By dawn, I will turn into a
spruce
standing at the edge of a
snowbound forest
torn by the wind
and cradling an armload of blue needles
from “The Last Explorer”
by Richard Hedderman
Born in Albany, NY, Richard Hedderman is a multi-Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, author, and educator.
He studied at Le Moyne College and the University of San Francisco where he earned undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Theater, and earned a Master’s Degree in Poetry from the University of New Hampshire.
He is the author of three poetry collections, The Discovery of Heaven (Parallel Press, 2006) Choosing a Stone (Finishing Line Press, 2020), and Still Life with Work Boots, forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.
His writing has been featured in dozens of literary publications both in the U.S. and abroad. Several of his poems, essays, and interviews have been featured on public radio, and he has been a guest poet at the Library of Congress with the Poetry at Noon program.
He began his education career teaching English at Collège St. François-Xavier in Vannes, France, and subsequently spent 30 years as a museum educator. He is formerly Writer-in-Residence at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where he coordinated creative writing programming and directed the museum’s annual student poetry competition.
As a theater professional, he has performed on the professional stage and certified as an Advanced Actor/Combatant, teaching stage combat and choreographing theatrical violence at colleges, universities, and LORT theaters nationwide.
He lives in Milwaukee where he teaches creative writing at Mount Mary University.
Accolades and Nominations
- Pushcart Prize nominations (2017, 2019, 2021, 2025)
- Shortlisted: The Ashland Poetry Press Richard Snyder Award
- Shortlisted: Codhill Press Poetry Award
- Guest Poet, the Library of Congress Poetry at Noon program
- New York State Writers Institute; Director John Montague, Ireland Chair of Poetry (three fellowships)
The Room Where It Happens
Image Credits:
Darren Hauck and Joan Williamson
Well Said
“For me, writing poetry is like mining lead with a grapefruit spoon, only it’s considerably less lucrative and nowhere near as much fun.”
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“Thank God for rock and roll. If it weren’t for rock, I’d probably be living a quiet, respectable life right now.”
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“Writing is easy. Writing well is very difficult, and requires an enormous amount of really hard work.”
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“The last thing I care about when I read poetry is whether I understand it. That includes my own.”
“So, if you want to annoy a poet, ask him what his poem means. Then you should get out of the room. Right away.”
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“On thing I learned about writing as a young guy studying French literature, in French, is that sometimes it doesn’t matter what you write, so long as it sounds good.”
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“Poetry is not a matter of life and death. It’s more important than that.”
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“You want to know the best writing advice I can think of? Cut.”
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“One of the things I love about writing is you don’t have to tell the truth. You can exaggerate, fabricate, prevaricate, and lie like a bandit. That’s a great reason for writing. It also makes it a lot more fun than it has any right to be.”
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“I love short sentences. Here are two of the best: “She was tired.” (James Joyce, “Eveline”); “Jesus wept.” (John, 11:35).
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“An oyster knife is a great tool for fixing a jammed stapler. It’s also occasionally useful in opening oysters.”
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“Poems tell secrets about mysteries.”
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“I love poetry. If I couldn’t write, I wouldn’t be able to breathe. I love it. I also love playing with matches.”