I Am Here But I Am Not

Heidi's poetry encompasses the full range of her experiences and emotions. Her poetry is always heartfelt and much of it is as raw and direct as a punch to the solar plexus. She does not mince words, and she is utterly devoid of literary pretension. She strings together dazzling declarations, incisive observations, and vibrant imagery.

Heidi's prodigious powers of physical description are another key element of her unique poetic style. She creates vivid and memorable images in the reader's mind with a few deft verbal brush strokes, much as an artist creates a gesture drawing that captures the essence of a living subject in a few spare lines. Her exceptional kaleidoscopic imagery is often breathtaking, but it is rendered in the service of a higher aim--expressing and conveying her life experiences, her emotions, and her state of being in the world with fierce affirmation, even in the face of despair. Any poet who can articulate all these elements, and employ them so masterfully to engage the hearts, minds, and spirits of her readers, is surely a gifted artist worthy of widespread attention and acclaim.

Heidi Schneider was born in New York City on 24 March 1986. A lifelong empath, she was able to perceive people's true feelings without any filter. Though verbally brilliant, she couldn't read until she was 11, but then, at age 13, she scored at the mid-college level on a reading comprehension test. Heidi's innate creative abilities enabled her to turn out exquisite poetry, drawings, and paintings effortlessly despite having had no formal training. In 2007 she moved with her family to Fairfield, Iowa where she fell in love and had her first son, Nathaniel, on 1 August 2009. Later that year she moved back to Catskill, NY with her family, enrolled in the Columbia-Greene Community College nursing program, graduated with High Honors, and became a beloved registered nurse at the local hospital. Before being diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2019 Heidi had another son, Abraham, on 16 January 2018, and lived with her children at the Catskill family home until her death on 10 August 2020. Aside from her boys, the most important thing to Heidi was her poetry, which she wrote almost compulsively from age 11 until shortly before her death. Heidi wasn't afraid of dying but was devastated at having to leave her children. Fortunately for them, and for all of us, we have her poetry, the most authentic and enduring testament to her life and her transcendent spirit.