Home » A Poet, Fresh From The Farm, At The Fremont Library

A Poet, Fresh From The Farm, At The Fremont Library

by Kirby Lindsay, posted 29 September 2014

 

The Fremont Branch of the Seattle Public Library hosts quarterly poetry readings, with the next one on October 6th at 6:30p.  Photo by K. Lindsay, Mar '13
The Fremont Branch of the Seattle Public Library hosts quarterly poetry readings, with the next one on October 6th at 6:30p. Photo by K. Lindsay, Mar ’13

On Monday, October 6th at 6:30p, the Fremont Branch of the Seattle Public Library will host an evening of poetry.  This free reading, and sharing, features published poet Danica Ready Kaufman, from Mazama, Washington, and Seattle poet Christine Johnson-Duell.  The third name on the program, Jessica Gigot, may not be as well known among poetry fans, but she will be bringing her poems to Fremont along with experiences out of the norm in this urban setting.

From Farm To Fremont

Gigot operates a 10-acre farm called Harmony Fields, yet she writes about much more than her experiences farming in the Skagit Valley.  A teacher and science writer, Gigot brought all these varied life experiences, and skills, when she recently returned to poetry.

She will also share her observations – on nature, farming and her multi-textured life – at the next quarterly poetry reading in the historic Fremont Branch Library.  Gigot looks forward to this, her second reading here in Fremont.  “The building is a great old building,” she observed, “it feels like a school room, in the belly of the library.”

From School To Real World

“I went to college thinking I was going to be an English Major,” Gigot recently related.  Instead, “I got involved in horticulture, and fell in love with the science of agriculture,” she explained.

Poet Jessica Gigot will read her work at the Fremont Branch Library on October 6th at 6:30p.  Photo provided by Jessica Gigot
Poet Jessica Gigot will read her work at the Fremont Branch Library on October 6th at 6:30p. Photo provided by Jessica Gigot

Gigot put aside her creative writing pursuits and put her all into science, and then went on to publish in scientific manuals.  Since school she also, deliberately, went to practice the lessons she learned on the farm.  “When I was finishing graduate school,” Gigot observed, “I found there were too many experts and not enough growers.”  She has worked on, as an intern and now as an owner, farms, and started Harmony Fields on its current property – growing organic herbs and sheep for a wholesale market – three years ago.

Then, in addition to actual farming, Gigot also teaches horticulture, agriculture and ecology at the Northwest Indian College, on the Swinomish Reservation, in the Native Environmental Science program.  There she teaches about food access, organics, and the traditional practices of farming.

From Real World To Poetry

As a young woman, Gigot loved poetry but as she delved into agriculture, “I got into graduate school, and I kind of lost it.”  When she moved to the Skagit, for farming, she discovered the Skagit River Poetry Festival.  She first attended in 2006 and found, “it’s small, but with a great diversity of poets.”  The Festival, which takes place every other year, reignited her interest in poetry and got her to join a writing group, attend a class at Hugo House in Seattle, and generally reestablish this outlet.

Now, Gigot has completed an M.F.A. program, through Seattle Pacific University, and has had her poetry published by Floating Bridge Press (which organizes the poetry reading at the Fremont Library.)

“Poetry became an outlet while doing research,” Gigot said, “there is a lot of beautiful imagery in farming.”  She has found that between the manual labor of the farm work, and the focus of teaching, “poetry is a natural outlet.”

Gigot has also found that her science writing has influenced her writing poetry, and vice versa.  “Science writing is similar to poetry,” she explained, “It has to be pared down, precise, with concise language.  You have to follow a very specific form.  You have to be effective with a small amount of words.”

“I think the poetry influences the farm – the poetry and the science influence the farm – I see a lot of detail I wouldn’t have otherwise,” Gigot explained.  Still, for her writing, she looks at both the details of her life and the expansiveness of her settings.  “I don’t write exclusively about the farm,” she said, and she avoids clichés about farms and farming.

From Poetry To Fremont

In her mid-30s, Gigot looks forward to the contributions her poetry can make.  “In poetry it is a little harder,” to get published, Gigot observed, “We are declining in readers in poetry.  And there is no such thing as a ‘poet agent.’”

With the readings at the Fremont Library, Gigot and others, hope to ignite – or reignite – interest among readers and writers.  “For me, I wish there were more avid poetry readers my age,” Gigot said.

To learn more about poetry, and the three poets lined up for October 6th, attend the free reading at the Fremont Branch of the Seattle Public Library. This could be the chance to find your own expression, or simply to hear more from poets from here, and there.

 

 


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