July - August 2025

When we hear the word “nature,” we typically think of habitats unspoiled by human intervention:
Open fields dotted with wildflowers, old-growth forests, craggy mountains, tranquil lakes, and pulsing oceans are just a few examples. But nature has other meanings. We also use it to characterize the quality or strength of people, animals, or even inanimate things. And of course, we can speak of “the nature” of a situation or problem. It’s a very expansive concept, and in poetry, writing about different forms of nature can enable a poet to tap into other, often deeper, concerns.

For this exhibit, three published Westfield poets, Robin Rosen Chang, Moriah Cohen, and Liz Kingsley, were asked to share poems engaging with the theme of nature. All three poets selected poems in which elements of the physical environment are not only prominent but also serve as vehicles for them to explore specific emotions or feelings. Additionally, they chose poems focusing on animals, another means for them to open a window between the exterior and the interior world.