Linda Flaherty Haltmaier
Poet & Author
Poet Laureate Emeritus, Andover MA
Winner of the International Book Award for Poetry
"This remarkable collection is as much a celebration of life as it is a poignant exploration of grief. Haltmaier’s poems are both lush and economical. Her images arrest us. Nature is everywhere, and we are constantly touching it with our fingertips and brushing against it with our cheeks. Watch out, reader! These ‘words with glossy berries’ will ‘lure you in’ and have ‘prickers to make you bleed.’ These poems will remake you and set you wandering among the fields, feeling fully alive."
–Kristin Bock, award-winning author of Cloisters
Winner of the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize
"Haltmaier’s poems capture moments in time, fleeting and beautiful as a hummingbird’s flight. Blending the comic with the tragic, she explores the 'wreckage' of a relationship with the same clear eye as her poems about family life, its joys and sorrows, and about a natural world in which Haltmaier assumes the power to 'roll up the sky,' transporting it and her reader to a new and better place."
~Claire Keyes, author of What Diamonds Can Do
Press
Click on links below to read articles:
Praise for ...
To the Left of the Sun
“The poems in To the Left of the Sun are so alive—they whisper, they shout, they pulsate with fury and wonder and the compulsion to dig deeper into the game of existence. They need to be read aloud, shared, celebrated. We remain fortunate to add Haltmaier’s distinctive, vibrant voice to contemporary discourse.”
~Sean Murphy, bestselling author of Please Talk About Me When I’m Gone
“In To the Left of the Sun, Haltmaier applies her enviable tools as a writer–-her sensational imagery, her deft ear for the music in language, her emotional sonar for sounding the depths of love (and of anger)—to not quite everything under the sun. In this, her third work, we enjoy the deepening and strengthening of the poet’s singular voice.”
~Rod Kessler, author of Off in Zimbabwe
“There is a luminous quality to Haltmaier’s poems about childhood that is characteristic of the best writing on the subject. She takes us to the heart of the human predicament, the moment when innocence meets the brokenness of the world.”
~Audrey Henderson, author of Airstream
“Like Blake’s worm inside the rose, this remarkable collection is as much a celebration of life as it is a poignant exploration of grief. Haltmaier’s poems are both lush and economical. Her images arrest us. Nature is everywhere, and we are constantly touching it with our fingertips and brushing against it with our cheeks. Watch out, reader! These ‘words with glossy berries’ will ‘lure you in’ and have ‘prickers to make you bleed.’ These poems will remake you and set you wandering among the fields, feeling fully alive.”
~Kristin Bock, award-winning author of Cloisters
Rolling up the Sky
The poems in Rolling up the Sky tell stories about mothers and daughters, about struggle, about grief ― but no matter how painful their occasions, these poems are full of warmth and humor. Haltmaier is so honest in her probing of experience and so attentive to the many minute phenomena of the world around her that to me, Rolling up the Sky seems like one long love poem to life itself. Brava!
~James Arthur, author of Charms Against Lightning
When Linda asked me to read Rolling up the Sky, I almost said no. I’d rather not have to tell someone that I can’t endorse their heart’s work, so I usually plead busyness. Thank god I said yes! What a world Linda opened up to me––a universe of good mothers and wily bullfrogs, of fifty ton graham crackers and dementia turned beautiful: so many glimpses of the beyond. Like all good poetry, her poems remake you into something far bigger than your everyday self.
~Jennifer Louden, New York Times best-selling author
"Haltmaier’s poems capture moments in time, fleeting and beautiful as a hummingbird’s flight. Blending the comic with the tragic, she explores the 'wreckage' of a relationship with the same clear eye as her poems about family life, its joys and sorrows, and about a natural world in which Haltmaier assumes the power to 'roll up the sky,' transporting it and her reader to a new and better place."
~Claire Keyes, author of What Diamonds Can Do
About
Linda Flaherty Haltmaier is an award-winning author and the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Andover, Massachusetts. She was recently honored as the winner of the 2022 Robert Frost Poetry Prize. Her first full-length collection, Rolling up the Sky, claimed the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize and her latest collection, To the Left of the Sun, was named the winner of the International Book Award for Poetry.
Her work has earned numerous awards including first place in the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Competition, finalist honors for the Princemere Poetry Prize, the New Millenium Award for Poetry, the Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, the Rash Award for Poetry, and shortlisted for the Tucson Festival of the Book Literary Award.
