new poet laureate for Spokane
October 9, 2019
Spokane Arts has announced that Chris Cook will assume the title of Spokane Poet Laureate in November, when Mark Anderson completes his two-year term. Read more in The Spokesman-Review and learn more about Chris Cook and listen to some poems on Pictures of Poets.
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photo by Dean Davis
Olympia two-fer
September 11, 2019
The Olympia Poetry Network (OPN) invites your participation in a weekend of laureate poetry, LaureateFest.
On Saturday, September 21, 2019, 1:00-3:00pm, there will be a panel discussion with Washington State Poets Laureate Samuel Green, Kathleen Flenniken, Elizabeth Austen, Tod Marshall, and Claudia Castro Luna. That evening, beginning at 7:00pm, there will be a LaureateFest reading. Both events are free and will be held at Norman Worthington Conference Center, Saint Martin’s University.
On Sunday, September 22, Elizabeth Austen will conduct a workshop, “The Title as Frame and Invitation,” 11:00am-1:00pm, at Heart Of The Deernicorn studio in downtown Olympia. Workshop is limited to 20 participants and registration is required.
a hard act to follow
August 2, 2019
Yes, the current and previous poets laureate of Washington State have set a high bar, but you could bring your own passion, voice, and creativity to the job.
The deadline for State Poet Laureate applications has been extended to Monday, August 5, 2019. Hurry!
Washington needs you
June 20, 2019
Do you have an abundance of energy, creativity, time, patience, and poetry smarts? If so, you could be the next Washington State Poet Laureate.
Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) are accepting applications for Washington State’s next poet laureate. The poet laureate serves to build awareness and appreciation of poetry, including Washington’s legacy of poetry, through public readings, workshops, and presentations in communities throughout the state. The new laureate will serve from January 16, 2020, to January 15, 2022.
The deadline to apply is July 26, 2019.
View application guidelines here.
Pictured, from left, recent Washington Poets Laureate Tod Marshall, Claudia Castro Luna, Elizabeth Austen, Kathleen Flenniken. (Not shown: Samuel Green)
23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry
June 19, 2019
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden today, June 19, 2019, announced the appointment of Joy Harjo as the nation’s Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2019-2020. Harjo is the first Native American poet to serve in the position — she is an enrolled member of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Joy Harjo will take up her position in the fall and succeeds Tracy K. Smith, who served two terms as laureate.
Read the full story on the Library of Congress website, and view a recent Q & A with the poet here.
meet Tacoma’s new poet laureate
June 7, 2019
The Tacoma Arts Commission has announced the selection of Abby E. Murray as Tacoma’s 2019-2021 Poet Laureate. Taking over from Kellie Richardson, Murray will “participate in and host public poetry readings, workshops and other community events to advance the literary arts in Tacoma.”
You can hear and meet Abby Murray when the Puget Sound Poetry Connection Distinguished Writer Series features her reading from her forthcoming book, Hail & Farewell (winner of the 2019 Perugia Press Prize), on Friday, June 14, 2019, at 7:00pm, at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Tacoma. An open mic will follow her reading.
a new poetry map
April 16, 2019
When she was Seattle Civic Poet, Claudia Castro Luna spearheaded a poetry mapping project called the Seattle Poetry Grid. Now that she is Washington State Poet Laureate, Castro Luna has expanded the project to highlight site-specific poems for the entire state.
Washington Poetic Routes is a digital poetry-mapping project that explores Washington’s rich geographical terrain, both in terms of landscape and in terms of the human relationships that unfold across the State.
Visit the map, click the dots to read the poems, and submit your own!
