If you have not read any Traci Brimhall, you’ve missed out on seeing through the eyes of someone who somehow–almost magically, at points–sews disparate parts together: grief and joy, loss and abundance, science and poetry.

Yes, we take her brave and incandescent 2024 collection, LOVE PRODIGAL, as our starting point, and yes, this episode is about poetry, but that’s not all: it’s a truly fulfilling conversation about the power of words to shape us and help us understand how to keep on living when we’ve been utterly burned to the ground. Can we reemerge? Can that old story of the Phoenix help us? Or do we need a new story?

Traci has published 4 acclaimed poetry collections, she is a distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University, the 2023-2026 Kansas Poet Laureate, and the 2025 Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence. That’s all pretty impressive, but when you hear Traci, you’ll be struck by how warm, relatable, and downright funny she is. Plus, Traci has some pretty ingenious methods to help aspiring writers find their voice. If you like poetry, you’ll love this episode. If you are a writer–of any kind–you’ll value Traci’s insights. If you find the creative process fascinating–as Sonja and Vanessa do–you may even find new pathways, as Traci explains her tricks for bringing that withering inner critic to heel.

Along the way, we enjoy the sweet, romantic give-and-take of a physicist + poet’s love story; Vanessa requests an aubade, minus the lover, and Sonja takes another stab at poor little Bella Swan.