For B.G. Bradley, a veteran storyteller and former educator from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, writing is less of a choice and more of a lifelong compulsion. His latest collection, "North Words: A Year in Poetry," represents an ambitious chronological journey through a full calendar year. The book serves as a daily chronicle of life in the “North Woods,” blending observations of the physical environment (i.e., trees, stones, and water) with a deep exploration of internal emotions like longing and contentment.
Bradley’s creative process is rooted in a disciplined morning ritual that begins well before dawn. He often starts his day by sketching his dreams to spark his imagination before moving into his daily requirement of verse. This habit of constant observation is something he has carried since grade school, often interrupting his own life or classroom lectures to jot down fleeting "light bulb moments" in the notebooks he keeps constantly at his side.
The Upper Peninsula functions as more than just a setting in this collection; it acts as a primary collaborator. Bradley finds that the specific sounds and sights of the region, from the call of a loon to the cracking of lake ice in the spring, dictate the very meter and rhythm of his writing. He notes that extreme weather carries its own musicality, where the biting silence of a sub-zero January morning creates a vastly different poetic pace than the heavy, humid atmosphere of mid-summer.
Deeply woven into these natural reflections are the threads of family history and personal memory. Writing from a cabin that has been in his family for seven decades, Bradley views the landscape as a living map of his ancestors and their stories. Every shoreline and forest path is populated by the memories of those who came before him, allowing the poems to bridge the gap between the physical world of the woods and the spiritual legacy of his family.
Kurt Hauswirth spoke with Bradley about his book:
Ultimately, Bradley intends for the book to serve as a window into the transcendent. While he does not shy away from the bleaker aspects of the human experience, he avoids leaving his readers in a place of despair, instead using nature as a tool for solace and hope. By the end of the collection, the core message is clear: the act of living itself is a poem, and everyone carries a natural, internal rhythm that connects them to the world around them.
Visit the link to Benegamah Press for more information on the works of B.G. Bradley.
