In this episode, we talk with poet and author Riley Danvers about writing, identity, and Riley’s new poetry collection, Arborism of Branching: Sonnets for Post-Divorce Photosynthesis. Riley shares how reading and nature inspire their work, beginning with a childhood love of haiku, and explains how the book’s sonnets chronicle a year after leaving an abusive marriage, moving through seasons as metaphors for shedding, searching, and self-actualization. We discuss the vulnerability of writing trauma, the importance of grounding through reading and community, and poetry recommendations. Riley urges artists to create as an act of resistance, sharing work widely.
Riley’s Books
Other Books Mentioned
No Language is Neutral by Dionne Brand
Fierce Departures by Dionne Brand
Surge by Etel Adnan
Night by Etel Adnan
Revelated by Matt Hart
Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill
Hekate: The Witch by Nikita Gill
Styx: The River by Nikita Gill
Where to Find Riley
Timeline
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:45 Riley’s Writing Origins
03:16 Arborism of Branching Overview
04:40 Seasons of Healing
06:24 Identity After Abuse
09:49 Staying Grounded as a Writer
12:22 Recent Reads and Poetry Recs
14:51 What’s Next Feminist Rage Manuscript
17:50 Advice Artists as Resistance
20:44 Where to Find Riley Closing
