Poetry is conduit for communicating our shared experiences and broadening our understanding-of ourselves and each other. In her debut book of poetry, Solitary Light, Priscilla Bernard Wieden shares her journey when the unspeakable happens, and then offers every grieving widow a glimmer of light. These poems are a beacon to help you find your way out of the despair of grief, to help you look deep inside your own spirit, and emerge with a heart full of loving memories as you find the beauty in joyful living that still awaits you.
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"...incredible collection of poems...beautiful, sad, lyrical, and absolutely human. Wieden guides us through this pain with a strong hand, even as she guides her own broken heart."
-MATTHEW DICKMAN author of All-American Poem and Husbandry Poems
"Solitary Light addresses death and the cycle of life with extraordinary beauty. Heart-wrenching poetry, yes. An ode to love, yes. And so much more..."
-JOHN PERKINS, author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman
"What shines from these pages is, indeed, a beacon of hope, one with enough strength to penetrate darkness. Her poems celebrate finding light/ in broken places/ where joy/ timidly slips in."
-PAULANN PETERSEN, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita
"These are poems from the first days of grief, where words have the courage to begin to express both sorrow and survival. This book is about one person's grief as a companion for many, for you."
-KIM STAFFORD, author of 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared
"...exquisite, elegant, searing, powerful, heartbreaking, glorious, wrenching, transformational, and unforgettable..."
-LYNNE TWIST, author of The Soul of Money and Living a Committed Life
Wieden, Priscilla Bernard: - Priscilla Bernard Wieden is a lifelong Poet and Arts, Education and Environmental advocate. She is celebrated for her active engagement in Portland's vibrant artistic community and contributions to Caldera, an award-winning year-round program for underserved youth, dedicated to nurturing creative and environmental education. Priscilla serves as Co-chair of the Caldera Board, an organization founded by the Wieden family in 1996 with the belief in the power of creativity. She also currently serves on the Board of Literary Arts and on the board of Trustees for Wieden + Kennedy. Priscilla has devoted her life to being of service in the healing arts, having founded and run Evergreen Clinic for 35 years, and in the theater arts, having served as Board Chair for Profile Theatre. In 2024, she was a TedX Salon Speaker "Courage emerges from Love" on Mortality after the passing of her husband, Wieden and Kennedy Founder and creator of the eponymous "Just Do It" Nike Tagline, Dan Wieden. Priscilla is a proud mother, grandmother and gardener. She stays immersed in issues of social justice, the arts, women and children, housing, the environment, and hunger, including past Board service with Urban Gleaners and Ecotrust, keeping Priscilla actively engaged with the world.
