“Five By Five” is the name for our series of written Q&A interviews with writers and musicians. The name actually refers to audio signals, which ties in with our regular podcast. Five By Five is another way to say “good signal strength” or “loud and clear,” but can also mean “exceptional quality,” which certainly lines up with the artists we speak with.
Psychotherapist and poet Lauren Martin is hoping that her new book, “Night of the Hawk” (She Writes Press) can promote kindness and tolerance in the world.
Her book, a collection of poetry she has worked on for many years, addresses different themes, including climate politics, women’s health and love. In this interview, Martin looks at the shamanistic journey she has been on most of her life, the central message of her work and what she hopes that readers take from it.
What was the shamanic journey that you went on?
I was born with an intrusive ability to see people’s ancestors. When I was a child, spirits would come alive in my bedroom at night. Talking. Mumbling. Agitated. Pleading. My father is a physician and when I would ask, “Why are there people in my room?” he would say it was my eyes adjusting to the dark. And thus began a journey of not being believed.
When a child is shamanistic or a medicine person, there are specific rites that protect children like this from the negative impact of interacting with the dead. Because I did not get those protections, it led to increasing metaphysical occurrences as I grew up. Due to the complications caused by this, I was extremely isolated as I tried to figure this out. I spent decades seeking out answers, eventually ending up in what I see as the root of all religions.
I read that you’ve worked on these poems for many years. How have you changed from the first poem you wrote to the more recent ones?
What a great question. I actually have written poetry for a long time, but this book came together while I was laying in bed with a spinal fluid leak. I typically don’t do many edits and tend to wake up with a poem fully formed. My shamanic journey has always isolated me and the eight years of bed rest made it worse. I think I’ve become more comfortable with my spirit-driven life of service and less expectant of personal desires which ultimately, are not guaranteed.
What are some of the topics your work focuses on, and why did you want them included in the book?
Climate Politics: My religion reveres nature as vibrant and alive entities essential for our survival. I feel deeply concerned by the way greed has distorted facts with regard to the environment.
Women’s Health and Disability: I have spent my life passionate about the fight against misogyny. All the conversations right now seem to focus on our problems with our allies rather than our unification and strength. As a result, policies are rolling backward.
Love and Loss: My poetry is a way I can process my deepest vulnerabilities.
Would you say there is a central theme to your work? If so, what is it?
If I were joking I would say my directness but I think there are a few. Shamanism. Misogyny. Disability. Underlying all of this is the grappling with love and death. I do think my personality has lived in the raw vulnerability of the truth and I hope the exposition of that in my poetry allows people to explore their own vulnerability around these themes. To me, the quality of our connection to others is what sustains us in the world and demarks a meaningful life.
What do you hope people get from reading your work?
My hope is that it promotes kindness and tolerance. I want to express the invisible pain that exists in the world: the pain people hide from each other, the pain of the marginalized, and the pain of the natural world which I believe supports our human machinations and deserves greater reverence.
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