Each summer, Dr. Sylvia Baer hangs around 60 pieces of poetry on a tree outside her home in Cape May. Passersby are invited to pause, read, and take home any poem that resonates with them. She and her husband restock the tree daily so there are always fresh poems for folks to discover.
For this month’s podcast, I spoke with Sylvia, Cape May’s Poet Laureate, fellow at Yale, professor of English emeritus at Rowan University, and the heart behind Cape May’s Art Space and Poet-Tree. We had a lovely conversation.
Here’s what we explored:
On visibility and courage: How Sylvia puts her writing into public view, from her memoir to the poems she hangs outside her home for strangers to take.
On starting something new: Her ‘no fear of failure’ policy that serves her in all her work as a poet, memoirist, playwright, translator, curator, and teacher.
Takeaways: Reflections on five decades of teaching, and a valuable piece of advice for those earlier in their careers.
“I think what you need to do, all of us, as we move forward through life, even at my stage of life, is look for models. And take from those models pieces. Not get the full menu from somebody else, because you’re not that somebody else. You’re you.... Find those guiding lights outside of ourselves, but really mainly inside of ourselves, and try to mesh the two. Find external and internal lights and see if they can just come together and create something sparkling.” – Dr. Sylvia Baer
Thank you so very much, Sylvia, for sharing so generously from your experience and perspective as a lifelong writer and creator. Thank you for being a true model of what it means to be courageous and visible as a writer.
I sincerely hope you all love + share this conversation with others. I’d love to hear what resonates with you in the comments. ✨
A final note: Starting in August, this publication, my creative garden, will be moving fully behind the paywall. Free intros to each post will always be here at the garden gate, but the full posts, conversations like this one, and all my writing will be behind the paywalled garden gates for paid readers going forward.
This isn’t about scarcity, it’s about depth. 🩵
I want this space to be a place of real dialogue and deep community, and I’ve found that happens more naturally when people have chosen to be here and feel safe to express themselves behind the paywall.
This is also about bringing another level of clarity to my work. ✨
My socials will remain the place where people can discover my free work, and Substack is now becoming more like my Patreon model: the place where the people who want to receive and engage with my work more closely can do that, and where that support directly sustains the writing itself.
If you’re ready to become a paid reader, this is a beautiful moment to step through the gate. I’d be honored to have you.
with so much gratitude,
Sophia 🌸
