The title of Laurie Allmann's new poetry collection, Places, everyone, embodies its central premise: that every place in nature is an expression of a complex and beautiful set of relationships built over time. It also offers of hint of the wry and engaging tone that often surfaces in her free verse as she relates scenes from the daily lives of individual creatures—Blanding's turtles, crayfish, long-eared owls—and their intimate connections with the landscapes they call home. These are poems about swans and evolution, silent movies and Tuvan throat-singers, frogs, dogs, the act of poetry writing itself.
The patience and insight with which she explores the natural world is accompanied by an awareness of the role she herself plays in its unfolding story. She reckons with grief and accountability for the undeniable changes we have all brought to bear. But more than anything, this collection revels in the wild creatures and wild places from which we take so much joy, and to which we are obliged in equal measure.
Laurie Allmann is a Minnesota-based essayist and poet who writes on themes related to the natural world. She received a Minnesota Book Award for her creative nonfiction book, Far from Tame: Reflections from the Heart of a Continent (University of MN Press); and a gold MIPA award from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association for her collection of poetry, An Hour from Now (Nodin Press). Her essays have been featured in public radio commentaries on MPR and KFAI, and published in numerous anthologies. She has been a course instructor for the Loft Literary Center and is a founding co-editor of Agate magazine.
"Laurie Allmann's poetry is a tonic for challenging times. In Places, everyone images of loons in the bay, a pine needle floating in mid-air, migrant birds, or a lone wood duck in a pond do more than evoke nature's gifts. They call us to remember our sense of place and the need to protect, preserve, and treasure our wondrous natural world." — Tia Nelson, first director of The Nature Conservancy's Global Climate Change Initiative
"In an era of climate crisis, Places, everyone offers an open-hearted invitation to truly see the places that are home to us all. Crafted with a naturalist's eye for detail, these tenderly wrought poems remind us that even in times of loss, there are still 'remnants that we might tend / and even love.' It is a joy to read." — Diane Wilson, author of The Seed Keeper and Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past.
"Laurie Allmann is a poet of encounters. In Places, everyone, she brings us into the presence of particular creatures, sounds, and spaces, keeping a close eye and open ear on her Minnesota home landscapes. People are here, too—but in our proper proportion, never overwhelming the community of life whose realities she renders with wit, care, and precision." — Curt Meine, author of Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work
