There’s a long tradition of poetry about graveyards and their inhabitants.
Louisville poet Kathleen Driskell has lived in a renovated church in eastern Jefferson County for two decades, and she was inspired to write about the small graveyard that adjoins the property. Her new collection of poetry is called “Next Door to the Dead,” published by the University Press of Kentucky.
She recently spoke with WFPL about the book and how living next to a graveyard has made her a better writer.
"This book is about a lot of imagined things that have started from things that I've looked [at] out the window and seen, and thought about. There's always something to be discovered," Driskell said.
Listen to the conversation here:
Driskell, the associate program director of Spalding University’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing, will read from her new book tonight at 7 p.m. at Carmichael’s Bookstore on Frankfort Avenue.
Listen to her read two poems from the collection here:
(Featured image credit: Andy Lamb/Creative Commons)