A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to attend a reading at the Writer’s Block by Shaun T. Griffin, Nevada State Poet Laureate, who read from two of his brand-new books. River Ask Me Why: Into the West on Two Wheels is the story of the epic bicycle trip Shaun took with his two sons five years ago.  The details of this ride, especially the challenges of laboring up and down mountain passes, provide a riveting and poignant read. The haikus that Shaun drafted throughout the trip and included in this book provide a heartfelt look into this compassionate and gifted author’s mind.

Shaun and his two sons, Nevada & Cody, covered more than 1,200 miles and conquered some of the steepest grades in the Rocky Mountains. Carrying all their gear on their bikes, the three rode from Portland, Oregon to Jackson Hole, Wyoming over 21 challenging days. At the time of their epic adventure, Shaun was 65 and his two boys were in their thirties.

I have never taken a truly long-distance bike ride, nor even been on a mountain bike. The longest bike ride I’ve ever done was “a lark” of 81 miles back when I was in high school. Several of my friends had planned a week-long bike ride in southern California, and I asked them if I could ride with them for a “couple of hours” before heading back home. I soon discovered that there is a hypnotic quality to being on a bike, and somehow I never turned around. We rode from Pasadena to Yucaipa (about 85 miles) to a county park. Since I had no sleeping bag or any other camping gear, I spent a rather chilly night wrapped in garbage can liners. In the morning, after fixing breakfast for my buddies, I hopped on my bike and headed home. I was worn out, and that bike journey was on mostly level ground, and the only thing I was carrying was a couple of water bottles.

While this experience definitely enhanced my enjoyment of Shaun’s book, you don’t need any cycling background to appreciate Shaun, Nevada, and Cody’s odyssey. From moments of discovery to high drama, it’s a wonderful armchair journey. I cannot recommend it more highly.

The second book, No Charity in the Wilderness, is a collection of sixty-five poems that will transport you out of the normal hum-drum of daily life and reveal universal truths about the world drawn from Shaun’s discoveries and experiences.

Shaun and his partner Deborah founded and managed the Community Chest, a nonprofit organization in northwestern Nevada that provides programs in early childhood education, counseling, art, and social justice. A couple of poems in this collection give a profound glimpse into how Shaun and Deborah transitioned away from running the Community Chest. In addition, some very lovely advice is wrapped in a golden poem to the new administrators of the organization. Another standout piece is Shaun’s beautiful poem to Deborah on the occasion of their 29th wedding anniversary.

Shaun is a longtime poetry instructor at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, a prison in Carson City. The poems written by inmates that he included in this book are extraordinary in their craft and honesty.

This book captures the ebb and flow of a life of purpose lived well in poems that speak to everyone.

(And just a reminder: If you like essay, you will probably love Because the Light Will Not Forgive Me, which I reviewed back in January.)