Let Go or Hold Fast: Beaufort Poems
By Susan Schmidt. Library Partners Press. November 2018.
In Let Go or Hold Fast, Beaufort Poems (Library Partners Press/ Gail O’Day 2018 Prize). Susan Schmidt celebrates neighbors in her small town—dolphins, manatees, sharks, herons, egrets, butterflies, ants, bees, possum, snake, owl, and bear. As she swims, paddles, rows, sand ails, she witnesses coastal diversity and resilience, threatened by sea level rise, development, motorboat wakes, tourists. As sailboat captain, master gardener, and Quaker naturalist, Schmidt is a keen observer. The newest poem describes Hurricane Florence’s damage, ...