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Clark reminds the reader of the importance of understanding the reasons you write, to provide yourself and others with support and impartiality, and to know that being stuck is an illusion. She tells us that with words, we create worlds—One word is a pomegranate: full of enough seeds to sow an entire orchard.
Note: one of the poems, “The Path: Ways to Help a Creative,” has been nominated for a 2026 Pushcart Prize.
Delighting in “To Be” is a micro chapbook by Loralee Clark, published in November 2025 by Bottlecap Press. This chapbook explores the ways we are changed as we delve into the process of dancing with words. These poems provide advice for writers: enjoy the process; look beyond the obvious moment to more relevant truths; and remember there is beauty to be discovered all around us.
You may notice, my art graces this cover as well!
You may notice, my art graces this cover as well!
This is watercolor, homemade walnut ink, and embroidery. It is entitled "Stomata".
Delighting in “To Be”: Poems for Writers by Loralee Clark is a lyrical and thoughtful mediation on what it means to be a writer. “Delight,” the opening poem of the collection, is an exhortation to write: “…let’s not make it harder/than it has to be.” From there Clark pivots to the core question of her chapbook: Why write? “…it’s just one foot in front of the other answering questions which need to be asked.” Her anguished “The Reason” reaches deep to show us her creative process: Cut me open, slick and somber, splayed on your desk. As with all of Clark’s poetry, the natural world figures prominently as a source of wisdom and joy: “A hawk flew into a window. Did she think she was headed into the sun?” This collection is a love poem to writing and to all who cherish it. A writer who is facing a “dry spell” will find this collection a life-line! Those who aspire to write will find it inspiring. Those who wonder why in the world we do it, might find these poems a window into the heart of the writer.
--Ann Chinnis, Pushcart Prize recipient, 2025, author of Poppet, My Poppet, I Can Catch Anything, and Love Song: Port & Starboard (forthcoming)
With skillful word choice and beautiful alliteration, Clark calls us to the complex and sometimes challenging task of exploring the depths of ourselves: turning inward, getting lost, and writing the truth we discover. It's neither too difficult nor too easy, as Clark walks that line and invites us as writers to join her and see the hawk, the bee, and ourselves. The writer as shaman, creator, and builder of something beyond reach is present. Yet, Clark demonstrates that this thing we call writing is within reach through her lovely yet powerful collection of poems. May we heed her call, “cut me open / to find where it begins.”
--Joe Stertz, MFA Graduate ODU, published in DMQ Review
In Delighting in “To Be”: Poems for Writers, Loralee Clark shows, in detail, the many intricacies of living the life of a writer. She writes about the brutal honesty, courage, and perseverance it takes to put feelings and thoughts into words. She asks questions we may not have the answers to and seems to have no fear of the unknown. The result is a collection full of honesty, wonder and awe of the power of language.
In the poem “Writer” Loralee muses how with words she creates “worlds born of nothingness, foraging questions unanswerable.” In “Language’s Fecundity” she treasures words like “prizes”.
I am grateful that Clark generously shares her deep commitment to, and knowledge of, writing. This is a collection I certainly will go back to again and again for inspiration when facing my full heart and empty pages.
--Suzanne Koopmans, poet
The Path: Ways to Help a Creative
The Path: Ways to Help a Creative
--for Cara
Bring them water,
apply the salve.
Cut the wood and double it.
Sort the laundry.
Excuse the piled dishes their crusty excess.
Make the tea.
Add the sugar.
Welcome the sunlight and pull the weeds.
Rub the sore muscles.
Move the rock.
Fill the glass again and again.
When they judge
their work, themselves,
remind them
it’s not good or bad
it’s just
a part of the process.
Remind them
it’s difficult forging
your own path
without a model or mentor.
Weigh the grain, mill the flour.
Feed the starter
and begin again.
Bring them water.
(First published in Nude Bruce Review)
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