Joanne Kyger (November 19, 1934 – March 22, 2017)

The great poet Joanne Kyger passed yesterday. I had the honor of hosting an on-location episode of PoemTalk a few months ago not far from her home in Bolinas, California. You can hear that conversation here. That afternoon was brilliant: a late summer day, clear skies, the mesa field behind Stephen Ratcliffe’s house. As Joanne sat next to me on our side of a table in Stephen Ratcliffe’s yard, we saw out into that field. Oddly, suddenly, a riderless white horse crossed the field. Joanne noticed the horse and commented on it during the PoemTalk. It wasn’t a symbol—just a white horse one sees here and there in Bolinas. Here are two photos I took that day. Click on the image for a larger view.