Seth Thill

Iowa Nice Poetry

June 25 | Eagle Point Park | 6 – 10 PM

June 26 | National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium | 2 – 5 PM

June 27 | Dubuque Main Street, Farmer’s Market | 9 – Noon

About the Poetry: I am working on a full-length poetry manuscript titled Iowa Nice, which will be published next year through my residence at the Hearst Center for the Arts. A large suite of poems in this collection are specifically addressed to the Mississippi River, a place that kept me grounded throughout a tumultuous youth. I would be presenting these river poems at Rendezvous. These poems are about connecting with nature, specifically the Mississippi, and how that connection leads to stronger connections with your loved ones and neighbors, and with yourself. Some of them serve as warnings to what we will lose within ourselves if we do not properly care for and be stewards of these landmarks, for our planet, at large. Some of them are celebrations—of natures beauty, of overcoming obstacles with the tools our Earth gives us, of the lives our rivers make possible.

About the Writer: I am a nature poet and artist from Dubuque, now living in Cedar Falls, lowa. I hold a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Northern lowa, and I have had short works published in various magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Indiana Review, Into the Void, Plainsongs Poetry Journal, Cities of the Plains, and more. In 2022, I served as Visiting Artist at Hartman Reserve and Nature Center in Cedar Falls, lowa, during which time I published my nature poetry chapbook, COVER, RECOVER; this fall 1 will begin my tenure as 2026-2027 James Hearst Writer-In-Residence at the Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls. I’ve performed my work at dozens of venues across the Midwest, including the Carnegie-Stout Public Library, The Nook bookstore in Cedar Falls, the DSM Public Library, Cedar Valley Pridefest, and more.

Website: seth-thill.ghost.io