Window on Rena Priest

There’s a nice article by Frances Badgett on Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest in the new issue of Window, the magazine of Western Washington University. Have a look at “Ending the Plague with Poetry.”

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thanks to Nancy Pagh for the lead

SpeakEasy 28: Homecoming with Rena Priest

The SpeakEasy poetry series is honored to feature Rena Priest, the new Washington State Poet Laureate, at SpeakEasy 28: Homecoming. Presented on Zoom on Saturday, April 24, 2021, at 7:00pm Pacific, the reading will also include Rena’s poet/mentors James Bertolino, Anita K. Boyle, Nancy Pagh, and Jeanne Yeasting. For a Zoom link, please send an email to othermindpress AT gmail.com.

Alumni-Faculty reading at WWU

You are invited to join WWU Creative Writing alumni Bailey Cunningham (BA, 2017), Katy Ellis (MA, 2002), Maya Jewell Zeller (BA, 2002) and Taneum Bambrick (BA, 2014) as they read poetry and prose alongside their most influential and inspiring Creative Writing faculty members, including Kami Westhoff, Carol Guess, Nancy Pagh, and Bruce Beasley, respectively.

The reading is free, open to the public, and part of Western Washington University’s Alumni Weekend. It will be held on campus at WWU, Friday, May 18, 2018, 4:30-6:00pm, in Viking Union 565.

Saturday in Bellingham!

SpeakEasy 21: Poets Talk Poetry is going to be an exceptional evening of insightful reflections and scintillating words from poets Bruce Beasley, Ramona Elke, Jory Mickelson, Kevin Murphy, Nancy Pagh, Dayna Patterson, and Rena Priest. Please join us on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at 7:00pm, in the Encore Room of the Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham, Washington. The event is free and the poets’ books will be for sale.

Come hear the SpeakEasy Seven

In our continuing effort to cover all bases for National Poetry Month, we offer this early notice of SpeakEasy 21: Poets Talk Poetry, to be held Saturday, April 21, 2018, 7:00pm, at the Mount Baker Theatre, Encore Room.

An occasional poetry series that emphasizes themed, audience-friendly presentations of quality poetry by Cascadia-region writers, this SpeakEasy program will present seven distinguished poets reflecting on their own work, their inspiration, and the importance of poetry in their lives. The poets are Bruce Beasley, Ramona Elke, Jory Mickelson, Kevin Murphy, Nancy Pagh, Dayna Patterson, and Rena Priest. You can see the poets’ bios on the Other Mind Press SpeakEasy page.

The event is free and Village Books will be on hand to offer the poets’ books for sale.

Saturday workshops!

Just a reminder that there will be two terrific workshops in Bellingham this Saturday, October 28, 2017, to benefit the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest — and you!

From 10:00am – Noon, Nancy Pagh will offer Corresponding Intimacy: The Letter Form in Creative Writing. From 1:00 – 3:00pm, Neil Aitken will present Writing at the Threshold of Loss and Desire.

Workshops will be held at the Chuckanut Center in Fairhaven Park, 103 Chuckanut Drive North. Registration is required: $30 for one workshop or $50 for both workshops offered the same day, paid by check or cash at the workshop. Register by sending an email to boyntonpoetrycontest@hotmail.com indicating the workshop(s) you wish to take and including your name and a phone number. Please bring writing materials.

See the complete descriptions on the Workshops page.

this evening in Bellingham!

Please join us this evening at the Mount Baker Theatre Encore Room where Poetry Postcards: a panel and conversation will be a lively exploration of the poetry and art of postcards. We have a terrific panel of poets, artists, educators, and avid fans of the postcard, including Tallie Jones, Nancy Pagh, Eugenia Hepworth Petty, Ina Roy, Joanna Thomas, and moderator Paul Nelson.

There will be lots of images, poems, and conversation about spontaneous poetics and how postcards fit into our text/social media/email/hashtag lifestyle, plus a couple of the panelists will offer prompts or exercises.

The event is also a book launch for 56 Days of August, the anthology of the 2016 August Poetry Postcard Fest.

ALSO, we are doing a free POSTCARD EXCHANGE. Bring unused postcards (commercial or homemade) and take a new card home for every one you bring.

The entire event is free (except for book sales, which are encouraged) and should be a lot of fun. Please join us and bring your art/poetry pals!

Workshops!

Be among the first to mark you calendar for a terrific series of four poetry workshops to benefit the Sue Boynton Poetry Contest. Each fall, a number of exceedingly skilled poet/instructors offer two-hour workshops that are certain to generate new ideas and new poems.

This year’s workshops will be held at a new location, the Chuckanut Center in Fairhaven Park, in Bellingham, and are scheduled for Saturday, October 28, and Saturday, November 18, 2017. The instructors are Nancy Pagh, Neil Aitken, J.R. Lara, and Ely Shipley. Descriptions for three of the four workshops are now posted on the WORKSHOPS page. Registration is open. Have a look. Sign up.

Today!

You are invited to join Washington Poet Laureate Tod Marshall and poets Luther Allen, Jim Bertolino, Michael Daley, J.I. Kleinberg, and Nancy Pagh as they present selections from Washington 129, today at 2:00pm at the Anacortes Public Library. Washington state Poetry Out Loud champ Addi Garner will also recite and read a poem.

As a bonus, today is the last official day of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, so allow some extra time for flower viewing.

Hear the Poetry Marathon

The Poetry Marathon challenges participants to write (and post) 24 poems in 24 hours (or 12 in 12 hours). Originated and organized by Caitlin Thomson Jans and Jacob Jans, writers and web publishers living in Cascadia, The Poetry Marathon is entirely free. In 2016, more than 500 poets worldwide participated in the full or half marathon.

SpeakEasy 18 will present a number of participating poets from the region reading selections from their marathon output. Readers include Jessica Ankeny, Ramona Elke, Janel Erchinger-Davis, Jacob Jans, J.I. Kleinberg, Nancy Pagh, Silvester Phua, Paul Sarvasy, Harvey Schwartz, Sheila Sondik, Caitlin Thomson, Jeanne Yeasting, and Tobe Zalinger.

Please join us for SpeakEasy 18 on Saturday, January 28, 2017, at 7:00pm, in the Encore Room at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington. The event is free and copies of the 2016 Poetry Marathon Anthology will be available for purchase.