Creating Space for the Questions, with Martha Williams

In this episode, I spoke with Martha Williams, who is a writer and the director of programs and education at The Community Library in Ketchum, Idaho. Martha and I met in the context of her work with The Community Library’s Ernest Hemingway legacy initiatives, and I was immediately struck with her grounded, deep presence. In this multi-week conversation, I was able to get to know her more and see further textures of presence, as we talked of her work, her writing, and her beloved walks through the woods; as we talked of poetry, community, this precipice of time, and the gift of allowing space—around ourselves as well as the civilization-defining questions we’ll be living into in the coming decades. I loved listening to Martha's spacious reflections, and I hope they meet you too with much goodness. 

To learn more about the programs Martha helps facilitate at The Community Library, you can visit https://comlib.org/programs/. 

And you can read the poem she reflects on—“Spring,” by Mary Oliver—here: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/blog/2021/02/26/mary-oliver-spring/.