Thank you to Joann Boswell for allowing me to create a broadside of her poem “Cement-Crack Sunflower,” which she presented at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic on October 12, 2023. To learn more about Joann’s poetry and photography, or to order her books, visit https://joannrenee.com/.
Many thanks to everyone who attended the open mic at The Howard House on July 30 sponsored by The Historic Trust and hosted by Printed Matter Vancouver co-founders Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna. The open mic included dynamic readings by Lucas Gubala, Drew Morse, Papasquatch, Denise Campbell, Christopher Diaz, and two of Joann’s children. We were also joined by members of the Southwest Washington Watercolor Society, who worked on their paintings while listening. Christopher and Toni would like to thank Mindy Wilkins and Temple Lentz of The Historic Trust for inviting us to participate in this fun, family-friendly afternoon of poetry in the sun.
Photos by Christopher Luna and Madilynn Klein.
Open Mic Poetry Reading
Featuring Clark County Authors Joann Renee Boswell and DC Klein
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna
1-3pm
July 30, 2023
General O.O. Howard House
750 Anderson St
Vancouver, WA 98661
The Historic Trust and Printed Matter Vancouver co-founders Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna present an afternoon of family-friendly open mic poetry on the patio at The Howard House in Vancouver, WA. Everyone in the community is invited to share a poem or just listen. We are also proud to present featured readings by two Clark County poets, Joann Renee Boswell and D.C. Klein. Bring a picnic, blanket, or folding chair.
Joann Renee Boswell is a poet, photographer, teacher, director, mystic, mother who lives in Camas, WA with her husband (a Quaker minister) and her three young children. Joann’s first book, Cosmic Pockets (Fernwood Press, 2020), is a full-length collection of poetry and photography. Her chapbook, breath so hungry (The Poetry Box, 2022), is a love letter. Her second full-length collection is a coloring poetry book in collaboration with two illustrators called Meta-Verse! (Fernwood Press, 2023). Joann has been a poetry editor for Untold Volumes and VoiceCatcher. She has been published in CIRQUE, otoliths, VoiceCatcher, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, Not a Pipe Publishing, and Soul Forte. You can read more at joannrenee.com.
DC Klein is a poet looking out a window. He has been published in Residual Believers and Body Fluids, among others. His first chapbook Half a Martyr, was self-published in 2021.
Printed Matter Vancouver is a small press focused on Southwest Washington poets founded by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna in 2011. To learn more about their publications, Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, workshops, editing, or coaching, visit printedmattervancouver.com.
Our thanks to Joann Renee Boswell for her warm, thought-provoking, witty set earlier this month at Art At The Cave. According to Joann, “I had so much fun, felt so celebrated, loved the whole energy in the room. It was magic.” She even handed out colored pencils and coloring sheets featuring illustrations by Jay Williams and Joey Hartmann-Dow from Joann’s new book Meta-Verse, now available from Fernwood Press:
Here is the blurb I wrote for Joann: In her latest collection, Joann Renee Boswell invites us to leap with her into the “multidimensional wormhole” of the metaverse, a choose-your-own-adventure coloring book version of this life in which “we are / magnificent. / complex.” A fearless, capable guide, Boswell believes in our ability to stay with her as she careens from parenting to self-love to quantum physics, from the injustices of racism, sexism, fascism, and religious hypocrisy to the liberatory mysticism of art and magic. We are even encouraged to draw on the pages without illustrations, for “there’s always space for more creative chaos.” Prepare yourself for a fun, engaging, and transformative dive into this poet’s multitudinous and ever-expanding consciousness. You’ll be glad you played along. Christopher Luna, Clark County Poet Laureate (2013-2017), author of Voracity
Featuring Joanne Renee Boswell
Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Featuring Joanne Renee Boswell
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige
7 pm
Thursday, May 11
Art at the Cave
108 E Evergreen Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98660
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST, PRO-CHOICE,
ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004
$5 Suggested donation
Donations can be made in person or through Christopher Luna’s PayPal account (christopherjluna@gmail.com). Include a memo stating that the money is for Ghost Town Poetry. The suggested donation is five dollars.
Joann Renee Boswell is a poet, photographer, teacher, director, mystic, mother who lives in Camas, WA with her husband (a Quaker minister) and her three young children. You can call her Jo, Jojo, Jomama, or Smookles Renee. Joann’s first book, Cosmic Pockets (Fernwood Press, 2020), is a full-length collection of poetry and photography. Her chapbook, breath so hungry, is a love letter. Her second full-length collection is a coloring poetry book in collaboration with two illustrators, called Meta-Verse, out any day. Joann loves rainy days filled with coffee, contradictions, dystopian fiction, justice, handholding, forest bathing, hope, and sci-fi shows. She was her high school mascot and spent a summer working at a lumber mill. Her super power might be whimsy. Joann has been a poetry editor for Untold Volumes and VoiceCatcher. She has been published in places such as CIRQUE, otoliths, VoiceCatcher, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, Not a Pipe Publishing, and Soul Forte. You can read more at joannrenee.com
The Ghost Town Poetry community respectfully encourages you to support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020. Stop by their new location at 900 Washington, Suite 130 Vancouver, WA 98660: https://nichewinebar.com.
UPDATED Statement on Healthy Spaces from Art at the Cave: We want to provide a healthy space to enjoy art. We have been practicing safety precautions such as regular cleaning, social distancing and mask wearing. As a result of the removal of the mask mandate effective March 12, 2022, we will no longer require the wearing of masks. We encourage you to continue to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable, and we will supply masks and hand sanitizer at the door. As social distancing has become a norm, please be mindful some will still need a bit of personal space while inside the gallery.
PRINTED MATTER VANCOUVER 