Kathleen Heideman (Artist-in-Residence, 2008)

"Tobin Harbor Storm", 22” x 11” watercolor, 2008

NPS/Kathleen Heideman

 

"This Urge to Remain in Lake Superior, Forever" by Kathleen

At Edisen Fishery, we find racks for drying nets that no longer get wet,
a dory split open along the keel like a gutted herring, upended in sun,
and cork floats no longer flung at dawn, with prayers for safe return, over water.

Old boathouses dot the craggy shorelines, sagging in the middle,
broken by snow or cedars, toppling in slow motion to meet their reflections.
They know in their waterlogged bones where they'll retire: deep water.

- Read Kathleen's entire poem

 

Kathleen

Photo by Christine Saari

About the Artist

Kathleen M. Heideman was an Isle Royale Artist-in-Residence from August 12th to September 3rd, 2008. She is a writer, artist and environmentalist working in Michigan’s wild Upper Peninsula. Her newest collection of poetry is Psalms of the Early Anthropocene (Winter Cabin Books, 2017); previous chapbooks include Explaining Pictures To A Dead Hare, She Used To Have Some Cows, and Time Upon Once, a book arts collaboration with Phebe Hanson and Rebecca Alm.

Her work appears in several new literary anthologies: And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing, 1917–2017, edited by Ron Riekki (Michigan State University Press); Isle Royale from the AIR: Poems, Stories and Songs from 25 Years of Artists-In-Residence, edited by Phillip Sterling (Caffeinated Press); and Maiden Voyage: Marquette Poets Circle Anthology (Gordon Publications). In 2017, Heideman was named a Finalist for Poet Laureate of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Her poem "What God's Teeth Know" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editors of Caffeinated Press. She serves on the Board of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition.

Heideman is a past fellow of the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists & Writers Program, and the recipient of numerous artist residencies with watersheds, forests, private foundations, and the National Park Service – at Apostle Islands, Badlands, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Voyageurs, and elsewhere.

A curious woman.

Visit Kathleen's personal webpage to learn more about her work or her digital portfolio for more of her watercolors. Discover more about Kathleen's personal life and love of Michigan in an interview with Marquette Magazine.

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