April WordFest offers an evening with local poets and their poetry on Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.
Clark County poet laureate Susan Dingle heads the line-up of voices. With master’s degrees in both creative writing and social work, Susan believes poetry empowers people of all ages, races, genders, and conditions of life. She is the author of two chapbooks, Parting Gifts and In Pilgrim Drag. She is currently studying poetry in the MFA program at Pacific University. In her role as poet laureate, Susan creates workshops and projects that encourage people to find their own voices.
Beloved LCC teacher and poet Joseph Green returns to WordFest to read from his life works. Joe taught creative writing and poetry at Lower Columbia College for twenty-five years. His poetry collections include That Thread Still Connecting Us and What Water Does at a Time Like This. Joe is also an organizer of the annual Raymond Carver Festival in Clatskanie.
Sally Jones has been in love with words and images since she was eleven when she realized how words and images can generate, express and satisfy emotions. During her 40-year career in 9-1-1 communications, she found writing poetry and taking photographs to be forms of personal therapy. She is now working on a book of stories about her 9-1-1 experiences. Sally is a long-time participant of WordFest and local writing groups.
Carey Taylor is the author of Some Aid to Navigation and The Lure of Impermanence. She has a master’s degree in School Counseling from Pacific Lutheran University. A Portland resident, Carey has lived her entire life in the Pacific Northwest, including the rare experience of living at three lighthouse stations. She is the winner of the 2022 Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and has been published both nationally and internationally. More information is available at https://careyleetaylor.com
Emily Ransdell is the author of One Finch Singing, winner of the 2022 Lewis Award from Concrete Wolf Press. She has been published in numerous journals including Poetry Northwest, Terrain, Rattle, and New Letters. Emily divides her time between Camas, Washington, and Manzanita, Oregon, where she teaches poetry and creativity workshops at the Hoffman Center for the Arts. You can read more about Emily at www.emilyransdell.com
Jo Zichterman has lived in Longview for 4 years and is a new face to WordFest. They are a political, educational, and technical writer who is passionate about finding the best ways to communicate complex ideas and information. Their primary expression of art is through music as a singer and as a creator. Poetry allows them to focus on the performative elements of communication, including the power of pitch, volume, and melody. Jo will be sharing a poem and a song that convey “an ideal for moral & wise leaders in positions of authority.”
An open mic will follow the presentations.
The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, in the fellowship hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The events are free and open to the public.