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Rebroadcast: Shaindel Beers
Warning to listeners: Shaindel Beers almost caused a car crash during her appearance on the show in August. She is a poet and a teacher who is inspired by her students' struggles and successes.
Beers grew up in the Midwest and came to Pendleton by way of Florida — applying for any academic position she could find far from the Sunshine State after four hurricanes in six weeks and a crazy housing market. Now she loves seeing horses outside her office window.
Beers says she writes poetry because it is "faster than fiction" to both read and write. She describes herself as "the kid who does not sit still, starting in kindergarten," although as a writer she can tinker for months after getting a first draft on a page.
If you've never heard of the infectiously energetic Beers, you're in for a treat. If you've read her first book, what did you think?
Tagged as: northwest passages · pendleton · poetry · shaindel beers
Photo credit: Evan Moodie Photography
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I really enjoyed this interview, and was happy to hear Shaindel read "A Study in Weights and Measures". It was one of my favorite poems in the book, but I can honestly say I loved all of them. Shaindel was a teacher of mine, and I learned more in her class than any other class I have taken. I loved how in the interview she talked about how she does all of the writing prompts with her students. I always loved that about her class, because unlike some other teachers I have had, she seemed to really care about the assignments she was giving. A Brief History of Time is a beautiful book, and I look forward to the next one.
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Why is the name of the book the same as the Stephen Hawkings book written in 1988?
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I didn't set out for that to be the title of the book. The first poem in the book was meant to be an homage to Hawkings' theories, and that was the title of the first poem. My other working titles weren't that good, and my publisher suggested we name the book after the first poem.
Since titles aren't copyrightable, I didn't see a reason to disagree. Thanks for asking!
~Shaindel
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Wonderful interview, thank you Ms. Beers. Ms. Harris, you mentioned a deeply moving piece written by one of the students. Can you post the link please?
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Another author who I have managed to miss. Can anyone recommend Shaindel Beers best piece of writing?
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A Brief History of Time is one of my favorite collections of 2009. Beers' poems go right to the heart of living, with beauty and unflinching honesty. The moments in her poems come alive with vivid imagery and precise, concrete language.