Brainstorming

After a debilitating stroke hit her in August 2025, Carolyn Martin was thrilled to discover she still had her voice and her ability to write poems. This chapbook is a collection of "stroke narratives" that document her physical, emotional, and spiritual experiences during her initial recovery. They are complemented by lyrical poems that revel in the inner and outer worlds she has explored for years. Since every poem is, in essence, a brainstorm, she hopes these poems will stir up a life-nurturing storm in readers.

EARLY PRAISE

"There are many ways to go through a storm: battening down, being swept away, dragging anchor. In her incredible new book Brainstorming, poet Carolyn Martin has chosen to travel with all sails beautifully unfurled-eyes, mind, and heart open. And with Martin at the helm, this ship is unsinkable."

-ANNIE LIGHTHART, author of Pax

"Martin recreates for us the details of a journey we cannot begin to imagine: progressing from physical pain, from the shock and grief of never again, to recalculating every single move she once took for granted, to ever-increasing gratitude, acceptance, and, yes, joy. This book has enlarged and deepened me, and I cannot praise it enough."

-INGRID WENDT, recipient of the Oregon Book Award, author of Keeping It All Afloat

"Brainstorming is filled with the kind of poetry that speaks to the compassionate need for a healing heart. Carolyn Martin stands among the finest of Oregon poets. This collection bears witness to this attribution."

-EMMETT WHEATFALL, author of Contradictions from an Uncertain Silence