Highline College has been a bastion for passionate educators and leaders since 1961, and for the last 25 years, it has been fortunate enough to be home to Susan Rich. The Thunderword spoke with Rich this past week and discussed her tenure at Highline, her favorite moments at the Arcturus publication, and some highlights from her upcoming book, “Blue Atlas”.
Taking in the views on campus as her last quarter as Faculty Editor for “Arcturus” and creative writing teacher, Rich is now looking onward to her oncoming book tour with as much creative zeal as she did at the start of her career.
“Blue Atlas” by Susan Rich.
Ten years in the making, “Blue Atlas” has been meticulously and soulfully curated from cover to cover. Rich explained the reasoning behind her patience: “I was happy to have it sit for that long…though this is my sixth book of poems, it is my most personal book, so to have a little more time to get it right was just fine to me.”
The color blue is a common thread throughout “Blue Atlas”: it is mentioned 19 times and has a special place on the cover art – a striking photo taken by Indian photographer Niranj Vaidyanathan.
“This doesn’t have a direct correlation to my book’s central theme, but I just kept looking at it, and it pulled me in. It hints at a stairway to a more peaceful life, achieving something positive after a difficult climb,” said Rich.
Vaidyanathan has since become something of a penpal to Rich, whose publisher made a special effort to find him as she was intent on using the photograph for “Blue Atlas”.
As the conversation continued, it became apparent how many small yet crucial details had fallen into place over the past decade to bring the work of art to fruition.
One of “Blue Atlas’s” most poignant entries is “Post-Abortion Questionnaire Powered by SurveyMonkey”, a deeply vulnerable and clever poem in which Rich masterfully wields her emotional wherewithal to pull the reader into tragically raw emotional depths.
As an undisputed pillar of our writing community, it is not lost on Rich how the examination of trauma can also serve as a compass for others’ navigation through life.
“I think there’s something about growth and renewal that makes an awful lot of sense when looking at life, where you need to learn how to keep going after something traumatic happens,” Rich explained, highlighting not just trauma, but the beauty that can be seen on a daily basis for those who allow art into their lives.
Speaking of art, Rich could not hold in her adoration for her work with “Arcturus”, Highline’s own award-winning poetry publication. “Of my 25 years here, my time at [“Arcturus”] has been my most thrilling and rewarding work. The people you get to work with are incredible.”
Rich recalled a former editor, Eloyi Agih, one of many with whom she keeps in touch, who keeps an old edition of Arcturus on her bedside table. “Eloyi reads it every evening, and it means so much to me that this work continues to leave such an indelible mark on our community.”
If a work like “Blue Atlas” takes 10 years to cultivate, then count us excited for the years to come, as Rich proves consistently how vulnerable and purposeful writing is both what satiates art lovers and what keeps them hungry.
The Thunderword, as well as the larger Highline community wishes Susan Rich the utmost success and fulfillment on the next chapter of her journey. We are ecstatic to have her back after spring quarter, and are eagerly awaiting her travel stories!