For this episode, we discuss two powerful poetry collections. The first is a collection called Notes for a Novel, by Frieda Fligelman, who was a strong presence in Helena in the early twentieth century, but not that well known as a poet. She was a scholar in linguistics and an activist in many political causes, as well as someone who enjoyed a lively social life. Ten years ago, Rick Newby of Drummlummon Press decided to publish this collection of the best of her poetry, and it’s a wonderful collection.

Notes for a Novel

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The second collection, Black Birds, Blue Horse, is by another Helena poet, Natalie Peeterse, and it’s an elegy inspired by the death of Natalie’s friend Nicole Dial, who was killed in Afghanistan while doing work for the International Rescue Committee. Although this collection weighs in at a slight 26 pages, it is packed with emotional power. We also had the pleasure of interviewing Natalie about the process of writing this book and about her own small press, Open Country Press.
Black Birds, Blue Horse