Isabelle Shepherd
Interim Executive Director,
Historic Wilmington Foundation

Podcast playlist includes Up First in the mornings “to get a quick update on the top global news stories, and when I have time, I like to listen to The Daily for a more in-depth analysis.” For a fun list, Shepherd plays Welcome to Night Vale, “which is a satirical science fiction podcast presented as a community radio show in the fictional desert town of Night Vale. It’s fantastically surreal, creative and just as funny as it is profound.”

Her all-time favorite TV show The Leftovers on HBO. “The show depicts the aftermath of a supernatural global event where 2% of the world’s population vanishes – just like that, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. I appreciate the exploration of communal grief and the search for meaning in the wake of tragedy.”

Favorite books, authors and what you’ve read recently that you recommend: I have an MFA in Creative Writing. As a poet, this is a big question!

Shepherd, a poet who holds an MFA in creative writing, says that Kurt Vonnegut, followed closely by Raymond Carver, is her favorite fiction writer. “There are too many poets to count, but I’ll name a few: Richard Siken, Ada Limón, Bob Hicok, Paige Lewis, Zachary Schomburg, Tim Earley. These writers made me fall in love with poetry: e.e. cummings, Sylvia Plath, Sharon Olds, Rumi, T.S. Eliot. I’m currently reading Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution.”

Go-to apps are PictureThis to help identify plants while gardening and VSCO for photo editing.

On Instagram: @isabelle_anne_, @historicwilmingtonfoundation and @legacysalvage as well