The Heart Path Podcast

Story Mapping with Poet, Essayist, and Instructor Byron Aspaas

In this episode, we follow Navajo roads to academia, switch paths from engineering to writing, and change the cadence of running to the peddle of mountain biking, as we process grief through words and story mapping.  Byron F. Aspaas is Diné. He is Táchii’nii, born for Tódich’iinii, and raised within the four sacred mountains of Dinétah, Byron received his BFA and MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in creative writing. His writing reflects upon the eradication of Navajoland, which draws readers into discourse about preservation with Diné culture and land. His writing can be found in Weber: The Contemporary West, Denver Quarterly, International Writing Program Collections, The Rumpus, Santa Fe Noir, Shapes of Native Nonfiction and The Diné Reader. Byron will begin as lecturer with Colorado State University – Pueblo (Fall ‘25) and will continue as poetry mentor for Western Colorado University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing. He lives with his partner, six dogs, and four cats in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  You can follow Byron at https://www.byronaspaas.com/ and read his Letter to America at https://www.terrain.org/2024/poetry/letter-to-america-aspaas/. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Positive Interference: The Audacity to Create a Better Future with Eco Poet, Erin Robertson

What happens when we take action toward a better future? We could end up sending ripples of "buoyant hope" and "positive interference" into the world. In this episode of The Heart Path Podcast, we talk with Eco Poet, Biologist, and Nature Writing Facilitator, Erin Robertson, about land partnerships, climate change, fire, and the resiliency of humanity when faced with the unknown.  Erin Robertson is the author of What the River May Bring:  Impressions of Interior Alaska and the forthcoming Singed Seeds:  A Marshall Fire Year.  In 2017, Erin founded BoCo Wild Writers, her outdoor nature writing class offerings. Her poetry has been published in the North American Review, Cold Mountain Review, Poet Lore, Deep Wild, and elsewhere, and has been performed by Ars Nova Singers and The Crossing choir. She is the current Writer-in-Residence for Friends of Coal Creek, and past honors include being a guest artist hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Kazakhstan, Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence at Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge in Galena, Alaska, Boulder County Artist in Residence at Caribou Ranch, and awards in the Front Range Book Prize, Michael Adams Poetry Prize, and Columbine Poets Members' Contest. Erin earned her Master of Science in Museum and Field Studies from the University of Colorado studying botany and environmental interpretation, and worked as a conservation biologist advocating for endangered species in the Rocky Mountain West for nine years. Her remarkable husband, two sons, parakeet, and pup teach her about wonder every day. Website: erinrobertson.org [http://erinrobertson.org], wildwriters.org [http://wildwriters.org].  Instagram, Facebook:  @bocowildwriters Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Image Rooted in Memory with Frontexto Artist and Poet, Octavio Quintanilla

In this episode, we explore imagery rooted in memory with Frontexto artist, poet, publisher, and instructor, Octavio Quintanilla.  Octavio Quintanilla is the 2025 Texas Poet Laureate and the author of the poetry collections, If I Go Missing (Slough Press, 2014), The Book of Wounded Sparrows (Texas Review Press, 2024), which was longlisted for the National Book Award, and Las Horas Imposibles / The Impossible Hours, winner of the 2024 Ambroggio Prize of the Academy of American Poets (University of Arizona Press, 2025).   Octavio is the founder and director of the literature & arts festival, VersoFrontera, publisher of Alabrava Press, and former Poet Laureate of San Antonio, TX. His Frontextos (visual poems) have been published and exhibited widely. He teaches Literature and Creative Writing at Our Lady of the Lake University and was recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.  Website: https://www.octavioquintanilla.com/ IG: @writeroctavioquintanilla  Twitter: @OctQuintanilla   Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Living Poetry with Poet and Teacher, Allie Rigby

In this episode of The Heart Path Podcast, we expand our minds, hearts, and rekindle creative spark with Poet and Author of Moonscape for a Child, Allie Rigby.   Allie Rigby is a poet with roots in the chaparral of Southern California. Moonscape for a Child [https://asterismbooks.com/product/moonscape-for-a-child-allie-rigby] is her debut poetry collection (Bored Wolves, 2024). Writing honors include a Fulbright Fellowship, a William Dickey Fellowship, and contribution to the annual Bread Loaf Writing Conference. Her poems and essays appear on Living on Earth Radio, WFIU’s The Poet’s Weave, Equatorial Literary Magazine, Parentheses Journal, and more. She has a master’s degree in English: Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She has taught at Ovidius University, Loft Literary Center, Point Reyes National Seashore Association, and for events with the US-Romanian Embassy. She is an editor for The SEEfest Review and the curator behind Living Poetry [https://livingpoetry.substack.com/]. You can find more of her work at www.allierigby.com. [http://www.allierigby.com.] She's on IG @allie.j.rigby. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Looking into the Eyes of Bear: Embracing Wild Joy with Author and Wilderness Guide, Larry Glover

In this episode, we shed layers of self and society to embrace joy and wholeness in nature with author and wilderness guide, Larry Glover.  Larry Glover is the author of Wild Joy: Ecospiritual Encounters with Nature as Teacher, Healer, and Lover [https://bookshop.org/p/books/wild-joy-ecospiritual-encounters-with-nature-as-teacher-healer-and-lover-larry-glover/1e6c24e52ddd8da4?ean=9798992050257&next=t]; winner of two Gold Medals in the 2025 Global Book Awards. He aspires to discover what being human truly is, particularly in a paradoxical world woven of mystery and consciousness and fire and water and air and earth and spirit and soul too. He struggled from an early age with a madness that would destroy himself, which he came to recognize as a cultural story of separation and unworthiness for life. Larry now leans into our shared love of nature to inspire and deepen what it is to truly love the self, through his writing, speaking, coaching, workshops and wilderness retreats held in conjunction with the Cheryl Slover-Linett and the non-profit leadfeather.org [http://leadfeather.org/]. He is author of Wild Joy, Ecospiritual Encounters with Nature as Teacher, Healer, and Lover.  Discover more of Larry’s writing and how to engage with him at larryglover.com [https://www.larryglover.com/] and download a free gift: Healing the Jehovah Wound: A Path to Wholeness and Wild Joy. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]