Write Riot returns

It’s back!! In honor of National Poetry Month, Village Books and the Colophon Café are pleased to be teaming up with local poet extraordinaire Dee Dee Chapman for the return of the Write Riot Poetry Slam. This is a free, all-ages event (expect some adult language). Watch for updates on Write Riot’s Facebook event page.

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be an early bird

Registration is now open for the 2019 Chuckanut Writers Conference, June 21-22, at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington. Register by May 21, 2019, and save $40. Have a look at the schedule and the master classes, meet the faculty, and sign up for an exciting weekend of writing.

Paul Hunter in Bellingham

Raconteur extraordinaire Paul Hunter will read from his prose-poetry memoir, Clownery: In Lieu of a Life Spent in Harness on Sunday, April 14, 2019, 4:00pm, at Village Books in Bellingham. His stories are captivating, his words compelling, and his voice dynamic. Come hear Paul.

conversation

This should be good. Poet/etc. Maria McLeod conducts a conversation with author Steve Hughes on the subject of his new collection, Stiff, and no doubt other topics. Here’s a brief introduction to the book:

With a hearty helping of Detroit grit, the stories in Stiff pay homage to a city turned upside down by economic abandonment. Steve Hughes pushes the boundaries of realism with characters that seem odd and otherworldly. In his Detroit, witches cast spells to improve their husbands, chickens grow from seeds, and lovers realize their sex organs have minds of their own. The characters in Stiff are all searching for something in each other — a certain wholeness or understanding, a place to rest and call home. In “Ripening,” a man and woman in an illicit affair witness their genitals leaving their bodies for a rendezvous. In “Dexter’s Song,” a drug-addicted saxophone player meets a bored suburban woman who gives him her ex-boyfriend’s sax, which unleashes a series of disasters but empowers him to play better than ever. Readers of contemporary fiction will enjoy this outrageous and evocative ensemble of stories.

Listen in to their conversation on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at 7:00pm, at Village Books in Bellingham.

book celebration

Join Betty Scott, J.P. Falcon Grady, and Rev. Tessie Mandeville for poetry and song in celebration of Betty Scott’s collection, Central Heating: Poems that Celebrate Love, Loss and Planet Earth (Cave Moon Press). Festivities begin at 4:00pm on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in the Readings Gallery at Village Books, Bellingham.

The previous day, Saturday, April 6, Betty Scott and J.P. Falcon Grady will teach an all-day workshop at Whatcom Community College to explore how words and music deepen the themes and emotions of creative expressions. Further information: Amplify Your Writing with a Song.

meet the MUSE

Muse Reading Series is a student-run literary collective that curates diverse groups of local writers to read their work in various Bellingham community spaces.

Their second reading will take place TODAY, Sunday, March 3, 2019, at 3:00pm, at the Alternative Library. The program will feature authors Dayna Kidd Patterson, Iris Graville, and Hanna Webster, as well as student writers Madison Starks, Sydnee Smith, Jabez Richard, and others.

tonight!

Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna and a stellar lineup of other poets will offer their reflections on Poetry & Democracy this evening, Saturday, March 2, 2019, at 7:00pm, at the Mount Baker Theatre Encore Room in Bellingham.

SpeakEasy 23: Poetry & Democracy adds regional voices to the nationwide conversation initiated by the Poetry Coalition for the month of March. Please join us. The event is free.