(Elizabeth Woody, Jarold Ramsey, and Kim Stafford | Photos courtesy of COCC)
Kim Stafford, Oregon’s poet laureate and the director of Lewis & Clark College’s Northwest Writing Institute, is bringing his poetry to Central Oregon, together with Elizabeth Woody, past poet laureate of Oregon, and Madras poet Jarold Ramsey, as part of Central Oregon Community College’s (COCC) focus on National Poetry Month, at the college’s Madras campus from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10.
The evening of readings and refreshments, free and open to the public, is the marquee event of COCC’s month-long tribute to poetry. Stafford will offer an encore reading at the COCC Redmond campus from 1-2:15pm the following day. For a complete listing of events, visit cocc.edu/library.
“We are calling our presentation Honoring Family and Place because so often when I write a poem it is about my local experience — in a family, and in a place,” said Stafford, who was named poet laureate of the state by Governor Kate Brown in 2018. “I remember family camping trips to Cove Palisades Park, to Warm Springs, to Fort Rock, to the Metolius River, and in each place, as a family, we experienced the magic of a special place. Poetry comes from those encounters.”
Organized by the staff of COCC’s Barber Library, the lineup of National Poetry Month events is held throughout the month of April and includes an Open Mic Poetry Jam (April 18), poetry workshops (April 9, 16 and 30; at the Bend, Prineville and Redmond campuses, respectively) and an “edible book” cake-and-reading finale (April 25).
Information with Cat Finney, cfinney@cocc.edu • 541-383-7559In advance of college events, persons needing accommodation or transportation because of a physical or mobility disability, contact Joe Viola: 541-383-7775. For accommodation due to other disability, such as hearing impairment, contact the Office of Disability Services: 541-383-7743.