Down My Fairy Stairs

Francha Barnard during her lifetime was one of the most important forces for literature in Door County, Wisconsin. She was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Write On Door County organization with its writing center, library, and residency programs, founded the Ekphrasic Poetry that is still going in partnership with galleries throughout Door County, helped Estella Lauter, the former Poet Laureate establish the Door County Poets Collective, and was a key force in the Dickinson Poetry Series held monthly at the United Unitarian Church in Ephraim, Wisconsin. As a poet she was concerned with human beings, politics, and nature, not necessarily in that order. Down My Fairy Stairs is being published posthumously by her Sister, Elizabeth Barnard and Four Windows Press in honor of her accomplishments as both her long career as a librarian in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and her important championing of the Door County writing community Elizabeth, an artist, provides drawings that grace the start of each of the book's six sections.

Praise for the poetry is as follows:

A perfect title for a book of poetry that, among a variety of topics, celebrates the natural world. Not only the beauty we see with our everyday eyes, but also the part that requires a deeper look. Francha was a poet who could see beyond the outer and enter into secret places--the habitat of fairies and mystics, writing with a direct line from her heart to her pen. At the same time, hers was a practical poetry, celebrating the simple pleasures of life. "Down My Fairy Stairs" will take you into her world--"a world gone clean and soft and kind." And you will not want to leave.

Sharon Auberle, Door County Poet Laureate 2017-2019

A lifelong reader of poetry, Francha Barnard became a poet not long after she moved to Frogtown Road in Baileys Harbor after retiring as a Sheboygan, WI librarian. In retirement, she walked nearly every day--in town, along the lakeshore, in the forest--and wherever she went, she saw the world with the eager eyes of an artist, looking for messages, whether they were omens or celebrations. In a poem near the end of the book, she identifies Papa Fox who frequented her yard for several years as her central "Talisman," but as I read these poems, others appeared--particularly birds on the water or in trees--to serve the purpose of amulets, capable of working wonders. The poems, drawn from all seasons, may extend the energy of talismans to their readers.

Estella Lauter, author of On the Brink. Door County Poet Laureate, 2013-15. Founder of the Door County Poets Collective. She and Francha edited the 2017 WFOP Poets Calendar.

The poet who penned these poems was a joy. The works exude that joy. Some are serious commentaries of large world events and other pieces reflect the small, seemingly mundane moments of daily life. This volume doesn't answer the big questions of human existence but embraces the acts of observation and reflection. The drawings by Francha's sister Elizabeth add another dimension to the work and are in harmony with the text. A joy to hold, a joy to read, and a joy to share the author's observations.

Nancy Rafal, Door County Poet Laureate 2019-2020