Poetry in motion

If you’ve been a loyal Telegraph reader over the years, you have likely encountered the words of Burt Baldwin, a frequent poetry contributor in our Soapbox section. Normally newspapers don’t believe poetry has a place in journalism. Some even consider it fake news. But to set the record straight, Baldwin is real.

A long-time resident of Ignacio, he has been an educator for 40 years, 34 of them teaching literature and language arts to Ignacio students. In 2014 he received a “teacher of the year” distinction for his service. His students are reported to be wide-spread and wiser, in both the head and the heart. Fortunately for lovers of prose, Baldwin’s works are now accessible in one handy location with his new collection of poems, Geopoetica. It’s a wide-ranging volume – 75 poems – divided into two sections, conjuring personal reflections of the imagistic world as well as insights on the “People and Places” he encounters, both historical and contemporary. Baldwin writes in his introduction, “Geopoetica is the search for a deeper sense of beauty and awareness from what is experienced from the land and its inhabitants.” Geopoetica is produced by Sage Crest Lane Publishing and is available for $20 at Maria’s Bookshop and White Rabbit Books. Meet the man in person at a book reading/signing at 6:30 p.m., Thurs., Oct. 26, at Maria’s (960 Main Ave.)