In all the years – dating back to the 1980s – that the Idaho Library Association has celebrated the best books of each year, no one recalls a book (or collection) of poetry has made the list of honorees. That is, until this year.
“I just got the email,” said Margaret Koger, among the very best poets from Idaho and beyond. “I actually haven’t talked to anyone about yet before talking to you.”
Indeed, Morning Edition host George Prentice was honored to have spent some time with Koger while the announcement was still fresh on the vine. Koger was a previous visitor to Morning Edition, talking to Prentice about words of love during a unique Valentine’s Day event. But it's her most recent collection, “If Seasons Were Kingdoms,” that is front of mind and heart.
“If Seasons Were Kingdoms” is filled with images of nature found plentiful in Idaho. In Koger’s poems are deer, pheasant, salmon, shore birds, wildflowers, bears and other creatures.
“If we take a moment and really look at something, it might speak back to us,” said Koger. “And that’s what you remember.”
Koger’s collection is unique in so many ways, perhaps mostly that each section is preceded by a riddle. She shared one with Prentice:
“I am yours…
…come from shadows clutched...
...by sheer white drifts…
… a changeling…
… a stir in soaked seed beds...
... as husks rot, seedlings swell…
… bulbs blossom…
… warm winds coddle thawing limbs pummeled by rain.
Who am I?”
The answer and so much more are part of their conversation.
Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren
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