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"Funslide" explores life's ups and downs

Jinx!
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Flickr
Credit Jinx! / Flickr
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Flickr

Our special series "Poetically Speaking" highlighting poets and poetry in Michigan continues. 

Julie Babcockgrew up in the late 70's and early 80's when playgrounds were full of sharp, hot metal and asphalt. 

"I still think about this amazing double barrel slide at my elementary school. Kids were always falling off of it and hurting themselves, but of course we kept climbing up and sliding down anyway. When I think of the changes in my life, I often visualize that slide. One minute life can be fun and carefree and another minute it can be full of terror. In ‘Fun Slide’ I tried to capture that experience.”  

Babcock is the author of the poetry collection Autoplay (MG Press, November 2014). Her poetry and fiction appear in various journals including The Rumpus, PANK, The Iowa Review, and the new anthology Feast, just out from Black Lawrence Press. She is a recipient of grants and fellowships from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Vermont Studio Center.She teaches writing and literature courses at the University of Michigan. 

 You can follow her blog here

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Mercedes Mejia produces interviews for All Things Considered, including the music segment Songs from Studio East. She also produces content for Stateside. Mercedes relocated to Michigan from New Mexico, where she earned her BA in Latin American Studies and Journalism. She began in public radio as a reporter atKUNMin Albuquerque. She brings extensive video production skills from her work at Univision and Edit House Production.