The UNM Bookstore on main campus hosts a book discussion and signing featuring Amaris Ketcham and her book, A Poetic Inventory of the Sandia Mountains on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.
An assistant professor in the UNM Honors College, Ketcham’s book is a lively exploration of history, memory, and identity within manmade and natural landscapes, A Poetic Inventory of the Sandia Mountains illuminates the Southwestern wilderness through lyric research.
Playing with the concept of a "scientific inventory" of a location's biodiversity, this chapbook catalogues the flora and fauna of Albuquerque, N.M., its urban wilds and surrounding mountains, river, and mesa. Against a graffitied, adobe backdrop, the desert ecosystem reveals itself: hummingbirds fly drunkenly after slurping fermented nectar; cottontails slip through the space-time continuum; and chollas guard sleeping beauties.
In addition to teaching interdisciplinary courses, Ketcham, who was awarded the Outstanding New Teacher of the Year Award at the University of New Mexico in 2015, currently serves as the Faculty Advisor for Scribendi, the Honors College and Western Regional Honors Council literature and arts magazine earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University.
Ketcham has published essays, poetry, and short fiction in a variety of magazines, anthologies, and online venues. Her teaching interests include creative writing, fine arts, graphic design, and print and digital production.