Catherine Fletcher

This month I'm honored to have been included in Creature Conserve's Mentorship Spotlight , which focused on my work around Dragon Run on Virginia's Middle Peninsula. Their Mentorship Program has been a wonderful experience. With the guidance and support of the attentive leadership team and my thoughtful mentor, Ching-In Chen, I have been able to make significant progress on my series of eco-poems and accompanying soundscapes. Learn more about Creature Conserve's work to foster collaboration between artists and scientists and improve communication around the climate crisis here: https://creatureconserve.com . 

For the past 6 months I've been working with Creature Conserve on exploring creative solutions to the biodiversity crisis. I'll be presenting some of my eco-poetry and eco-acoustic soundscapes next weekend in this panel with Alex Hopwood and Emily Unsworth-White. For more information and registration: https://creatureconserve.com/mentorship-showcase-symposium-2023 .

On Jan. 29, I'm excited to be reading with Lisa Hartz, Lynn Waltz, and Wendi White. Please join us as we explore the notion of place and place's impact on us. Registration and additional info here .    

Save the date! On December 10, I'll be exploring ways in which visual art and poetry meet and mingle to provide mutual inspiration. I'm pleased to be reading with a group of wonderful writers and artists: Gabriele Glang, JoAnn Lord Koff, Kindra McDonald , Leah Gausch Waldrop, and Charles Wilson . Hosted by Cathy Hailey and sponsored by the Poetry Society of Virginia's Northern Region.

The Elizabeth River Trail 's Trail Poetry Project is up and running. I'm thrilled to have a poem on the pavement! Many thanks to Director Kindra McDonald Greene.        

This summer I've been working with the talented composers Seth Boustead, Stephanie Ann Boyd, Ryan Chase, Zachary Ritter and Will Rowe in Concept Lab's art song sessions. On Sunday, Sept. 25 at 5pm we'll hear performances of their new compositions. I'm really excited about the work they've done. If you're in the New York area, please join us for this concert .  

 As research for a series of poems--as well as my interest in ecoacoustics--I did fieldwork on the southernmost Barrier Islands of Virginia's Eastern Shore at the end of August. The day I went out, there was a lot of plane traffic, which made capturing sound challenging. I tried to convey a bit of the soundscape in this mix . The birds weren't any happier about the noise than I was.