Tag: Niche Wine Bar

Celebrate 15 Years of Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic with Rod “Kenny” Nelson and your hosts Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna at Angst Gallery on November 14, 2019

October 18, 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Flyer November 14 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna​ and Toni Lumbrazo Luna​ of Printed Matter Vancouver​
Featuring Rod Nelson​

7 pm
Thursday, November 14
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
$5 Suggested donation

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar,
1013 Main Street

Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/

LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Rod Nelson

Rod Nelson is a spoken word poet in Central Washington. Rod Nelson’s work focuses on modern day social issues and addresses the divide between rural and urban America. He was born in Kansas but grew up in Selah, a small town in Central Washington. After completing his education in Seattle, he returned to the Yakima Valley and has lived and worked here since 1979. He was the first- place finisher in the YVCC Black Box Poetry Slam in 2017, and finished second in that contest in 2016 and 2018. He was the first- place finisher in the Litfuse Poetry Slam in 2018 and 2019, and finished second in that contest in 2017. He was a presenting poet at the Ellensburg Poetry Prowl in 2018. His poem “ A Note From Mallory’s Progeny” was one of the winners in the Yakima Coffee House Poet’s Poetry Contest in 2017 and was published in its chapbook that year.

A Failing Grade in Right and Wrong 101

Fifty-eight dead in Vegas
the Dow gains a hundred -fifty
bump-stock sales soar
Senators send thoughts and prayers.

Fifty-eight glass-eyed corpses,
on blood-soaked pavement.
the Hobbesian contract broken again
interview the girlfriend
talk with the brother
autopsy the brain
dissect for answers
but no lobe of morality
no Center for Right and Wrong
just indifferent gray matter
upon indifferent gray matter.

500 years after the birth of the church of reason
evil fairies gone from the town well
demons removed from the plague
but where is our heart?

Our ministers recite Psalms:
Lean not on your own understanding,
but trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Ancient rules,
conceived in mysticism,
chipped in stone,
gave the world faggots for the bonfires of medieval Christendom.
An eye for an eye,
a lie for a lie,
and soon the whole world was ignorant.

Seventeen dead in Parkland
Ten dead in Santa Fe
the sabbath brings eleven dead in Pittsburg.
Our leaders serve lukewarm soup to the survivors,
mirroring our lack of empathy.
And when you stare into the abyss,
the abyss stares back.

But, hey, the bulls are running hard down on Wall Street.
Adam Smith rolls in his grave,
Kant’s categorical imperative rolls its eyes at charitable deductions,
and Jesus asks, where is the love brother?

In an affluent society,
goodness only comes baked in a Sarah Lee Pound cake.
Perhaps Vonnegut was right,
it’s all about moiling for more money,
lusting for better copulation.
Reason,
harnessed by the Id,
to gang-rape the Ego,
outfox the Superego.
Mill’s Utilitarianism blushes.

Gin and tonic golfing
and Wimbledon watching
on the working man’s dime.
College admission bribing
Watergate
deflate-gate
blood-doping
pussy grabbing
gas lighting cover-ups,
cram the victims face in the vomit of her own sorrow,
drag the spouse on Oprah’s stage,
blinking in the glare of the apologetic melodrama.

Born-again sinners!
Just like the johnnies-come-late -to -Jesus
in the God squad pod at the County jail.

Lost in the wilderness,
where is our compass?

Another head -chopping video on the ‘net,
our politicians promise revenge.
An eye for an eye,
and soon the whole world is blind.
In heaven, Jesus and his faithful scribe Mathew shake their heads,
the Dalai Lama grimaces,
and Gandhi’s ghost cries in the night.

500 years after the birth of the church of reason,
the boy who paints rainbows,
the girl who tends her own garden,
still live with the stink of burning flesh.

Our nation,
blessed
with Mr. Smith’s prophesized wealth
but this pearl
as cold and hard as a bullet.
Where has our heart gone?

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Jonathan Oak at Angst Gallery on October 10, 2019

September 15, 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic flyer October 10 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Featuring Jonathan Oak

7 pm
Thursday, October 10
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7

$5 Suggested donation (for featured poet)

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Jonathan Oak is the author of two poetry books, Sutly fucked ↑ and Things I Forgot To Say, as well as the upcoming novel Jerry. He has lived and performed in Portland for the last six years. He was part of the VAMP reading series in San Diego and a fixture in the Phoenix poetry and music scene. He was on three Slam Nationals teams, hosted a poetry radio show, worked underground theater in San Francisco, and ran writing workshops for 15 years.

