There is nothing like a poem to inspire, heal, and provoke. As Major Jackson says, “a poem advances our humanity in language.” Blue Raven Gallery Poetry Reading Series brings some of the most prominent and distinguished voices in poetry to the central Maine coast. The readings take place in Blue Raven Gallery’s one-of-a-kind space, where poets and audience members are surrounded by a curated collection of some of the country’s best painting, photography, sculpture, and contemporary art.
Readers: Garrett Hongo and Lauren K Watel
Poet, memoirist, and audio writer Garrett Hongo was born in Volcano, Hawai’i and grew up there and in Los Angeles. He earned his BA from Pomona College and his MFA from the University of California-Irvine, where he studied with the poets C.K. Williams, Howard Moss, and Charles Wright. His poetry collections are Yellow Light (1982), The River of Heaven (1988), which received the Lamont Poetry Prize and was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and Coral Road (2011). In non-fiction, he has published The Mirror Diary (2017) and Volcano: A Memoir of Hawaiʻi (1995), perhaps his best known work. His work has been recognized with fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a frequent contributor of audio articles to Soundstage! Ultra and lives in Eugene, where he is Distinguished Professor at the University of Oregon.
Lauren K. Watel's debut collection BOOK of POTIONS won the Kathryn A Morton Prize in Poetry from Sarabande Books. Her potions, poetry, fiction, essays and translations have appeared widely.
She earned an M.A. in English from Hollins College and a Ph.D. in Women's Studies from Emory University, mainly to avoid gainful employment.
A native of Dallas, TX, she lives in Decatur, GA.
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For questions or additional information, contact: Poetry@blueravengallery.com