Folded Word
Exploring the world, one voice at a time.
Words that Travel
“ . . . I drive a lot for work. My travels take me to mostly small towns and cities across Oregon and the West. . . . If I have the impulse to write something while driving, I’ll record it, hands-free, on my phone.”
Scot Siegel is a poet, urban planner, and family man from Oregon who still finds the time to write.
“Things my daughters say on occasion prompt some of my best poems. Sometimes, my wife is my best muse. Yes, they complain about my compulsive writing habit, and sometimes we laugh about it. . . . things could be worse. I could be a novelist.”
Siegel’s favorite place to read his work is in Portland, Oregon, which he and others call “Poetland.”
“There are so many poets and fans of poetry here. On any given night, you can find a poetry reading or an open mic.”
Siegel has been publishing his poetry for close to 20 years “ . . . up until four years ago I could count all of my published poems on one hand. The turning point was the Squaw Valley Community of Writers Workshop I attended in 2007.”
During the weeklong writing workshop Siegel worked with poets such as Bob Hass, Sharon Olds, and Jimmy Santiago Baca, among others.
“Squaw Valley gave me the confidence that I needed to complete my first book of poetry, Some Weather.”
Scot Siegel is author of the chapbook UNTITLED COUNTRY (Pudding House Publications, 2009) and the full-length collection SOME WEATHER (Plain View Press, 2008.) Siegel’s most recent chapbook is SKELETON SAYS and can be pre-ordered from Finishing Line Press’s website. Siegel describes it as “a compact collection of 24 spare, lyrical poems about love and longing in middle age.” He recently became an unFold contributor.
“Introspective and lyrical, Skeleton Says weaves its ghost through California pines, an ash vial from Mount Saint Helens, bees behind the clapboards, even the Junior Olympics. Siegel’s poems artfully strum the bones of life, collecting what marrow drips out in order to paint vignettes that leave inescapable vibrations up and down your spine.”
~ Arlene Ang, The Pedestal Magazine and Press 1
Check out the SKELETON SAYS Facebook page
article by Drew DeGennaro
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