a mundane murder of magpies
(newsletter #4: staying afield)
A lawn or yawn of fawns, a mundane murder of magpies, an army of wooly bear caterpillars, colony of rebounding beavers (what she said?), a swarm of bees in the cherry trees, a mariposa of moose, a stripe of sego lookalike lilies in the fallow yellow grasses by the trail--a trail of trying, failing, a whole field of grasses, a riverfull of warblers, wisping-- belting!-- flashing their golden wings.
Not all these group names are scientifically correct, but selectively all are mine: in the least possessive / colonizing of ways, I want them mine like a lover or friend or Lorca’s verde que te quiero verde, a borrowed book from a library—which is to say, entirely their own, and I’m only a visitor, but a visitor, maybe, paying attention, making a field guide.
Summer always reminds me we’re collecting. I live in the body in summer, I go back to being ten and stealing coins from fountains, as when I wrote this guest column for a friend’s blog, on my love for libraries—in this case, the Timberland Regional Library in Southwest Washington—and my childhood spent in vans.
Earlier this summer, I drove through rural Washington, from Eastern and Central basalt scablands to Winthrop, for a literary festival, finding along the way some versions of my past selves in each small town.
And at the Winthrop Public Library, where I read with Mery Smith, Laura Read, Cynthia Williams-Guitierrez, Subhaga Crystal Bacon ++, and met several charming humans, I also found this reminder of a relic: boxes of free National Geographic!
In my forthcoming memoir, I talk about the joys of papering my rural rental bedrooms with fold-out posters of large panthers and free roaming hyenas. . . the jungle I pulled from those free bin magazines. (That essay, called “Ruin Porn,” comes out next week with Cincinnati Review—look for a link in my fall newsletter.)
For now, it’s still summer, and I want this season to last, at least a smidge longer. Until the end of July, I taught four summer classes (grant writing, publishing, a summer capstone, and special topics)—for two different universities (reality: this is how a single mom pays her mortgages and replaces plumbing main lines)— and then in mid-July, traveled to gorgeous Gunnison (an amazement of aspen? A thrill of thunderstorms?) for Western Colorado University’s MFA residency, where I was honored to work for a week with our graduating poets, plus students from my summer Wunderkammer elective, and the most dreamy of faculty friends.
But (“at my back I always hear /Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near”)— I also feel the pull of the river, forever tugging me into the calm of a float on a paddle board, my favorite summer activity (rivaled maybe by reading in a hammock, or hiking to alpine lakes).
NEWS
This spring, I earned promotion to Full Professor at Central Washington University. [If I were not employed in American academia, I would have zero idea what such designations mean, so: Full Professor is the highest academic rank—it means you have reached the top of your academic pyramid, and that you better *forking* speak up for those the hierarchical system hasn’t privileged, that you can also, at long last, stop working like a hungry zombie and just say yes what you most want to dig into. Or maybe—on some days—you might rest? . . . a purple novel of resting professors . . . as my college Dean advised me to do, in her review letter.]
In a few short weeks, The Wonder of Mushrooms (which just got a Foreword Review!) will hit shelves everywhere—and the spore-ific launch will happen at Wishing Tree Books, where you can also order personally-inscribed copies to have mailed to you directly.
Other work – poetry, a short story, an essay-- is forthcoming in Bennington Review, Denver Quarterly, Copper Nickel, Mid-American Review, and Cincinnati Review, and quite excitingly, my MEMOIR will be out in early 2026. So keep an eye on upcoming newsletters for a cover reveal (!) and preorder links.
ROUNDUP – field guides I love
One of the most fun things about writing a book on fungi phenomena was reading about mushrooms, as well as going afield to find a few. I have friends who are birders, and mentors who specialize in lepidoptera; and as an undergrad, I minored in geology, learning more about rocks and minerals, as well as soils and loams (and hydrology). Over the years, I’ve learned I love the Lone Pine Series, and often give their guides as gifts. (And I’m still learning from them, too!)
Plants of the Southern Interior British Columbia and the Inland Northwest- Lone Pine
When I lived on the Salish Sea, I relied on my childhood knowledge, as well as the west coast version of this guide, but when I moved inland and tromped around the dry foothills and river valleys south of the Selkirks, at first I felt fairly adrift. But this book came in clutch: I carried it around most of the first couple years I lived here, and was able to look up plants by their familiar families.
Simon & Shuster’s Guide to Rocks & Minerals
I acquired this in college, as it was assigned in one of my intro classes at Western Washington University. Since then, it’s come in handy on many hikes and even yard-based rock hounding.
All the Rain Promises & More
Working on The Wonder of Mushrooms as a self-professed neophyte, I began by reading guides and spending time with mycelial networks and resources. This classic, by David Arora, should be a staple in anyone’s fungi library.
WRITING PROMPT: An Exaltation of Larks
When you’re new to a phenomenon, it’s a blast to look up the language of it, delight in the sounds and textures and etymology. For starters, you could obviously use any of the field guides listed above, or your own favorite—or you could read science poems. Take, for example, Muriel Rukeyser’s “The Conjugation of the Paramecium,” or if you’re into [real as opposed to my imaginary] animal group names, such as “an aerie of eagles” or “an exaltation of larks,” you could begin browsing the site Animals and English. As things delight you, take notes. Then try to use some of these details in a poem or prose piece. For further reading, check out one of my favorites, “The Bear”, which also happens to be an ars poetica, by the late Galway Kinnell.
Thanks for reading! I hope to see you soon, in your fields or mine.
-M
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept. 2, 2025 · 5pm PST, Book Launch (virtual) for Martha Silano’s TERMINAL SURREAL. http://tinyurl.com/b4vvc6ju
Sept. 23, 2025 · 6pm, Wonder of Mushrooms launch party, Wishing Tree Books, Spokane
Sept. 26, 2025 · 6pm, reading tour for LeeAnn Bjerken's chapbook, Auntie’s, Spokane
Sept. 27-30, 2025 · PNBA Fall Trade Show. Spokane
Oct. 10, 2025 · Presentation and signing for Wonder of Mushrooms. Auntie's, Spokane
Oct. 17, 2025 · RMMLA Conference, Spokane
Nov. 9, 2025 · Salish Sea Poetry Festival, Bellingham, WA
Nov. 10, 2025 · Presentation and signing for Wonder of Mushrooms. Village Books, Bellingham, WA
Nov. 11, 2025 · Presentation and signing for Wonder of Mushrooms. Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle
Nov. 13, 2025 · Presentation and signing for Wonder of Mushrooms. Imprint Books, Port Townsend
March 4-6, 2026 · AWP, Baltimore, MD
. . .
[+Now booking for Raised by Ferns for 2026!]
I appreciate the field guide suggestions!