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TOM CRANN: It's All Things Considered from Minnesota Public Radio news, I'm Tom Crann. And here it is Labor Day. It feels like summer is winding down and few things give us that feeling more than the end of the Minnesota State Fair.

Throughout the run of the fair, poet Leslie Ball, along with producer and editor Ochen Kaylan, have graced us with a poem a day, each inspired by the details of their fair experience, and each written and recorded on the State Fair grounds.

Well, before we hear the final poem, I thought it would be nice to talk to Leslie Ball about the experience of writing these poems at the State Fair. She joins me in the studio now. And it's a pleasure to welcome you. Thanks for coming in.

LESLIE BALL: Thank you for having me.

TOM CRANN: If you hadn't been writing a poem a day at the State fair, would you-- are you the type of person who'd go every day?

LESLIE BALL: Yes.

TOM CRANN: You would?

LESLIE BALL: Yes.

TOM CRANN: And why? What draws you to the fair every day?

LESLIE BALL: I didn't go as a child. My first time on the fair grounds was 21 years ago when I was 30. And I found my people, and I feel like I'm making up for lost time.

TOM CRANN: Do you look at the fair differently after doing this?

LESLIE BALL: No.

TOM CRANN: Just got to know an old friend better?

LESLIE BALL: That's so sweet. Can I steal that?

TOM CRANN: Sure. Go right ahead.

LESLIE BALL: That's lovely. And as with old friends, the more you get to know them, the more pleasant surprises you find with every layer. And that's how I felt about the fair as well. This morning I never knew that there was a diner car down on the midway that serves the workers from the carnival area in the midway in the early morning is really an experience.

I was saying in a poem, and this got cut, that if it were a day where you're sort of wrestling with depression, you could walk through there and it could look kind of tawdry and bleak. But if you're a day like today, the sun is out, I'm feeling really hopeful about the future, and I'm hearing the song-- the birds overhead, you can hear when the midway is deserted. You can hear the birds and the flags flapping, and you see all their planters everywhere with all these healthy flowers overflowing.

TOM CRANN: What will you do all winter without the fair?

LESLIE BALL: I was thinking about this. It's a little, in fact, I touched on it in the poem today. I want to learn to carry what it is about the fair that I treasure so much. I want to carry that into all of my life.

TOM CRANN: And can you crystallize that what it is you treasure so much that you want to carry.

LESLIE BALL: Paying attention, paying close attention. That's what changed. I've always had a good gratitude muscle. But a lot of times I just swim through the day, and I don't focus on details as much as I could. And I found that a real benefit of this exercise.

TOM CRANN: And the fair is full of details.

LESLIE BALL: It is.

TOM CRANN: Isn't it? Yeah. Leslie Ball, thank you very much.

LESLIE BALL: Thank you so much.

TOM CRANN: It's been a pleasure having your poems and nice talking to you. Poet Leslie Ball lives in Minneapolis. And since August 24th, she's written a poem a day for us at the Minnesota State Fair. And for our final poem on this Labor Day. Leslie, what caught your attention, struck your fancy before we hear it.

LESLIE BALL: It was the thought of it's our final day and what I want to carry from the fair into the rest of the year.