Poetry reading with Abby E. Murray ("Recovery Commands") and Julie S. Paschold ("Horizons")

On Wednesday, August 6th at 6:00 p.m., Abby E. Murray and Julie S. Paschold will read from and sign their poetry collections, "Recovery Commands" and "Horizons", respectively.

---

"Recovery Commands" is a book of poems about the collision of military and civilian life found inside one loving, long-term, and contradictory marriage. Two people, each informed by and embedded within cultures that would seem to be at odds with one another, somehow hold fast to each other through decades of war and its lasting legacies. These poems manage to map out the paths human compassion takes to survive political upheaval and confounding military traditions, and they do so by leaning on humor, wit, and deep care for humanity. "Recovery Commands" is an instruction manual for how to love despite the practical reasons not to.

Abby E. Murray has moved around the U.S. and taught writing in Colorado, Georgia, Alaska, New York, Washington DC and Washington state, where they served as the 2019-2021 Poet Laureate for the city of Tacoma. Their first book, "Hail and Farewell", won the Perugia Press Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award, while their second book, "Recovery Commands", recently won the Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Prize and has been nominated for the National Book Award. Previous chapbooks include "How to Be Married after Iraq", "Quick Draw: Poems from a Soldier’s Wife", and "Me and Coyote". They currently teach rhetoric in military strategy, a writing course for U.S. Army War College fellows, at the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as poetry workshops in community centers, coffee shops, military posts, detention centers, shelters, assisted living facilities, virtual forums, and schools.

---

Embark on a captivating journey through the vibrant world of living soil, where new horizons await under the very ground we tread and the tapestry of human experience unfolds. This is an invitation to delve deep into the bonds of family, to explore identity and the spectacular essence of beauty, and to discover the marvels of Mother Nature's cyclical dance. "Horizons pays" homage to the richness of soil, a precious nonrenewable resource, blending the art of poetry with the wonders of science and everyday life. So come join us on this expedition, those of you from all walks of life, starting from the bedrock of soil and venturing forth until we reach the breaking of the earth, to bask in the sun.

Julie S. Paschold is a poet and artist from Nebraska. They have their BS and MS in agronomy from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. They have published three poetry books. "Horizons" honors soil through family, identity, and nature, and won a Nebraska Book Award in 2024. Their chapbook "You Have Always Been Here" is an unconventional love story. "Human Nature" explores humanity's ecological and environmental connection to nature and the planet earth. Julie has over 70 poems published in literary and other publications. Julie is a poet and artist with sensory sensitivity and synesthesia who likes critters, plants, and soil. They are a twin and a parent. Former Nebraska Poet Laureate William Kloefkorn was one of their mentors. They have two degrees in soil science. Julie has tried their hand at seed sales specialist, pizza maker, telephone operator, soil science technician, homeless shelter overnighter, ruminant nutrition researcher, water quality advocate, statewide art coordinator, town development assistant, composting supporter, 911 operator, and agronomist.

You may also like the following events from The Bookworm Omaha:

• Next month, 12th August, 06:00 pm, Barbara Boustead will sign "Wilder Weather" in Omaha

Also check out other Arts events in Omaha, Literary Art events in Omaha, Workshops in Omaha.