HOOD RIVER — Oregon’s Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston, will lead two special events — a morning writing workshop and an evening poetry reading — at Hood River Library on Saturday, April 4. Both are free and open to the public.
Ellen Waterston was named to a two-year appointment as Oregon’s tenth poet laureate by Governor Tina Kotek on August 14, 2024. Waterston is a celebrated poet/writer, teacher and speaker who lives in Bend. Much of her award-winning poetry and prose is inspired by the remote reaches of southeastern Oregon’s Outback.
She has published four poetry titles: “I Am Madagascar, Between Desert Seasons,” “Vía Lactéa” and “Hotel Domilocos,” as well as three award-winning literary nonfiction titles: “Walking the High Desert,” “Where the Crooked River Rises,” and “Then There Was No Mountain.”
In addition to her work as an author, Waterston founded the for-profit Writing Ranch, offering retreats and workshops for established and emerging writers. She founded the Waterston Desert Writing Prize, annually recognizing a nonfiction book proposal that examines the role of deserts in the human narrative, now a program of The High Desert Museum. She has instructed creative writing at high school and undergraduate levels and authored the original feasibility study for OSU Cascades Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing, where she now teaches.
The poetry reading “There Was a Time When the Word for Tree Was Landholder” will be from 5:00 PM-6:00 PM. Join Waterson in contemplating and celebrating all things words — their origins, power, color, meaning, and musicality; their evolution and life span.
The poetry workshop “Rewilding Words” will be from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM. Spaces are limited. Register at: https://bit.ly/47nnPdC
For more information about these free events, please contact Renee at 541-387-7071 or renee@hoodriverlibrary.org
The Poet Laureate program is a collaborative project of the state’s five statewide cultural partners, Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Humanities, and the State Historic Preservation Office. The program is funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and managed by Oregon Humanities. More information and program history can be found at http://www.oregonpoetlaureate.org.
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