My poetic project has been primarily focused on discovering the Minnesota voice that seems to reveal little, but under the surface, the narrative delivers a meaning that is not always obvious. While the simplicity in form and language counterpoint the mundane, yet evocative, imagery, my imagination pushes beyond reporting, beyond the farm and rural landscape, and deeper into the experience where the complex human condition and some of its taboos reside. As a collection, these poems work together to create a world filled with characters who struggle with an everyday violence and the silence that accompanies obligations and gender.