{"id":1866,"date":"2025-01-03T13:09:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T21:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/?p=1866"},"modified":"2025-01-03T13:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T21:09:19","slug":"three-questions-and-a-quote-poet-memoirist-farmer-jessica-gigot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/?p=1866","title":{"rendered":"Three Questions and a Quote: Poet, Memoirist & Farmer Jessica Gigot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Poetry and farming have always been intertwined for author Jessica Gigot<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to her two books of poetry\u2013Flood Patterns<\/a><\/em> and Feeding Hour<\/em><\/a> (finalist for a Washington State Book Award in 2021)\u2013and her memoir, A Little Bit of Land<\/a><\/em>, Gigot, who holds a PhD in Horticulture and Plant Pathology, has written articles and reviews for a number of publications, including Orion<\/em>, Ecotone<\/em>, and The Seattle Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> and find a series of her free<\/strong> “ecological writing” prompts here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more about Jessica Gigot and her appearance in the Cascadia Writers-in-Conversation Series on Thursday, January 9, 2025, click here.<\/a> For a full bio, see below.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jessica Gigot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WNW:<\/strong> What aspect of the Northwest do you feel hasn\u2019t been adequately addressed in writing yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first Northwest writers that really spoke to me was Ivan Doig<\/a>, even though the Montana landscape he described in This House of Sky<\/a><\/em> 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\u2019s Leave No Trace<\/a><\/em> (based on Portland author Peter Rock’s novel My Abandonment<\/a><\/em>) does an amazing job of depicting rural Oregon without creating caricatures or relying on romantic notions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/em> (Oregon State University Press) features writings by women living and working in rural areas (Rough House<\/a><\/em> by Tina Ontiveros and The Ground At My Feet<\/a><\/em> by Ann Stinson are examples).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WNW:<\/strong> How would you characterize your approach to the Northwest in your own writing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t born in the Northwest, but I have lived here the majority of my life. I settled in the Skagit Valley in 2003 and can\u2019t imagine living anywhere else. My first book of poems, Flood Patterns<\/em>, 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In memoir, I can\u2019t 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\u2019t feel like words can accurately describe all the beauty I see on a day-to-day basis, but I continue to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WNW:<\/strong> What is your favorite book about the Northwest and why do you like it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Orchardist<\/em> <\/a>by Amanda Coplin, a hard and beautiful book about a solitary orchardist at the turn of the 20th<\/sup> 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe regarded the world\u2014objects right in front of his face\u2014as 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WNW:<\/strong> What is one of your favorite passages about the Northwest from your own writing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em>, 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\u2014and ways of talking about and caring for the Earth\u2014more relatable, relevant, and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image from Jessica Gigot’s newsletter<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Flood Patterns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skagit Delta<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This river can run high
As glaciers thread down to thick streams.
When the land was half-marsh, the fields
Knew only flood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our truths are ready to spill over the rim
Every time the river rises again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ ~ ~ ~ ~<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Gigot<\/strong> is a poet, farmer, and writing coach. She lives on a little sheep farm in the Skagit Valley. Her second book of poems, <\/em>Feeding Hour<\/strong>, was a finalist for the 2021 Washington State Book Award. Jessica\u2019s writing and reviews appear in several publications, such as <\/em>Orion, <\/em>Ecotone, <\/em>Terrain.org, and<\/em> Poetry Northwest. She is currently a poetry editor for The Hopper. Her memoir, <\/em>A Little Bit of Land<\/strong>, 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 <\/em>Her Deepest Ecologies<\/strong>. You can learn more about her at: www.jessicagigot.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, Januart 9<\/strong>, Gigot will be the next featured author in the Writers-in-Conversation series<\/strong><\/a> at the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, WA. The conversation begins at 6 p.m. <\/strong>with Michael N. McGregor<\/a> as host. Tickets are available on the Cascadia website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ ~ ~ ~ ~<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Gigot website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her Deepest Ecologies: The Podcast<\/strong> (links to individual episodes)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica’s newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hopper<\/strong> literary journal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story Circle Network <\/strong>review of A Little Bit of Land<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note: I\u2019m an affiliate of Bookshop.org, where your purchases support local bookstores. If you buy a book through a click on this website, I\u2019ll earn a small commission that helps defray the costs of maintaining<\/em> WritingtheNorthwest.com.
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Although she didn’t grow up on a farm or in the Pacific Northwest, it seems Jessica Gigot 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_swt_meta_header_display":false,"_swt_meta_footer_display":false,"_swt_meta_site_title_display":false,"_swt_meta_sticky_header":false,"_swt_meta_transparent_header":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[482,99,124,103,358],"tags":[512,428,511,497,36,307,498,509],"class_list":["post-1866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cascadia-writers-in-conversation-series","category-latest-posts","category-nw-landscape","category-nw-people","category-three-questions-and-a-quote","tag-amanda-coplin","tag-cascadia-writers-in-conversation-series","tag-ivan-doig","tag-jessica-gigot","tag-oregon-state-university-press","tag-pacific-northwest-literature","tag-skagit-valley","tag-three-questions-and-a-quote"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1.jpg",2106,1442,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-300x205.jpg",300,205,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-768x526.jpg",768,526,true],"large":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-1024x701.jpg",1024,701,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-1536x1052.jpg",1536,1052,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-2048x1402.jpg",2048,1402,true],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0-2-1-1320x904.jpg",1320,904,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"michael n. mcgregor","author_link":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Although she didn't grow up on a farm or in the Pacific Northwest, it seems Jessica Gigot 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.","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1866"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1887,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions\/1887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}