PETALUMA — It was two weeks ago that Forrest Gander received a telephone call from his editor, congratulating him on receiving the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
"And I was suspicious he was joking," Gander said to KCBS Radio. "And then, within the next couple of hours, I had gotten some 300 emails and knew he wasn't joking."
Gander said he’s still in a state of shock.
His book of poems, entitled “Be With," for which he won the Pulitzer is based in great part on the loss of his late wife C.D. Wright. She was a well-known poet as well who died in her sleep in 2016.
"It took me awhile to even begin to think of addressing it by writing," Gander said.
Since his book was published, many people have contacted him to say it resonated with them in their moments of grief.
"That feels good," Gander said.