THIRD WEDNESDAY MAGAZINE Publishes A GATHERING: A 3RD WEDNESDAY POETRY WORKSHOP ANTHOLOGY–And I Am Honored to Have Four Poems Included

For some years now, I have been a member of a monthly poetry workshop circle based in Ann Arbor, Michigan under the aegis of Third Wednesday Magazine. (Yes, I praise the magic of Zoom that allows me to participate!)

This year, the group undertook a literary project, spearheaded by Editor David Jibson. This anthology, a Poetry Month project, holds the work of nine poets, people whose work I know and value including, in alphabetical order, Thomas Brzezina, Shutta Crum, Katherine Edgren, Lynn D. Gilbert, David Jibson, Dana L. Johnson, Lissa Perrin, Leslie Schultz, and Laurence W. Thomas. It was exciting to see many of the poems here take shape, and it is even better to see them printed on the page. Certainly, I have benefited from the thoughtful feedback my own poems have received, and I feel lucky have my own work in this company.

With typical 3rd Wednesday generosity toward writers and readers, the magazine has made it possible for anyone to download a free copy of the publication. If you would like to hold a paper copy as you read (always my own preference!) you can order one for $6.00 on Amazon.

On a rainy day in Northfield, hoping the old adage about spring flowers following in the rainstorms’ wakes is true, I am wishing you a cozy hour for reading and writing—LESLIE

Reading at Zenith Bookstore in Duluth with Susan Jaret McKinstry

May started out with a blast of poetry and travel. Susan Jaret McKinstry invited me to read with her at a wonderful place in Duluth, Minnesota, Zenith Bookstore. For me, this reading was one of the highlights of the spring. We had a wonderful time connecting with poetry readers and sharing our work, and afterwards Tim, Susan, and I were able to go out with friends. Over the next two days, we explored the city, discovered a new favorite restaurant (At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Cafe–I have already made two recipes from their cookbook) and Wussow’s Concert Cafe, and visited three perennially interesting sites: Glensheen Mansion, Splitrock Lighthouse, and Gooseberry Falls. It was a trip I shall remember with pleasure for a very long time to come.

Another pleasure for me was to be able to read my poem, “Duluth,” written a long time ago, before I had seen this beautiful city, in the northern urban jewel. (“Duluth” is one of the first poems that I published after moving to Minnesota–in The Northern Review–and I was honored when the review asked to use the first line in a promotional campaign and sent me a complimentary sweatshirt. The poem is reprinted in my collection, Still Life with Poppies: Elegies, and also below.)

DULUTH


This is true north;
It is more fixed than heaven.
Beyond icy shallows
The deeps steam.
Anchors stay hidden.
Their chains seem to end
Where they touch the lake,
Yet these ships are linked to them
Tenuously
As dreams nearly dreamed.
Hulls full of grain
Float in a cold slumber.
I wonder why we've come,
Whether we're late or early.
It's Sunday.
The sun hangs
On the quiet derricks,
Sunk,
Leaking daylight.
We huddle in the car,
Holding black coffee
While our words dissolve.
Only the coast retains
An air of permanence.
We're lost.
A loon cries;
Its shadow rises
Like breath or smoke.


Leslie Schultz
Parking Lot Mural, Zenith Bookstore, Duluth, Minnesota

Happy reading! Happy travels! Leslie

April 30, 2025 Context for Poem “Quiet Listening” & Thank You to Readers

My recent visit to the Garden of Quiet Listening, on the Carleton College campus, with my sister, Karla, inspired today’s poem.

With this, my April project for National Poetry Month 2025 is at a close. Thank you to everyone who shared this Poem-a-Day journey with me–your company was sustaining–and a special thank you to those who shared your reactions with me!

Here’s to new challenges and joys in the months to come! LESLIE

April 29, 2025 Context for Poem “Announcement of Imminent Departure”

Today’s poem, “Announcement of Imminent Departure,” springs from daily life, spins a poem from a recent confluence of conversation and weather, and a recognition of the inevitable fleeting brevity of each moment. Here is a snippet of what I learned this morning, after I was alerted to the meaning of certain configurations of bird flight from my sister, Karla.

“Kettling apparently serves as a form of avian communication—an announcement of imminent departure—as well as a way of gaining altitude and conserving strength.”

As I wrote today’s poem, I was also thinking of how our mutual celebration of National Poetry Month draws to a close tomorrow, making way for something new.

Wishing you good weather and good cheer–LESLIE

Looking East After Rain

April 28, 2025 Context for Poem “Fashioning” & Some Highlights from “Art in Bloom” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

The influence on today’s poem that I knew at once was my visit yesterday with Tim and my sister, Karla, to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see the annual extravaganza that is Art in Bloom. Previous posts have featured past years’ intersections between the art in the museum’s permanent collections and the creativity of the area’s floral artists.

The influence I only realized as I was preparing this post was my love of a poem by William Butler Yeats called “A Coat.” If you don’t know it, or if you want to reread it now, it is available on the Poetry Foundation website HERE.

Now I am intrigued by “Miss Lily Place.” “Prodigious shopper in the Suq”! Really, one cannot make these things–even these names–up!

People watching is as much fun–maybe more fun–than seeing the permanent art and the ephemeral floral creations inspired by it. My favorite image is the penultimate one!

Why not flaunt your style today!