Linda K Sienkiewicz

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Books
  • Blog
  • News
  • Etc.
    • Press Kit
    • Events
    • Art
    • Publishing Credits and Awards
  • Social Media
  • Email

What, Why, How: Poet Karin Hoffecker

May 5, 2025 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

A man with a tie and flower boutonniere with a red-haired woman

What:

My poetry is grounded in both external and internal landscapes. I have always been fascinated with the visual arts and nature—they are often subjects that appear in my poems. The poetry I write, honoring my internal map, is the result of exploring deep emotions shaped by experiences of loss and grief. Losing my adult son to a sudden and unexpected pulmonary embolism and both my parents has profoundly affected my writing in recent years. Grief is an individual and messy process. Embracing one’s brokenness offers the possibility of healing through patience, support, and compassion. Writing about my losses has allowed me to become reconciled to their deaths and provides a continuing bond with my family that I nurture and cherish.

Why:

I wrote my first book, The Nell Poems, for my granddaughter who lost her father two weeks after her first birthday. The poems were born out of shock and grief, creating something beautiful for her legacy; a way of knowing what an exceptional man her father was through my words. For me, it was also a way to honor the memories of my son that filled the days that first year. In many ways, the book saved me. It gave me purpose and a reason to keep on living through grief’s relentless sorrow. My second book, The Bonds We Keep, was written to appreciate the relationships that shape us and the beauty of the world we share. The bonds we keep become the bonds which also keep us, so that in the end we endure together. My latest collection, The Space Between Us, is written with a deeper exploration of grief; inviting the reader to drop into the spaces between loss, grief, and healing. In the poems written about my parents each loss is mourned. They pay homage to their goodness and are a testament to the love of family. It is my hope that I can spin art out of the agony of loss and create an abiding tribute.

How:

I’ve achieved success writing poetry within a community of writers in the Detroit area and also with the Poetry Society of Michigan. Classes I took with Springfed Arts gave me the opportunity to form lifelong connections with teachers, as well as fellow writers and poets. The master’s degree I received from Oakland University also created partnerships I still value today. The Southeast Michigan Poetry Workshop has given me a place to share my works in progress and receive stellar feedback through critique. I am grateful to the members who have let me explore grief repeatedly in poems of remembrance. I’m a better writer and poet because of their thoughtful questions and comments—I share my accomplishments with them.

Book cover for The Space Between us shows trees, flowers, and a stone path leading to a gate that leads to a dock on a lake

Bio:

Karin Hoffecker has an M.A. in English literature from Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan. Her poems have appeared in The Comstock Review, Gathering Flowers: Living with the Death of a Child, Long Island Sounds, The MacGuffin, Mona Poetica, Passager, Peninsula Poets, and Penumbra. Her collections, The Nell Poems, and The Bonds We Keep, were published by Blue Light Press in 2018 and 2022. The Space Between Us was published by Wyld Syde Press in 2025. Karin is a retired teacher who enjoys reading, walking, and spending time on the lakes in Northern Michigan. She lives in Birmingham, Michigan.

Links:

The Space Between Us on Amazon
Karin’s other books on Amazon
Karin’s other books on Bookshop.org
Additional copies, please email: klhpoetlover@gmail.com


Thank you for visiting.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist
Books: In the Context of Love | Gordy and the Ghost Crab | Sleepwalker
New novel,  Love and Other Incurable Ailments, coming fall 2026 from Regal House Publishing
Connect with Linda on social media: LinkTree

Leave a Comment Filed Under: What, Why, How Tagged With: books, family, grief, poetry

Family Recipe: a Finnish pancake with three ingredients

October 28, 2024 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

But what's it called? My Finnish grandmother made an oven pancake that I loved, and now my grandkids enjoy it whenever they visit. My mom often made it for dinner, too, because who doesn't love … Continue reading >>

Filed Under: It's Personal Tagged With: family, family recipe, Finnish, pancake

Generational Driving: Passing Down Skills and Memories

September 30, 2024 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

Fears of parallel parking When our granddaughter came to stay with us in August, she was a little nervous about taking the driver's test for her license when she returned home. Michigan still … Continue reading >>

Filed Under: It's Personal Tagged With: drivers test, driving skills, family, first cars

To Bloom Forever: Perennial Gifts

July 15, 2024 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

Where flowers bloom so does hope An old house in our neighborhood had the most lovely perennial garden. In fact, it had been included in my hometown’s garden tour at one time. Often when I walked … Continue reading >>

Filed Under: It's Personal Tagged With: family, gardening, hope, perennials

Spilling Secrets: Patti Eddington on memoir writing

June 24, 2024 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

The Girl with Three Birthdays: I met Patti Eddington years ago at a Springfed Arts Writers' Conference where her grace and enthusiasm drew me in. I couldn't wait to read her adoption memoir, The … Continue reading >>

Filed Under: Books, Writing Tagged With: adoption, family, memoir, writing

Red River Valley, for Dad on his birthday

January 15, 2024 By Linda K Sienkiewicz

Such a sad song When I was a little girl, I asked my late father to tell me his favorite song..."the most beautiful song you ever heard." He thought a minute. “I guess it’d have to be ‘Red … Continue reading >>

Filed Under: Grief and Loss, It's Personal Tagged With: family, grief, humor

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 11
  • Next Page »

About Linda

Award- winning writer, poet & artist. Cynical optimist. Super klutz. Corgi fan. Author of two novels, a children's picture book, and five poetry chapbooks. More here.

Follow this Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to Linda's blog...

Categories

  • Agents & Querying (7)
  • Art & Crafting (20)
  • Books (70)
  • Grief and Loss (19)
  • In the Context of Love (14)
  • It's Personal (229)
  • Publicity & Marketing (33)
  • What, Why, How (163)
  • Writing (111)

Let’s Connect!

Subscribe to my newsletter and never miss a giveaway, fun event, or an announcement!

Search this blog

Top Posts

  • Proper use of "I" and "Me" - Grammar Basics
  • Book Art: Crafting Paper Roses
  • Blackout Poetry - as creative as you want to get
  • Gen Z “Chaos Theory” Fashion
  • Quick Bicycle Helmet Visor How-to
  • What's so special about Howard Street?

Blog Tags

Agents anxiety art books children's books childrens books Christmas Clementine corgi crafting creativity Detroit dogs family fantasy Fiction grammar grief Historical Fiction humor idol talk loss love marketing memoir motivation Music mystery nonfiction novel pandemic poet poetry Publishing reading romance sewing sexual assault shame short stories social media storytelling suicide writing writing tips
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Recent News
  • Social Media

Recent Blog Posts

  • Romance rides high on the genre wave. Maybe.
  • 10 Character Tips Every Novelist Should Know
  • Not Everyone is Going to Like You
  • What, Why, How: Poet Karin Hoffecker
  • Dinner with Elmore Leonard (sort of)
  • Beyond the Smile: Elevating Character and Emotions in Writing
  • A (Mostly) Clean Challenge: Writing a Novel with Minimal Profanity
  • The entertaining side of Chat GPT

Blog Tags

Agents anxiety art books children's books childrens books Christmas Clementine corgi crafting creativity Detroit dogs family fantasy Fiction grammar grief Historical Fiction humor idol talk loss love marketing memoir motivation Music mystery nonfiction novel pandemic poet poetry Publishing reading romance sewing sexual assault shame short stories social media storytelling suicide writing writing tips

Search

Let’s Connect!

Subscribe to my newsletter and never miss a giveaway, important event, or publishing announcement!

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Books
  • Blog
  • News
  • Etc.
  • Social Media
  • Email

Copyright © 2025 · Website design & development by Little Leaf