On Being a Poet in Wales: Rae Howells

Did you know that bumble bees can vibrate their bodies at the pitch of a middle C? It’s a remarkable skill, something they do to get flowers to release their pollen.I have written a poem about it, and it’s one of my favourite ones to read aloud. It gets a great reaction from the audience, mainly, I think, because it is joyful.“I am more than you,” the poem declares. “I am a musical note.”

There is defiance, and delight, and magic in trying to climb inside a bee’s perspective and understand how it must feel to resonate at that perfect pitch, to be in such harmony with the world.

It’s this joy in nature that has spurred me to write both of my poetry collections, though in different ways.

Read the full feature about how Rae's love of nature has informed both of her poetry collections on Nation.Cymru