Solitary Light: Mourning Poems

by Priscilla Bernard Wieden

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.

Enjoy a video of Priscilla reading from her new book:

Early Praise

A lone woman wrapped in a shawl and looking out to sea, a group of women dressed in black walking down the cobbled stone of a village, a young woman finding love letters to another after her husband has died. Loss romanticized, trivialized, and used for dramatic effect, widowhood has long been a thing the rest of us only whisper about. That all changes in Priscilla Bernard Wieden’s incredible collection of poems, which chronicle the first year of loss and grief following the death of her beloved husband, Dan. These poems are beautiful, sad, lyrical, and absolutely human. Bernard 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. It is an adventure into feelings that plunge us to the depths of sorrow—“A mourning morning,/ Empty/ Again” —and that send us soaring to the ecstasy of living in the present while healing— “Sitting in a sunbeam, / like all creatures, / seeking warmth, / seeking healing.” Priscilla opens her heart and soul to us. And creates a masterpiece that is a must read for anyone who knows grief or joy— in other words, for all of us.

—John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Ardently hoping that her poems will be a balm to others grieving the death of a beloved spouse, Priscilla Bernard Wieden gives us Solitary Light. What shines from these pages is, indeed, a beacon of hope, one with enough strength to penetrate darkness. Although hers is a heart that remembers and practices “the ancient art of keening,” she also discovers solace and delight in small, mundane blessings. With deep wisdom, Wieden conveys the necessity to accept and even embrace sorrow so that healing can begin. Her poems celebrate “finding light / in broken places / where joy / timidly slips in.”

—Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita

When your good one goes, at death, what can anyone say into that absence? Some will say to you, “Words cannot begin to express….” But that is no consolation, and it’s not true. In this book, Priscilla Bernard Wieden writes poems that fill that absence with questing, searching, trying. 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

Priscilla Bernard Wieden’s collection of poetry is an exquisite, elegant, searing, powerful, heartbreaking, glorious, wrenching, transformational, and unforgettable journey through grief—and—through her incredible capacity to rediscover her life force, love for life itself and eventually infinite joy. Solitary Light book will deeply serve widows and widowers alike, but also any and all of us who love and cherish one another on life’s journey. I celebrate the healing power of her words and this extraordinary book.

—Lynne Twist –author of The Soul of Money and Living a Committed Life

 

About the Author

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.

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