Twice-nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Linda has been featured extensively in journals and anthologies including Switchgrass Review, WSQ, Ink & Letters, Wild Word, and more. Her debut chapbook, Catch and Release, was published by Finishing Line Press. A graduate of Harvard, Linda leads poetry workshops, gives readings, and promotes poetry on the North Shore of Boston where she lives with her husband and daughter.
Books
To the Left of the Sun: Overview
By turns irreverent, playful, and serious, Haltmaier’s poems explore the phenomena of daily life with a deft clarity that transforms the ordinary into the extra-ordinary. Brimming with nuance and surprise, To the Left of the Sun touches on the themes of solitude and union, love and letting go, and the redemptive power of nature. Haltmaier’s unflinching eye lays bare the hidden miracles in choosing a head of cabbage at the farmer’s market, taking a morning walk, or watching her mother’s decline into dementia. The everyday and the heartrending undergo a light-infusing alchemy in her hands. At its heart, To the Left of the Sun is a portal to a world where wonder, humor, and beauty can be found in even the most unlikely places.
To the Left of the Sun is available for pre-order at Homebound Publications, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble
Winner of the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize
Rolling up the Sky is available at Homebound Publications, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble
Poems
The Muses:
Winner of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival Competition
Groundling:
www.allwecanhold.com/tag/linda-flaherty-haltmaier/
Vanishing Point:
http://www.inkandletters.com/4-perspective/
Finders Keepers:
http://thewildword.com/poetry-linda-flaherty-haltmaier/
Rain and Breakfast:
https://poetrybreakfast.com/2016/04/27/rain-and-breakfast-a-poem-by-linda-flaherty-haltmaier/
18 Copies of the Odyssey:
canopicjar.com/suites/suite-home-place/haltmeir/
Anthologies
Wildness: Voices of The Sacred Landscape
The Binnacle: Literary Journal of Coastal Maine—Honorable Mention for "Deflated"
Shout it Out, Poems Against Domestic Violence
Poeming Pigeon, Poems about Food
Available at Amazon.com
News & Events
2022
Linda's New Poetry Workshop: "The Art of Noticing" is now available on Living Whole Online.
2021
27
October
Poetry Reading at John Greenleaf Whittier Home and Museum, 6:30PM
86 Friend Street, Amesbury MA
Join me for an in-person, live reading at the historic John Greenleaf Whittier Home and Museum hosted by Ellie O'Leary, Amesbury Poet Laureate. I'll be reading my work followed by an open mic. All are welcome.
11
May
Robert Frost Poetry Prize Winners Read
Robert Frost Foundation
7 PM on ZOOM
The Robert Frost Poetry Prize winner and finalists read their poems. I'm excited to debut a new poem, winner of 3rd place finalist honors.
31
March
She Walked This Land: A Celebration of Anne Bradstreet, First Poet Published in North America 1650
North Andover Historical Society
Wednesday, 7 PM over ZOOM
Join me for a celebration of Anne Bradstreet's pioneering poetry and legacy with N. Andover PL Mark Bohrer and Professor Ellen McWhorter. We will share our favorite Bradstreet poem and an explication if its significance. I will debut a poem written for the occasion.
2019
7
September
Andover Day Celebration
Saturday, September 7, 10 AM to 3 PM
Downtown Andover, MA
Corner of Main St. and Punchard Ave.
Join me at teh Poet Laureate Booth for pocket poems and treats. I'll also be signing copies of my new book "To the Left of the Sun." Come join the fun, eat some great food, shop at the farmer's market.
10
September
Poetry and Margaritas at Cafe Azteca
Tuesday, September 10 at 7 PM
180 Common St., Lawrence, MA
Sponsored by the Robert Frost Foundation
I'll be reading new work and selection from "To the Left of the Sun" along with talended N. Andover Poets Laureate Mark Bohrer and Gayle Heney who will be sharing their poetry. Great food and great fun!
6
October
Poetry in the Garden
Sunday, October 6 at 3:30 PM
Somerville Community Growing Center
2 Vinal Ave., Somerville, MA
Thrilled to be reading my poetry alongside Lloyd Schwartz (the current Poet Laureate of Somerville) and David Surrette at this beautiful outdoor venue. A reception to follow. Everyone welcome!