By Deborah Reed
WKTV Managing Editor
Former poet laureate of Grand Rapids, Patricia Clark, has written countless poems, published several volumes of poetry and received multitudes of accolades for her works. She is also one of the only poets to have a poem land on the moon.
“Astronomy ‘In Perfect Silence’” landed on the moon with a NASA flight module in March 2025. The poem was part of The Lunar Codex project and was inspired by an astronomy class she took in 1972 as a University of Washington undergraduate.
Like her moon-bound poem, Clark’s other works are born of personal experiences and inner musings. Writing poems, Clark says, is a great way to introspect and think.
However, the poet and retired Grand Valley State University professor has found herself having to defend the poetry genre over the years.
“Poetry scares a lot of people,” Clark says. “The problem is that people always want to know what the meaning of the poem was, and I think that’s the wrong way to go about it. It’s partly just to give you pleasure, to read a poem, and to let the words roll around in your mouth like food.”
Clark thinks of herself as an ambassador of poetry, encouraging others to enjoy the process of reading and writing poetry, and often talking about the inspiration behind her poems when sharing them.
Bitten by books
Clark was “bitten by books” at a young age, and could often be found at the public library. Despite her love for reading and poetry, however, Clark majored in economics in college.
“I didn’t know you could choose to be a writer; that seemed outrageous,” says Clark. “Even in college I wasn’t writing much. But I loved poetry, and I loved reading. I would be in an econ class, and I’d have a book of poems behind my textbook.”
Clark is also an advocate of memorization. “I think memorizing is great because then you can possess a poem in a different way because you know it.”
Why poetry?
Clark says “there’s just something in the music” of a poem.
The works of poet Pablo Neruda helped Clark believe she could also write poetry. Neruda’s poems, Clark says, are “very simple, earthy kinds of things. When I pick those poems up and read them, immediately I think: I can write a poem. I can do that.
“You find other poets who do that for you too, and you pick up a book, read a few poems, and you want to rush to your desk and start scribbling things down.”
When inspiration strikes
Clark often uses her past as inspiration for her writing. Writers end up writing about where they were, says Clark, because they have a better view of it from a distance.
Not surprisingly, Clark’s parents are often featured in her poems.
Clark admits her relationship with her mother was not always easy, depicting their volatile relationship in various poems. However, “Because What We Do Lives On” gives voice to her mother’s iron fierceness in defending Clark’s father when wronged.
“She could really defend my father when it came down to it.”
Clark often finds inspiration striking when she observes paintings and other artistic works. Some of those works even “haunt” her until she writes about them.
A taste of poetry…
Readers of Clark’s poetry will find themselves drawn in by her eloquent prose and snippets of humor.
“36 Myopia Road” contains an imaginative and somewhat humorous depiction of Clark’s mother being startled into giving birth.
“…when my people left for the West Coast, an egg in my mother’s belly started to grow into me…Settling into the Puget Sound’s salt air, they awaited my birth like the Messiah. Stars aligned and Magi came on horse- and camel-back. Once, a blue and white parakeet appeared in a pine tree. My mother tried to catch it and then I was born…“
On a more serious note, Clark’s poem titled “Our Next Breath” bears hard truths.
“…sometimes the injustices stack up so high, tilting, they could topple and crash…We turn off the news because it’s terrifying, and there’s nothing we can do…we can’t give up joy…going on as we can, looking up and out, as uncertain as our next breath.“
It’s in the small things…
For those interested in writing poetry, Clark advises writing things down – even the small things.
“Sometimes with poetry, it’s the really small thing, it’s not the big thing,” says Clark. “Poets just go home, and they write things down.
“When you have these memories, if you write them down, it stimulates more memories. It’s amazing what you can remember.”
Walking is a great stimulator of memories and the imagination, Clark continues.
“Walking stimulates thinking. Pretty soon you’re in another year and another space. I never bring a notebook with me. If it’s important enough, I’ll remember when I get home.”
A lifetime of accomplishments
In addition to her seven volumes of poetry, Clark has also published three chapbooks, and various works have been featured in several notable national publications.
Awards for Clark’s work include a Creative Artist Grant in Michigan, the Mississippi Review Prize, the Gwendolyn Brooks Prize, co-winner of the Lucille Medwick Prize from the Poetry Society of America, the Poetry Society of Virginia’s book award, with Self-Portrait with a Million Dollars from her most recent volume of poetry nominated for Best of the Net. Her very first book, titled North of Wondering, won the Women in Literature Poetry competition.
Clark served as the poet laureate of Grand Rapids from 2005-2007, and was Poet-in-Residence and Professor in the Department of Writing at Grand Valley State University.
However, knowing that her works touch lives is most important to the poet.
“When someone says they enjoyed my work, I can live on that for days,” says Clark. “No need for money; I could live on those few words for days.”
A complete list of Clark’s works and accomplishments can be found here.
