UHCL alumna’s book delves into loss, joy through poetry
UHCL alumna Heather Minette has published a new book titled, “Half Light.”
In “Half Light,” Minette takes readers on a poetic journey centered on death, loss, joy and hope.
“Half Light” is a collection of 24 poems arranged in three parts,” Minette said. “The first two parts center on death and other forms of loss, and explore the concept of memory, and I think represent the darkness of the half-light, while the last section is about finding hope and discovering joy again, not because grief is absent, but because it becomes possible to carry loss yet still move forward into the light of the half-light.”
Assistant Professor of Literature Joanna Eleftheriou said the book offers readers a chance to breathe.
“Through these poems, it becomes possible to look closely at life’s loneliness, life’s losses,” Eleftheriou said. “As this beautiful collection progresses, Minette brings into language the kind of moments when suffering is worst because it is wordless.”
Minette said behind every poem in the book, there is a story.
“I think every poem probably has different inspiration behind it, a story I felt I needed to tell,” Minette said. “Some poems come to me first as a feeling, or memory, or a single line that stays with me, and it builds into a poem in my head, and won’t leave me alone, like someone knocking on the door, until I open up and give it a home on paper.”
Her previous publication, “Rooftops and Other Poems,” is a collection of 40 poems centered on travel and self-discovery, which she refers to as life’s journey.
“It reads as a journey, physical in the sense that it contains a lot of travel writing and ends with finding home, but also an inner journey, one of self-discovery,” Minette said.
Her poem titled “Rooftops” was published by Blue Hour Press in December 2012. “Rooftops” was chosen by WordPress to be featured on “Freshly Pressed”, a daily selection of the best content on the website.
“That was such a defining moment, not just the sense of validation that comes with being featured on Freshly Pressed, but because before The Blue Hour accepted the poem ‘Rooftops;’ it had been rejected by a handful of other journals,” Minette said.
Minette said her journey at UHCL made a significant impact, both on her life and on her writing.
“What I learned in Professor Craig White’s courses, from literature as an art form to literature as a catalyst for social change to literature’s absolute relevance in our everyday lives, is invaluable,” Minette said. “In ‘Half Light,’ I give him special thanks for teaching me the boundlessness of literature.”
During her last semester, Minette took a creative writing course instructed by Eleftheriou. She remembers the course as one of the most influential in her college career.
“Dr. Eleftheriou has a way of protecting the will to write while allowing for enough critique to encourage her students to improve, and her course made me a better, more confident writer,” Minette said. “I am also profoundly grateful for her support of ‘Half Light.'”
Eleftheriou said during the course Minette offered sharp insights and thoughtful feedback to fellow writers.
“The course focused on narrative, both fiction and nonfiction, and Heather composed a wonderful short story and a personal essay,” Eleftheriou said. “There, just as in her poetry, she demonstrated an ability to address life’s great abstract ideas, such as love and loss, through concrete examples and specific characters.”
However, things have not always been easy for Minette. When her poem “Rooftops” was denied by several journals, she says she remembered what other writers told her.
“Never think of rejections as a reflection of the quality of the work,” Minette said. “Allow yourself to be vulnerable and write without censorship.”
Writing will take you places that make you feel vulnerable and sometimes a voice arises within you that says, ‘Don’t go there. Don’t write that.’ Go there. Write that.
– Heather Minette, UHCL alumna
