Burn Site in Bloom

Poet and teaching artist Jamie Houghton released her chapbook, Burn Site in Bloom, via Musehick Publications. The chapbook’s compelling cover art was created by artist Pat Clark, founder of Bend Art Center (formerly Atelier 6000). The book is available online from Amazon and at Bend Art Center.

Houghton says, “When I was writing these poems, I wanted to explore questions such as where home is found and what defines home. Is it in landscapes? Is it in people? This chapbook begins in Vermont, and loosely follows my own personal migration west to Oregon, leaving the land that my family has lived on for hundreds of years. There is a sacredness about the old farm that I’ll never be able to explain to someone who has never been there. It’s like a time capsule. But now I’ve lived in Oregon for over ten years, and very much consider it home.”

Burn Site in Bloom was inspired by both desert and verdant landscapes. Houghton recalled that she started the collection during a fellowship residency at PLAYA in Summer Lake, Oregon, where she wrote about the high desert landscape — the spaciousness, the sparse but persistent life force there.

The chapbook has earned praise from Houghton’s poet colleagues. “This book is about leaving home, finding home and the limits of what you can and can’t take with you. Jamie takes you with her, delivering magic and music in the images along the way.” Buddy Wakefield, performance poet, Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and author of Stunt Water.

Houghton will introduce Burn Site in Bloom to audiences at a series of readings in Central Oregon and Portland and a book launch celebration after taking maternity leave in the fall.

www.jamierosehoughton.com
houghton.jamie@gmail.com