Poetry and farming have always been intertwined for author Jessica Gigot. Although she didn’t grow up on a farm or in the Pacific Northwest, it seems she was destined from an early age to own “a little bit of land” in Washington’s Skagit Valley and craft beautiful poems out of her deep and loving relationship with the natural world.
In poems about the birthing of a lamb or the search for a hummingbird’s nest and her evocative memoir about seeking out and establishing her place in the farming world, Gigot calls us to go beyond the trappings of our artificial world and notice, appreciate, and interact with the animals and plants (wild or grown) around us.
In addition to her two books of poetry–Flood Patterns and Feeding Hour (finalist for a Washington State Book Award in 2021)–and her memoir, A Little Bit of Land, Gigot, who holds a PhD in Horticulture and Plant Pathology, has written articles and reviews for a number of publications, including Orion, Ecotone, and The Seattle Times.
She has also offered her thoughts on the environment and our relationship with the natural world, along with interviews with intriguing thinkers, on her podcast, Her Deepest Ecologies.
When she’s not working on her farm or her own writing, Gigot helps others as a writing coach. You can learn about her approach to coaching here and find a series of her free “ecological writing” prompts here.
For more about Jessica Gigot and her appearance in the Cascadia Writers-in-Conversation Series on Thursday, January 9, 2025, click here. For a full bio, see below.



Jessica Gigot
WNW: What aspect of the Northwest do you feel hasn’t been adequately addressed in writing yet?
One of the first Northwest writers that really spoke to me was Ivan Doig, even though the Montana landscape he described in This House of Sky feels far away from my dank, coastal corner of the West. Doig addressed rural life in Northwest landscapes in his writing and I continue to crave more of that in works based in the region. Filmmaker Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace (based on Portland author Peter Rock’s novel My Abandonment) does an amazing job of depicting rural Oregon without creating caricatures or relying on romantic notions.
I think there is much more room for stories and personal narratives centered in managed landscapes and highlighting natural resource-based professions, like forestry, fishing, and farms. I appreciate that the publisher of A Little Bit of Land (Oregon State University Press) features writings by women living and working in rural areas (Rough House by Tina Ontiveros and The Ground At My Feet by Ann Stinson are examples).
WNW: How would you characterize your approach to the Northwest in your own writing?
I wasn’t born in the Northwest, but I have lived here the majority of my life. I settled in the Skagit Valley in 2003 and can’t imagine living anywhere else. My first book of poems, Flood Patterns, was written at a time when I was falling in love with this unique ecosystem which is part natural and part constructed. I was also working at a tribal college and relearning the history of the area, which deepened my appreciation for the place and all its inhabitants.
In memoir, I can’t escape the Northwest as my setting and in my current poetry I am still in a phase of infatuation with the natural world around me (although I have also been writing a lot about ecological grief). At times, I don’t feel like words can accurately describe all the beauty I see on a day-to-day basis, but I continue to try.
WNW: What is your favorite book about the Northwest and why do you like it?

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin, a hard and beautiful book about a solitary orchardist at the turn of the 20th century in Eastern Washington. His life changes course when he takes in two drifting girls. The story is difficult, surprising, and filled with a realistic portrayal of working the land, family hardship, and the power of personal connection. On a sentence level, Coplin is brilliant:
“He regarded the world—objects right in front of his face—as if from a great distance. For when he moved on the earth he also moved in other realms. In certain seasons, in certain shades, memories alighted on him like sharp-taloned birds: a head turning in the foliage, lantern light flaring in a room.”
WNW: What is one of your favorite passages about the Northwest from your own writing?
This is one of the first poems I wrote about the Skagit Valley. It was part of my MFA thesis and inspired the book, Flood Patterns, which is really an homage to where I live now. After working as an agricultural scientist for many years, I switched to poetry as a way to make science—and ways of talking about and caring for the Earth—more relatable, relevant, and accessible.

Flood Patterns
Skagit Delta
Nobody wants to lose land.
God plays with the light until
The sky becomes empty and dark.
A storm trembles in the mountain
Echoing thunder.
This river can run high
As glaciers thread down to thick streams.
When the land was half-marsh, the fields
Knew only flood.
Our truths are ready to spill over the rim
Every time the river rises again.
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Jessica Gigot is a poet, farmer, and writing coach. She lives on a little sheep farm in the Skagit Valley. Her second book of poems, Feeding Hour, was a finalist for the 2021 Washington State Book Award. Jessica’s writing and reviews appear in several publications, such as Orion, Ecotone, Terrain.org, and Poetry Northwest. She is currently a poetry editor for The Hopper. Her memoir, A Little Bit of Land, was published by Oregon State University Press in September 2022. With the support of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program, she created and hosts a podcast called Her Deepest Ecologies. You can learn more about her at: www.jessicagigot.com.
On Thursday, Januart 9, Gigot will be the next featured author in the Writers-in-Conversation series at the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, WA. The conversation begins at 6 p.m. with Michael N. McGregor as host. Tickets are available on the Cascadia website.
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Other Links:
Her Deepest Ecologies: The Podcast (links to individual episodes)
Story Circle Network review of A Little Bit of Land
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