Oregon Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody

Oregon’s Poet Laureate, Elizabeth Woody, will present a poetry reading and discussion at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center on Saturday, April 21, at 7:00 PM. It is an honor to have her coming to Baker City in this last month of her term and to help us celebrate National Poetry Month in a big way. Elizabeth Woody was named to a two-year appointment as Oregon’s eighth Poet Laureate by Governor Kate Brown on April 26, 2016. An enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, of Yakama Nation decent, Woody has taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Portland State University. She has published three books of poetry: Hand into Stone (1988), Luminaries of the Humble (1994), and Seven Hands, Seven Hearts (1994). She also writes short fiction, essays, and is a visual artist. Her work is united by common themes: a rootedness in the Northwest landscape, the histories of her ancestors, and the ongoing struggle to define what it means to be a tribal member, an American and a woman at this point in time. Woody received the American Book Award in 1990 and the William Stafford Memorial Award for Poetry in 1995. She leads writing workshops and lectures and has served on multi-disciplinary art fellowship jury panels for several foundations and arts organizations nationally. 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 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. For more information about this free event, please contact Betty’s Books at 541-523-7551. Doors will open at 6:30 and refreshments will be served.