June 2026//Archive #17
Nature + Poetry = God... Oops, I called "The Wild Iris" my Bible.
I want to build an altar to all the nature around me.
Even the snippets of summer glanced through my screen, and those of you posting the simplest joys to be found in the abundance of June entering July remind me why I find peace in nature and the poetry within it. My June in reading seems to have reflected these feelings and moods perfectly!
Tomorrow (July 1st) is my 36th birthday, and I plan to celebrate it with a visit to the Natural Science Museum. Perhaps a separate post will come with photos from the day and my yearly tarot card pull. I’m curious to see what this new year will bring.
Now, onto the books I read in June, my most remarkably heart-opening month in reading so far this year.
Here are the books I read in June, in the order I read them.
Canon by Paige Lewis. I quite enjoyed my time with this novel, and its attempt at a literary genre-bending epic. I would have enjoyed a bit more depth in some areas, however, as a whole, I found a lot to connect with as someone who has struggled with religion and obsession their entire life. I found Yara's character and her struggles to be all too relatable. It’s rare to find a novel with an accurate representation of the real lived experience of OCD, so thank you, Paige Lewis! Good vs evil, one person challenging God and reconceptualizing them within their own lives… sign me up!
Foxglovewise by Ange Mlinko, a collection of poetry inspired by Louise Glück’s The Wild Iris, more specifically the foxglove flower. Mlinko uses the foxgloves' inconsistent behavior, traveling about the garden and popping up in new places, as she questions place, movement, migration, geography, and memory. Poems take place in a Scottish cemetery, Los Angeles, and Florida, with a focus on the flora and fauna of their vast ecological landscapes and on Mlinko’s own familial landscape. This was a stunning collection, but one I will have to return to a few times as the language and style were a bit of a challenge.
The Wild Iris by Louise Glück. I lost a handful of subscribers after posting a photo stating this was “my Bible” shortly after reading it, the two may not be linked, who knows?! Either way I stand by my statement, this is the singular most incredible work of poetry I have read and I fear I’ll never reach that peak with anything else ever again besides perhaps Emily Dickinson. As a collection The Wild Iris is a masterpiece. My copy is annotated to the high heavens on only my first read. I know this is one I will consistently return to in all seasons of life.
Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science by Renée Bergland. I didn’t know much about Charles Darwin entering this book and found his scientific contributions and personal life well researched and written and far more interesting to read than I had anticipated. Although Dickinson and Darwin never met or corresponded their lives seem to have a cosmic overlap where Darwin abandoned poetry in his pursuits of science, and Dickinson could only write her poetry from a place of discovery and wonder at the natural world. Both questioned religions place in their lives and where their ideas of god could be found in the lives and work they intertwined and dedicated themselves to. I did find parts of this a bit repetitive however the depth and tempo at which the Darwin chapters and Dickinson chapters effortlessly began to blend and overlap towards the middle and through until the end made for a great reading experience.
Jelly, Baby: Essays on Disability and Vulnerability by Therese Estacion is a short memoir in essays and hybrid poetics following Estacion as she confronts her belief that hardening herself to the world and ableism is the only way to protect and live in her disabled body. Full of self-loathing, Etacion struggles to find worth and become vulnerable with herself in order to accept a life of disability, trauma, and rage.
Accidental Devotions by Kelli Russell Agodon is another enjoyable poetry collection, one I picked up for its focus on devotion, religion, queer grief, and joy, along with its love of Emily Dickinson. A deeply personal collection revolving around technology’s inescapability in our lives and its close proximity to a type of religious experience, met with ecstatic devotion, simultaneously weary in its abundance in our daily lives.
The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. I’m nearly finished with this novel after binge-watching the TV series. It’s light and fun and has placed me back into the world of Jane Austen, which I’m never upset about. Mary Bennet is written with flaws and isn’t only “not that type of girl," but actually unsure of herself in a way that feels real and touching to read.
Thank you for being here! Tell me about your June in reading and your moments of joy in nature so far this summer!
Happy Birthday! Thank you for sharing your June reads. I’m going to pick up the Wild Iris today!
I'm finding it tough to get outside in this heat, but I'm making an effort to spend time watching the backyard birds at my feeders. Every visitor brings me so much joy. 🫶🏼
Happy 36th birthday!! And my copy of Glück was also riddled with annotations on my first read — what a perfect book & it seems like it found you in the perfect life moment! 💞