SUNY Brockport President Heidi Macpherson, who writes under her birth name Heidi Slettedehl, shared the work in her published poetry collection “Mo(u)rning Rituals” at the Brockport Writers Forum, on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Slettedehl provided a moving reading of four of her published poems including the title poem “Mo(u)rning Rituals.” The poems detail Slettedehl’s life and the realities of loss described in forms of infertility, friendship, family and self.
Slettedehl described her process of writing, and how she had changed her idea of constructing this collection throughout time.
“What I have in the second section is a lot more of the kind of experiments that I have. You’re always told to write about what you know and I did a lot of that with the poems about child loss. For the poems in the middle section I was able to be more playful and take on different personas, and then the third section goes into more mourning and loss,” Slettedehl said.
Upon the ending of Slettedehl’s reading, she received a loud applause for both her creativity and vulnerability in sharing her raw experiences with the world and the Brockport community.
SUNY Brockport students and members of the community were able to ask Slettedehl’s questions about her writing and publishing process, which were answered with honesty of the struggles and hardships that she faced along the way.
“The poem “Rummage Sale” was actually published in a journal called “Literary Momma.” That journal is a journal focusing on mothering and motherhood,” Slettedehl said. “I tried to get published in that in a weird way to punish myself, so that was a really interesting space to try and navigate.”
The event was filled with laughter, applause and tears. Slettedehl created an emotional atmosphere that allowed attendees to understand the woman before them as more than just the President of SUNY Brockport.
Students and attendees lined up after the event for Slettedehl to sign their copies of their books. John Bonczyk from Lift Bridge Book Shop had a table filled with different titles including “Mo(U)rning Rituals.”
