Lesley Wheeler’s Poem ‘Return Path’ is Featured on The Slowdown Podcast The poem is from the Henry S. Fox Professor of English’s 2025 book “Mycocosmic.”

By Brian Laubscher
July 22, 2026

Lesley Wheeler, Henry S. Fox Professor of English at Washington and Lee University, had her poem “Return Path” featured on the American Public Media daily podcast The Slowdown on the morning of Tuesday, July 21.

The Slowdown, hosted by poet Maggie Smith and supported by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, features a single poem in a short daily episode lasting no longer than 5-7 minutes. Poems are selected and introduced by members of the production team or listeners to provide a moment of reflection in our busy lives.

“Return Path” was selected and introduced by award-winning poet Maggie Smith. It is the final poem featured in Wheeler’s 2025 book “Mycocosmic,” which was named to Literary Hub’s 100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025. “Return Path,” a villanelle, focuses on Wheeler’s sense of spiritual connection to the natural world.

Wheeler has been a member of the W&L faculty since 1994, teaching poetry from the 19th through the 21st centuries and creative writing. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. Wheeler also serves as poetry editor of Shenandoah.

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