"The flavor that makes us one we must feed to one another with songs,
kind words, and human glances across the silent square."
                                                                               - Kim Stafford

The public is invited to help welcome newly appointed Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford and thank outgoing Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody at the Oregon Poets Laureate Celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17, at the Rockwood Boys & Girls Club in East Portland (454 SE 165^th Ave). The reception will celebrate Oregon’s Poet Laureate program, which is funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and administered by Oregon Humanities. The event is free but registration is required.

The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon. The Poet Laureate provides at least six and up to 20 public readings per year in settings across the state to educate community, business and state leaders about the value and importance of poetry and creative expression.  

Stafford began a two-year term as Poet Laureate in May, succeeding Woody, who had served as Poet Laureate since April 2016. Both are committed to connecting communities through poetry. Each will read from their personal collections at the event and invite youth from the center to share their original works of spoken word. Students from Oregon’s Poetry Out Loud program also may be featured.

“There are many ways to serve this state and among them is clarity of language and passion of purpose, which may travel from one soul to another through poetry,” said Governor Kate Brown, who appoints the Poet Laureate. “Kim Stafford is one of our state’s most generous literary teachers and I am proud to appoint him as our next Poet Laureate.”

Stafford was born and grew up in Oregon. He is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose, and edited half a dozen others. His  book, “Having Everything Right: Essays of Place,” won a citation for excellence from the Western States Book Awards in 1986. Stafford has received creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Governor’s Arts Award, and the Steward Holbrook Award from Literary Arts for his contributions to Oregon’s literary culture. His work also has been featured on National Public Radio.

“Elizabeth Woody's words bring to life the landscapes, creatures and people who make Oregon special," Governor Brown added. "As Poet Laureate, the energy of her vivid storytelling helped us understand who we are as a larger community."

Woody was born on the Navajo Nation reservation in Ganado, Arizona, but has made her home in Oregon for most of her life. An enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, she has published poetry, short fiction  and essays, and also is a visual artist. “Hand Into Stone,” her first book of poetry, received a 1990 American Book Award. In 1994 she published “Luminaries of the Humble (University of Arizona Press)” and “Seven Hands, Seven Hearts (The Eighth Mountain Press).”

Past Oregon Poets Laureate were Edwin Charles Markham (1921–1940), Ben Hur Lampman (1951–1954), Ethel Romig Fuller (1957–1965), William Stafford (1974–1989), Lawson Inada (2006–2010),  Paulann Petersen (2010-2014) and Peter Sears (2014-2016).

To learn more about the Oregon Poet Laureate program, or to schedule an event with Kim Stafford, visit the Poet Laureate website.

The Cultural Trust extends its gratitude to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro and the City of Gresham for their generous support of this event.

Top photo: Friends Elizabeth Woody and Kim Stafford, 1991. Photo by William Stafford.

Poetry wall: Even after all this time the Sun never says to the Earth "You owe me." Look what happens with a love like that -- it lights the whole world - Hafiz.  Art and photo by Cassie MacDonald.

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