Read to Me from… Farm Girl by Megan Baxter

also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

“An expertly rendered memoir of land, loss, and love.” —Stephanie Anderson

On Read to Me, we practice the most fundamental skill of writing — how to listen for what we love in the work, and then put words to why it's so, so good.

Today, I read from Farm Girl: A Memoir by Megan Baxter. We get to see how this writer precisely describes a body at work, in strong, water-clear sentences, so that it can hold shimmering ideas about faith and hope. We get to love Megan's artistry with the luscious language of vegetables, too. Artichoke. Cilantro. Holy basil. Yum.

Buy Farm Girl

Read the episode transcript.

Megan Baxter holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Vermont College of the Fine Arts and a BFA in Poetry from Goddard College. In 2004, when she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy as a Creative Writing Major, Megan was honored as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. While working for the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Megan taught “pop-up” writing workshops at public schools in South Carolina, including poetry writing sessions in under-served and at-risk educational communities. For the past three summers she has returned to Interlochen Arts Camp as an instructor of high-school level fiction and nonfiction.

Megan’s first book ‘The Coolest Monsters, A Collection of Essays’ was published in 2018 by Texas Review Press. Her memoir ‘Farm Girl’ was released July 1 2021 from Green Writers Press. Megan is pleased to announce that her essay collection 'The Body(Electric) will be published by Mad Creek Books from Ohio State Press as part of their 21st Century Essay Series. Megan is currently seeking representation for her debut novel.

Megan has won numerous national awards including a Pushcart Prize. Her work has been listed in The Best American Essays of 2019. Recent publications included pieces in The Threepenny Review, Hotel Amerika, The Florida Review, and Creative Nonfiction Magazine. Megan serves as a mentor to young writers and loves developing cross-genre and innovative creative writing pedagogy for her workshops and classes. Megan lives in New Hampshire where she loves walking her dogs, running, and cooking with local foods. She teaches writing at Colby-Sawyer College and Southern New Hampshire University.

Instagram @meganlbaxter

Twitter @MeganBaxter

Email meganlbaxter@gmail.com

Facebook @meganbaxterauthor