Giving In to a Life of Poetry with Lauren Ducrey

In this episode, we sit down with Lauren Ducrey, a French-American poet, speaker, and mindfulness facilitator, to explore her journey of leaving behind a full-time career in tech to devote her life to poetry and art. Lauren shares insights on belonging across cultures, the power of poetic leadership, and how listening is central to both art and life. We also enjoy an exclusive reading of her poem "When They Say Be Like Water" and discuss the simple invitations that come from trusting intuition.

Links and extras from this episode:

1. Lauren’s book Tongues Tied! Also, check out her website for her fantastic workshops, to reach out for speaking opportunities, and more.
2. Lauren’s French spoken poetry album Cordes Sensibles, with her soothing riffs and Hadrien Remy’s guitar accompaniment. It’s about finding freedom in adulthood, befriending the mind, coming back to the body’s intelligence, and being so completely curious about another human that you want to get under their skin.
3. Brooklyn Poets offers excellent and beginner-accessible in-person and online workshops and was an important playground and community for Lauren to begin her poetry journey in/with, and, funnily enough, for me too!
4. Erin and I learned about maladaptive vs. adaptive perfectionism for the first time from Lauren’s experience with Katherine Morgan Schafler’s book, The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power.
5. Lauren’s favorite place to find new poems is the bite-sized podcast Poetry Unbound, an “immersive exploration of a single poem, hosted by Pádraig Ó Tuama.” Each episode is only 10 minutes long, and Lauren calls them a “shot of presence” that makes her cry 9/10 times.

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Episode credits:

• Original music by Leslie Allison
• Sound editing by Erin Ozmat
• Logo and cover art by Kira Weiss, photography by Kendall Tichner
• Produced by Patty Carnevale and Erin Ozmat
• All rights reserved in podcast content and the Giving In™ trademark