Seattle Civic Poet

Congratulations to Shin Yu Pai, who has just been selected as 2023-2024 Seattle Civic Poet.

The Civic Poet serves as a cultural ambassador for Seattle’s rich, multi-hued literary landscape and represents Seattle’s diverse cultural community. In addition to annual City events, the Civic Poet fosters community dialogue and engagement between the City, the public, and other artists, while celebrating the literary arts.

NaHaiWriMo!

It’s February, the shortest month, and that means it’s National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo). Get your haiku on. Learn more at the NaHaiWriMo website and find daily prompts by NaHaiWriMo founder Michael Dylan Welch on the NaHaiWriMo Facebook page, where you can also share yours.

plenty to read

Further recommendations for your overburdened bookshelf:

• Book Authority – 20 Best New Poetry Books To Read In 2023
• little infinite – 5 Poetry Collections To Look Forward To in 2023
• read poetry – 7 January 2023 Poetry Collections to Start Off the Year
• read poetry – 6 Spectacular February 2023 Poetry Releases
• Shade Literary Arts – 2023 Forthcoming Poetry Books by Queer People of Color
• Vulture – 31 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2023

If you’ve been moved by a book of poetry, recent or otherwise, leave a comment with the author and title!

finalists: Oregon Book Awards

Congratulations to the five Oregon Book Awards poetry finalists:

• Matthew Dickman of Portland, Husbandry (W. W. Norton & Co.)
• Michele Glazer of Portland, fretwork (University of Iowa Press)
• Janice Lee of Portland, Separation Anxiety (CLASH Books)
• Amy Miller of Ashland, Astronauts (Beloit Poetry Journal)
• Eric Tran of Portland, Mouth, Sugar, and Smoke (Diode Editions)

The winner will be announced live at the 2023 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony, hosted by Luke Burbank, at Portland Center Stage at The Armory on Monday, April 3, 2023. See the complete list of finalists in all categories.

A Vision for a More Equitable 2023

Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest opened the January 10, 2023, session of the Washington State legislature with her poem “These Abundant and Generous Homelands.” Her reading, and the full text of Rena’s poem, can be viewed on YouTube.

your 2023 bookshelf

The poetry publishers are setting a brisk pace for 2023 and the reviews and recommendations are rolling in. Here’s the first round for 2023:

• Book Riot – Holiday Downtime: Poetry Books to Inspire Year-End Reflection
• The Guardian – The best recent poetry – review roundup
• The Millions – Must-Read Poetry: Winter 2023
• ParrySound – Round-up: 4 new books of Canadian poetry to start 2023
• Poetry Book Society – Spring 2023 Selections
• Publishers Weekly – Spring 2023 Announcements: Poetry
• Washington Independent Review of Books – On Poetry: January 2023

sweet!

Forget the roses and the chocolates (well, maybe not the chocolates): show your Valentine some love with poetry. To benefit the Skagit River Poetry Foundation, poet Jeffrey Morgan and paper artist Nancy Scagliotti will offer a Valentine & Poetry Workshop on Saturday, February 11, 2023, 1:00-3:00pm. $10 includes supplies. Families welcome. Register by sending an email to directorsrpp@gmail.com. The workshop will be held in person, in Mount Vernon, at a location TBD.

Want more love poetry? This one is after Valentine’s Day, but not too late for love. On Sunday, February 19, 2023, 11:00am-2:00pm, Oregon poet Christine Delea will offer Love is Strange, an online poetry workshop that will avoid “the moon-June-swoon lovey-dovey poems and look at poems that are grounded, more complex, and willing to tackle love in all its aspects.” This is a Pay-What-You-Can Event ($5 minimum), with ALL fees going to the Portland Chapter of For Goodness Cakes. Click here to register for Love is Strange.

workshop season!

Ready to kick-start a new year of poetry writing? Join Kelli Russell Agodon and Susan Rich for a one-day Zoom class: Generating New Work: A Resolution to Write, Saturday, January 28, 2023, 10:00am – 2:00pm. “You will leave the workshop with 5-8 new starts, but more importantly, you will leave with a toolbox of new ways to approach your own work.”

a lively evening of poetry in Anacortes

Pelican Bay Books is a wonderful bookstore in downtown Anacortes, Washington. Along with a huge inventory of used and rare books, wine, and coffee, the store hosts monthly poetry readings that bring out a warm and supportive audience of poets and poetry lovers. On Saturday, January 28, 2023, Pelican Bay will welcome poets Georgia Johnson, Roberto Ascalon, and Natalie Lahr. It should be good. Hope to see you there!

FisherPoets return!

The FisherPoets Gathering will return to Astoria, Oregon, live and in person, February 24-26, 2023. A celebration of the commercial fishing industry in poetry, prose and song, the FisherPoets Gathering features Friday and Saturday evening performances at a variety of venues around Astoria as well as workshops, story- and song-circles, open mics, and plenty of other fishy stuff, including a silent auction and cards, chapbooks, etc., at the FisherPoets Gathering Gearshack.