DENISE LOW INTERVIEWS DAVE SETER, SONOMA COUNTY POET LAUREATE

 Dave Setter is a rare poet who combines training as a scientist and a poet. As the new Poet Laureate of Sonoma County, a region about as big as Rhode Island, he presents readings and workshops in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and we have plans for an event in Healdsburg. His well-received book Don’t Sing to Me of Electric Fences (Cherry Grove Collections, 2021) shows his original voice, shaded by the odic tradition of classical Greek-influenced poets, with narrative threads that remind me of the best West-influenced storytelling. Mammoth Publications is honored to present a chapbook (28 pages) of his new works, Somewhere West of the Mississippi.

DL: What are the main themes in your new book of poetry Somewhere West of the Mississippi (Mammoth Publications, 2025)?

DS: I explore the myth of the American West versus the reality of the American West; the abuse, and resilience, of the natural world; and the hope that the human species may play a part in healing nature while healing our collective soul.

DL: How does this new chapbook differ from your earlier books?

DS: While the ecological focus is similar to that of my full-length collection (Don’t Sing to Me of Electric Fences (Cherry Grove Collections 2021), in this book I offer a more unfiltered view of the mine reclamation projects I led as a government official. There was a definite silencing of science during certain periods of our recent history, which led to fear of retribution for speaking out in public. I have also included a few experimental poems in this collection which explore topics difficult to relate in a purely narrative form. For example, I envision inhabiting a soybean plant killed by pesticide drift, wondering what it would be like to die a slow death.

DL: How does the title represent the book?

DS: This chapbook and my earlier chapbook (Night Duty) are both titled as subtle references to our movie culture. Many of the poems are documentary in nature. Night Duty is composed of film noir-style poems. Somewhere West of the Mississippi is composed of poems intended to create a sweeping vista of human experience in the American West within the context of its ecology. I wish the chapbook had an accompanying soundtrack, which is always a feature of the American Western.

DL: I love that, as soundtracks accompany us in so many contexts, since invention of ear buds! You have a background in science—how does that affect your writing?

DS: The language of my poems is, in many places, scientific. When I use scientific terms I try to place them in a context that makes them understandable to the general reader without “dumbing down” the science. I’m also uniquely positioned to offer a rare view into the inner workings of how environmental cleanups happen, their successes and limitations.

DL: The poems remain lyrical and balance facts well. You have been appointed Poet Laureate of Sonoma County. What do you plan to accomplish with this community honor?

DS: Because I self-identify as a poet of the ecology, or eco-poet, in the second half of my two-year term I intend to craft a series of nature writing workshops. Those workshops will be based on 17^th Century Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō's concept of Zōka (the transformative power of nature). But for the first half, I have decided to challenge myself as well as other Sonoma County poets to write documentary poetry. Documentary poetry has no formal, fixed, definition, but generally calls attention to some injustice witnessed or heard of by the poet. One of the keys to writing a good documentary poem is to research facts about the injustice to add dimension to the poem.

DL: I appreciate your focus outside your ego while still using your experience and expertise. Anything else you would like to add?

DS: I want to thank Mammoth Publications for believing in this project. As Sonoma County Poet Laureate, I wanted to work with a small publisher in Sonoma County. Mammoth is that and more, a small publisher located in Healdsburg, California, with a compelling catalogue of impactful literature.

What My Uncle Is Trying to Say

Photos are silent but something’s said

the way his fur hat tilts down

and jacket hangs open even though

bare trees say cold and the windshield

of the Ford LTD publishes an icy scrawl.

Experts can tell the model year by the grille.

The license plate says Minnesota.

Crystals on the plate and on the lakes,

crystals in the air, ready to fall.

With low pressure snow will arrive

on the doorstep. Open the door.

This photograph is nothing.

He will charge inside like a ghost.

DAVE SETER, Sonoma County Poet Laureate 2024-2026,  is a poet, nature writer, reviewer, and essayist. He
authored the poetry collections Don’t Sing to Me of Electric Fences (Cherry Grove Collections, 2021) and Night Duty (Main Street Rag, 2010). Educated as a civil engineer, he writes about social and environmental issues, including the intersections of the built world and natural world. His poems have won the KNOCK Ecolit Prize and received third place in the William Matthews competition. He is the recipient of two Pushcart nominations. His poetry book reviews have appeared in Cider Press Review, Poetry Flash, and Tupelo Quarterly. He is also studying Lithuanian and has translated poems by contemporary Lithuanian poets into English and published them in literary journals. He has been an Affiliate Artist at the Headlands Center for the Arts, and has served on the Board of Directors of Marin Poetry Center. Seter earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Princeton University and his graduate degree in humanities from Dominican University of California.