Conservancy, reflects Camp’s time as the fourth Astronomer in Residence at Grand Canyon National Park. During her residency, she spent a month delving into the natural darkness of the canyon, drawing inspiration from its landscapes, both terrestrial and celestial. The collection also features vivid color photographs of the canyon and its expansive skies.
About Lauren Camp
Lauren Camp, the New Mexico Poet Laureate, has authored eight poetry collections, with In Old Sky being the most recent. The book emerged from her experience at the Grand Canyon, where she worked as the park’s Astronomer-in-Residence. Camp is also the founder of the New Mexico Epic Poem Project.
She has received fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Black Earth Institute, along with numerous honors, including the Dorset Prize and finalist nods for the Arab American Book Award, Housatonic Book Award, and Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry. Camp has held artist residencies at notable institutions, such as Lowell Observatory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and her work has appeared in journals like Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, and Orion. Her poetry has been translated into several languages, including Turkish, Mandarin, Serbian, Arabic, French, and Spanish.
Before her career in poetry, Camp was a visual artist. Her portrait series, The Fabric of Jazz, traveled to museums across ten cities, and her artwork is housed in cultural centers, hospitals, museums, and U.S. embassies around the world. She also hosted and produced a radio program for Santa Fe Public Radio for 15 years.
Recommended Reads
Camp and Korn also discuss several books that have inspired their work. Camp recommends The End of Night by Paul Bogard, The Book of Questions by Edmond Jabès, and Orbital by Samantha Harvey, among others. Korn suggests Camp’s own In Old Sky alongside books by poets such as Tracy K. Smith and Ocean Vuong.
Behind the Episode
The Write Question team for this episode includes Lauren Korn as host, co-producer, and editor, along with Chris Moyles as co-producer, editor, and sound engineer. The episode is supported by Montana Book Co., a Helena-based bookstore. The program is funded by Humanities Montana, Montana Public Radio members, and the Greater Montana Foundation.
For more details, visit The Write Question’s website, and listen to this enlightening conversation on the intersection of poetry, nature, and darkness.
Note: The episode features content from the Astronomer in Residence program at Grand Canyon Conservancy, Arts in the Parks, and International Dark Sky Spaces.
