Archives: Wildstory Podcasts

November 27, 2023

Poet Emily Hockaday speaks with Ann Wallace about her new poetry collection, In a Body, published in October 2023 by Harbor Editions. Emily discusses the layered ways in which new motherhood, the death of her father, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia—as well as science and ecology—have shaped Emily’s work, much of which she composed while walking with her child on the trails of Forest Park in Queens, New York. We then hear from Dr. Randi Eckel for a new installment of Ask Randi. In this episode, Randi answers a question from Gail about using cardboard as mulch to suppress weeds. 

Kim Correro joins the conversation to talk with sustainable landscape designer and naturalist Elaine Silverstein about rethinking the lawn. Elaine will further share her expertise in “Choosing, Planting, and Caring for Native Plants,” a workshop for The Native Plant Society of New Jersey, to be offered in January. Registration opens on December 4 at NPSNJ.org.

And to close out the episode, poet Theta Pavis shares “Growing Avocadoes in East Orange,” winner of the Seed Challenge that The WildStory ran earlier this fall, sponsored by Jennifer Jewell and Timber Press. Theta and two other winners each received a copy of Jennifer’s book What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds.

November 4, 2023

Guest host N. West Moss, author of the memoir Flesh and Blood (Algonquin Press), joins us for the opening interview of today’s episode. West turns the tables to interview The WildStory host and Jersey City Poet Laureate Ann E. Wallace about her new poetry collection, Days of Grace and Silence: A Chronicle of COVID’s Long Haul, forthcoming from Kelsay Books in winter 2024. They speak about Ann’s isolation and turn to writing when she fell ill at the start of the pandemic and through her long recovery, but also about community and the presence of nature as a reminder of hope and resilience. We then hear from Dr. Randi Eckel, who offers suggestions for shady groundcover plants in a new installment of Ask Randi. And co-host Kim Correro joins Ann in conversation with Brie Arthur—a frequent contributor to the PBS television show “Growing a Greener World” and leader in the foodscape revolution. Brie the Plant Lady discusses her move years ago toward foodscaping and how you might visually blend food crops into your yard. Brie also opens up about the severe health impacts she has faced from tick-borne illnesses and the preventive measures that gardeners and nature enthusiasts might take to protect against Alpha-Gal Syndrome and Lyme Disease.

Poet Susan Glass, who has been blind since birth, speaks with Ann Wallace about the integral role birds have played in her life—and in her poetry—as she uses their songs and calls to locate herself, spatially and metaphorically, in the natural world. She also brings listeners into the creative process of completing her chapbook The Wild Language of Deer, published in 2022 by Slate Roof Press. It is a collection filled with delight, birdsong, and wonder. 

Dr. Randi Eckel announces what members can expect from this year’s NPSNJ Fall Conference, Hidden In Plain Sight: The Outstanding Natural Diversity of New Jersey on Saturday, November 4th, and answers a question from Cheryl about additional native plants she can add to her garden to support birds and pollinators.  

Co-host Kim Correro joins Ann in conversation with Don Torino of the Bergen County Audubon Society and author of Life in the Meadowlands. Don, who has spent a lifetime exploring New Jersey’s Meadowlands, shares his deep knowledge of the habitat’s birds, and the plants they depend on, and he reminds us of the steps we can take to protect the birds in our communities. 

Poet Christine Klocek-Lim talks with Ann Wallace about the ways in which her work engages with nature, whether she is taking us onto the trail with her or creating the sequence of persona poems in her new chapbook Nomenclatura, forthcoming from Glass Lyre Press. Christine reflects on the human history held within seemingly wild spaces, the precarity of life, and the communal element of being outdoors. We then hear from Dr. Randi Eckel for a new installment of Ask Randi. And co-host Kim Correro joins Ann in conversation with Jennifer Jewell, host of the podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden in advance of her appearance at the Garden Futures Summit in New York City hosted by The Garden Conservancy on September 29th and 30th. Jennifer speaks with us about her new book What We Sow, from Timber Press, a book germinated in the early months of the pandemic, when the widespread seed shortage led Jennifer into a fascinating and moving reflection on the cultural, environmental, and metaphoric meaning of seeds.

WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF WHAT WE SOW
At the end of the episode, we share a special creative giveaway offer of Jennifer’s book What We Sow! Write a short poem or memoir piece on your own seed or germination story. Think about the communal or generational connections held within the seeds and plants that you sow and pass on. Send your entry of a poem, no more than 20 lines, or a memoir, 150 words or fewer, to us at with Seed Challenge in the subject line by October 20th. Three winners will receive signed copies of What We Sow, thanks to Jennifer Jewell and Timber Press, AND they will be invited to record their pieces to air in Episode 6 of The WildStory. So have fun writing—we look forward to reading your work! This opportunity is open to all.

Poet January Gill O’Neil speaks with Ann Wallace about her new collection, Glitter Road, forthcoming from CavanKerry Press in February 2024. January discusses her year as the John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, and her immersion in the difficult cultural history of the south, as laid against its rich and fertile landscape. She also reflects on the ways in which the pandemic, which began toward the end of residency, allowed time for family, writing, and observation of the natural world. We then hear from Dr. Randi Eckel who will share news about NPSNJ’s upcoming season of webinars for a new installment of Ask Randi. And co-host Kim Correro joins Ann Wallace in the final segment for an important conversation with renowned landscape designer Edwina von Gal in advance of her appearance at the Garden Futures Summit in New York City, which is hosted by the Garden Conservancy on Sept 29. Edwina speaks about sustainable design and the Perfect Earth Project, as well as her Two Thirds for the Birds initiative, which offers an easy-to-remember strategy for incorporating native plants into our gardens.

Lisbeth White, a poet from Washington State and author of American Sycamore (Perugia Press, 2022) speaks with Ann Wallace about how ancestry, myth, and stories are contained within the American landscape, reflecting on the simultaneous beauty and historic violence evoked and held within the trees and waterways of this nation, and how ritual might help restore our connection to the land. We also hear from Dr. Randi Eckel, President of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey, for a new installment of Ask Randi. In this episode, Randi shares her excitement for the upcoming NPSNJ trip to the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (Sept. 9th) and answers a question from Marlene about the non-native Norway Maple Tree. Finally, co-host Kim Correro joins Ann Wallace for a lively conversation with botanical illustrator Katy Lyness, delving into the past roles and present joy of the art form. 

Sati Mookherjee, a poet from the Pacific Northwest, speaks with Ann Wallace about her new collection Ways of Being (MoonPath Press, 2023) and the way grief, language, and the natural world intersect within her work. NPSNJ President Dr. Randi Eckel discusses the role of cultivars in our gardens. And co-host Kim Correro joins in for a conversation with Kim Rowe, leader of the Monmouth Chapter of NPSNJ, about the Independent Garden Center Initiative and strategic efforts to bring more native plants into New Jersey’s nurseries.