Poetry Friday, Week 15: An Interview with Shirley Thacker

Welcome to Poetry Friday.  I'm hosting today and am looking forward to seeing what our poetry community is serving up this week.

Shirley Thacker is a poet I met at the Highlights Foundation poetry workshop with Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Georgia Heard in 2018.  She remembered that  that I sat in the back. We've kept in touch since then through more Georgia Heard classes and on Zoom Poetry Pop-Up calls. I have enjoyed getting to know her and her two adorable  golden doodles.  I love that Shirley is independently publishing and giving the profits to causes that fill her heart.  Wind Beneath the Pines will go toward ​ housing  homeless veterans and the local veterans coffee club.

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JRM: I believe you have shared about how you came to poetry in our Poetry Pop-ups. I would love for you to share with my readers.
SH: My writing journey started later in life for me.  I never liked writing in school, but I was smart enough to ask what the teacher/professor wanted.  Then I just dished it out. . . no feeling, no emotion. Juist get it done, check it off.  When my husband died, I wanted to write his story for hospice.  I found the Indiana Writing Project. . . learned the art of writing for my students and myself.  There is such power in writing.  I have written every day since 2006.  Poetry came a little later.  I enjoyed mentor texts that were poetic.  I found Georgia Heard, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Lester Laminack, Ralph Fletcher, Amy Ludwig Vanerwater, J. Patrick Lewis . . . and many others.  The excitement of the students with certain authors was what inspired me.  I have taken many, many conferences through Poet's Studio, SCBWI, Highlights, Ball State University to improve  poetry.

JRM:  How did you decide which poems to include in Wind Beneath the Pines?
SH: My husband suggested Wind Beneath the Pines over 25 years ago.  I wasn't even writing then.  We would sit in the shade of our pine trees and he said they made a sound like no other trees.  It was like stories blowing on the breeze . . . like conversations whirling around the supper table or front porch.  After he died, I found writing love.  I really thought this would be a book of short stories, memoirs.  It has taken many shapes over the years. Some of the poems are those memoirs that I had already written and revised into poetry.  I found Cheritah poetry in 2020 when I needed something to do. . . I saw Matt Forrest Essenwines you youtube on that kind of poetry.  I fell in love.  My book, Lessons from My Students, evolved from that 
youtube. The six word poems just intrigue me.  The 11 work poems are such an excellent bridge from narrative to poetry.  Free Verse has always been my favorite because I can shape however my heart leads me.  Georgia Heard shared found poetry and tricubes. . . i see poetry everywhere.

JRM: You provided the cover for Wind Beneath the Pines. Are those the pines you can see from your porch?
SH: Never Alone Publishing's publisher suggested the artist for the cover, Fran Platt.  She sent me some suggestions.  I described our trees, my husband, the sounds of the trees.  She came up with the cover. When my husband was in high school, he ran from his house through Mounds State Park to his dad's filling station to work.  This reminded me of that park.

JRM: What was the process for organizing the poems for this collection?
SH: The purpose of Wind Beneath the Pines was to honor my husband and the faith he had in me.  My writing is truly a God given talent.  The way it all happened was God given moments.  The second reason for the book was to inspire young or old to write their own poetry.  I wanted to have examples for the types of poetry that I enjoy.  At the end of the book I write poems about my husband, Rich, using the forms.  I also have invitations for them to write if they feel a connection.  (My Comp Camp students made it clear that prompts are not invitations to writing.   There is a difference.)

JRM: Did you write the poem for this specific collection or was it a result of looking over the poems you’ve written and selecting your favorites?
SH: These are all a potpourri of my writing over time.  I didn't really sit down and just write for the book, except writing the ones about Rich using all the forms.

JRM: How did you find Never Alone Publishing?
SH: I met Kim Autrey, publisher at Never Alone Publishing, two years ago at Taylor University's Christian Writing Conference.  I really enjoyed our conversations and mentorship.  Then when I found the name of her company, I knew she would publish my next project.  My favorite hymn is NEVER ALONE.  Again, I felt this was a God thing.  I had published three books with Zondervan, and four books at Kids At Heart, one with KDP.  Never Alone was cost effective for me which is so important because I donate all profits to charity.

JRM: You are donating the proceeds of the books you write to your favorite charities. Could you share more about that?
SH: I just feel that if I have any talent to write, it is God given.  He gives us talents to use and share.  From the beginning of my writing journey, I knew that would be my path.  I get the joy of writing every day. then I can share the profits to help causes near and dear to my heart.  A Red Chevy in Heaven? was the first book I published.  It took fourteen years.  I would take it to conferences and meet with authors and agents.  They gave me suggestions.  I revised. I put it on the shelf thinking I wasn't good enough.  I would get it out and take it to another conference, meet, revise, put it away.  It was a vicious cycle.  The story was about my grandson and all the things he said when his Pap had died.  AJ said, "Nana, aren't you ever going to get this book published?"  I was determined and found Zondervan.  We decided it would be good to give the money to Wounded Warriors in honor of Rich, a Vietnam Veteran.  But in the meantime, AJ's football coach was killed in a tragic accident.  We gave the 2018 sales to his football scholarship and other sales would go to our elementary school.  Surviving the Journey profits went to Dr Einhorn/IU Med Center's cancer research. You Are Somebody  (child suicide and bullying) profits went to our elementary school.  Lessons from the Students: A Memoir of 42 Years of Teaching profits went to the Latchkey program.  Buzz Wears a Magical Vest profits went to Brighter Path LLC for equine therapy for students and veterans.  We All Need profits went to Grateful Rescue/Pamela Terhune's rescue of animals. Farm Animals: Art, Poetry, Photos profits go to the Veterans Matter to house homeless veterans and the local veterans coffee club. Joy profits go to our elementary school.  Wind Beneath the Pines will go to house homeless veterans and the local veterans coffee club.

We all have talents and purpose in this life, I just want to help my corner of the world  be better.  I think I can do that with my love of  writing and poetry.

A few of Shirley's poems

From the Six Word Section 
Courage each
day, walking
life's road

From the Elfchen Section:
Hummingbirds
Flit, flutter
Majestic beauty, inspire
Humming sound soothes souls
Amazing

From the Tricube  Section:
Poetry
Words from heart
Memories

Feelings or
Emotions
Shared. . .  heartfelt

Writer and
Reader share
Joy of words

Thank you,  Shirley.
My found six-word poem from Shirley's  shared poems:
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Amazing  words, sharing heartfelt moments.
©JRM, draft 2025.

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Looking Forward to Reading Your Poetry!