Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Goodman Herrick.
Anna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I first saw the description of my life on the back of my upcoming book of poetry, A Speaker is a Wilderness, I laughed. I thought it seemed kind of funny: “She’s been a New York City club kid, an MTV writer-producer, a peacemaker around the world, nun at a Vedanta convent, and student of Chassidic rabbis.” Who is this person? On paper, I think my story seems more eclectic, but internally it’s felt like a clear thread as a curious person integrating both my creative and spiritual interests, which coincide when I’m at my most authentic. This expansive life has also created so much room for wonder and awe and I hope that shows up in my poems, that readers find and experience that wonder and awe in the book.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but it has been so beautiful. A Speaker is a Wilderness navigates healing from intersecting traumatic events, and the interconnection of generational healing, collective liberation, and mental health. I don’t want anyone to feel that they have to be grateful for the worst things that have ever happened to them, and I certainly don’t; at the same time, I’m grateful for the wisdom that has come out of those experiences. The book’s full title is A Speaker is a Wilderness: Poem on the Path from Broken to Whole. Originally, I think I had something like “from Brokenness Towards [not *to*] Wholeness.” We all agreed it was a bit long and unwieldy, but I do want people to understand that healing and growth are ongoing, not linear, and that can be a good thing. We often just want to feel fixed or cured, but I think of it more as remembering, and then forgetting, and then remembering more and more how enough we already are.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Thank you so much. I say sometimes that I write because it helps me breathe. I’m thankful to have performed and shared my poetry in so many different kinds of places now, from creating installations based on my poetry for galleries to reading at human rights protests and social change events to interfaith gatherings and spiritual centers. The more I share these stories in poetic form, the more people I’ve met who tell me they have a shared experience or feeling. So, that’s the beautiful effect of creating any writing or art and then entrusting it to each other. Whatever happens next, this creativity gets to be in the world. It brings us closer together where we learn about ourselves and each other in an intrinsic, interwoven way, in which we’re not so strange or alone, we share so much in common and are part of this woven fabric of life. We can lean into cynicism about oneness or get curious about it. My work often explores our interconnection.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
So many people have inspired me, taught me, and continue to teach me. I dedicated my book to my maternal grandmother because she had this inimitable spirit and unconditional love. In many ways, she made it her life’s work to shift everyone she met towards radical love, acceptance, and human rights for all, and she did this most of all by how she showed up as a person.
Contact Info:
- Website: annagoodmanherrick.
com
- Instagram: @annagoodmanherrick
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