Mildred Trivers died yesterday afternoon at the age of 95. Not many people outside of Muncie, Indiana have heard of her, but she significantly impacted my life a long time ago, although I had forgotten about it until I saw her name in the obituaries. She was originally from Ohio, but moved to Muncie with her husband and children (one of whom is considered a founder of sociobiology). They lived out on a farm in the middle of nowhere. The farm had a barn; eventually the barn had an annual poetry and art festival inside it that Mrs. Trivers started to celebrate the creativity of Midwesterners. I attended the Humpback Barn Festival on a field trip for school, and learned several very fundamental things that changed my life.
First, I learned that it was possible to create beautiful art about Indiana. And not only was it possible, but there were quite a few people who did it! I also learned that poetry and art can go hand in hand, and that the Midwest wasn’t entirely full of country bumpkins. I learned that loving Indiana wasn’t the sign of a loss of intelligence. But most importantly, I found out that growing old doesn’t have to stop the act of creation. Mrs. Trivers was in her 80s when I met her and still cranking out really quite phenomenal poetry. I was very impressed with her fortitude, her faith, and her creativity, and found in her a kindred spirit.
I am sad that she is gone.