Robin Gabbert: the healing power of poetry

EPISODE REFLECTION: There’s a quiet courage in choosing not to rush past a moment. I was struck by how poetry becomes less about expression—and more about permission. Permission to sit with what’s unresolved. Permission to revisit what resurfaces. Permission to be honest, even when that honesty feels sharp. Her work reminds us that our lives aren’t linear stories—they’re ecosystems. Interwoven. Contradictory. Alive with both beauty and rupture. And maybe that’s where poetry enters.WHAT YOU’LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE• Why brain aging is not inevitable• What it really means to be a “super-ager”• How neuroplasticity works in everyday life• The five pillars of brain health• Why midlife can be a new beginning for the brainABOUT THE GUESTRobin Gabbert is an Ekphrastic poet, the winner of Redwood Writers' 2025 Fran Claggett-Holland Award and is a Pushcart Poetry Prize nominee for her poem The Palm Reader. In 2024, her poem Invisible was a finalist in the San Francisco Writers' Conference Poetry Contest and she was long-listed for the Frontier PoetryTanka Challenge. Her book of ekphrastic poetry—The Clandestine Life of Paintings, in Poems was published in 2022 and a full-length book of poetry Somehow, I Haven't Drowned was published by Blue Light Press in August 2025. She has poetry in state, national, and international poetry anthologies including the Ekphrastic Review.LINKS & RESOURCES*Robin Gabbert’s Website*Somehow, I Haven’t Drowned*Robin Gabbert on LinkedIn*Robin Gabbert on FacebookABOUT THOUGHT ECHOESThought Echoes is a monthly podcast hosted by Beth Bonness, featuring conversations with authors, thinkers, and creatives exploring the nature of our thoughts — how they shape our lives, our work, and the meaning we make from experience.THOUGHT ECHOES NEWSLETTERIf you enjoy conversations that explore the nature of our thoughts and the meaning we make from experience, you can subscribe to the Thought Echoes newsletter for deeper reflections:👉https://bethbonness.com/newsletterThank you for listening — until next time, keep exploring the echoes that shape your world.