Important Links:

Listen to Michael McFee read his story, “Fragrantissima” from 27 Views of Chapel Hill:

Read more about Michael and his work from the Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/michael-mcfee

To purchase a copy of 27 Views of Chapel Hill, click here: 27 Views of Chapel Hill

Music for this episode is entitled “Holding on to Hope,” by Megan Wofford. It’s available on Epidemic Sound:

Season Three Show Notes

Episode 22:  Anticipating Spring with Poet Michael McFee

The exuberant scent of the First Breath of Spring

Poet Michael McFee talks about his anticipation of winter ending and spring beginning when he strolls through Coker Arboretum on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. He reads and discusses his essay from the anthology, 27 Views of Chapel Hill. The harbinger of spring is the First Breath of Spring, also know as lonicera fragrantissima, also known as winter honeysuckle, also known as “a gorgeous weed.” Michael talks about his years of visiting the arboretum, “the Central Park” of Chapel Hill, and the importance of paying attention, which is at the heart of all writing.

Bio—
Michael McFee is the Doris Betts Professor of English in the Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has served as Poet in Residence at Cornell and at Lawrence Universities. A native of Asheville, Michael focuses much of his work on the North Carolina mountains, both its culture and environment. He has published twelve books of poetry, most recently A Long Time to Be Gone and We Were Once Here, as well as several volumes of essays. Michael is also a contributor to Eno’s anthologies, The Carolina Table and 27 Views of Asheville. He is the recipient of many awards, including the North Carolina Award for Literature, our state’s highest civilian honor.