Christopher Luna’s Fall 2019 Creative Writing Workshops [UPDATED 8/24/19]

August 20, 2019

Christopher Luna will lead a series of classes and workshops this Fall. Most of these occur year-round. The best way to stay up-to-date on his activities is to sign up to receive The Work, a monthly newsletter for poets in Portland and Southwest Washington: printedmattervancouver@gmail.com

christopher by alisha jucevic
Christopher Luna in his office/studio, photographed by Alisha Jucevic for the Columbian

Christopher Luna served as the first Poet Laureate of Clark County, WA from 2013-2017. His first full-length collection of poetry, Message from the Vessel in a Dream, was published by Flowstone Press in 2018. Luna has an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and is the co-founder, with Toni Lumbrazo Luna, of Printed Matter Vancouver, a small press for Northwest writers which also provides writing coaching, editing, and manuscript review. He has hosted the popular Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic in Vancouver, WA since 2004. Luna’s books include Brutal Glints of Moonlight, GHOST TOWN, USA and The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978.

According to Rae Latham, a writer in Christopher’s Monday morning poetry writing class at Multnomah Arts Center, “Christopher is the poetry alchemist who helps us discover gold.”

POETRY WRITING

Poetry Writing at Multnomah Arts Center

MAC_logo_withTransparency

Poetry as a means of expression, exploration, and experience is available to everyone. Write poetry in response to prompts and read a variety of published poems that you can use as inspiration. Read and respond to one another’s work in this supportive setting, paying close attention to revision.

Mondays from 10am – 12:30pm: This class is full. 

https://apm.activecommunities.com/portlandparks/Activity_Search/lit-arts-poetry-writing/116363

September 30 to December 2

Except:
Monday, November 11

OR

Mondays from 1:00 – 3:30 pm: Seats still available as of 8/24/19.

https://apm.activecommunities.com/portlandparks/Activity_Search/lit-arts-poetry-writing/116364

September 30 to December 2

Except:
Mon, November 11

MEMOIR WRITING

Clark College
1933 Fort Vancouver Way
Vancouver, WA 98663
Anna Pechanec Hall
Room 114

Memoir Writing at Clark College, Tuesdays from 1:00 – 3:20 pm September 24 – November 26: Everyone has a story to tell. Each person’s life is filled with adventure, mystery, trouble, and triumph. Memoir is a powerful way to demonstrate the interconnectedness of all human beings. See yourself as a part of history, documenting the story of your life.

For more information or to register, visit:

https://ecd.clark.edu/classes/class.php?SKU=9613

WRITING YOUR LIFE STORY

Oct 3 – Nov 21

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

Christopher is also offering an eight-week workshop/writers group called Writing Your Life Story at Angst Gallery on Thursdays from 10:30am – 1:00pm, October 3 through November 21.

Document your memories for your family or for possible future publication. Complete short timed writings as well as weekly take-home assignments. Give and receive feedback in a safe, informal environment. Christopher will introduce the participants to the techniques of creative nonfiction storytelling which uses the content of one’s life as the foundation for narrative. He will introduce current examples in popular nonfiction and memoir to assist the process. Participants will be encouraged to share their writing in a safe environment (no one will be required to share their stories) with the option of receiving feedback from the facilitator and other students. We will work to achieve the following goals:

1) learn the key elements of successful storytelling in written form,
2) create a living document for yourself, your family, or others,
3) delve into or build upon your written skills.

Bring your ideas, notes, paper, and pen/pencil (no books required).

Open to all skill levels. The class will be limited to ten (10) participants.

Cost: $225 (cash, check, card)

REGISTER AT ANGST on Wednesdays from noon til four OR email printedmattervancouver@gmail.com to set up a time to register.

THE WORK

The Work 2017 Make Poetry Your Life

Christopher also facilitates a poetry writing workshop known as The Work, from 11:30-2:00 on the second Saturday of the month (unless otherwise noted) at Niche Wine Bar (1013 Main Street, next door to Angst Gallery and the Kiggins Theatre). Doors open at 11:15 so that you can purchase coffee, tea, and other non-alcoholic beverages from Niche and grab a snack. The workshop begins at 11:30.

“Well, while I’m here I’ll do the work — and what’s the work?
To ease the pain of living. Everything else, drunken dumbshow.”
― Allen Ginsberg, “Memory Gardens” (Fall of America, City Lights)

The Work is a drop-in poetry writing workshop for beginners as well as more experienced writers. Poetry encourages empathy and compassion, and sparks the shifts in consciousness which lead to healing, personal growth, and an interest in fighting for progressive social change.

We will read and discuss poetry, and write several new poems together. Each workshop will feature at least three timed writing exercises.

$20 suggested donation; no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Bring a poem to share as a way of saying hello.

Shareable snacks are also welcome and very much appreciated.

Upcoming 2019 Saturday afternoon workshops will take place on October 12, November 16, and December 14.

There is also a Monday evening version of the workshop that takes place on the second and fourth Monday of the month (unless otherwise noted) at Angst Gallery (1015 Main Street).

Upcoming 2019 Monday evening workshops will take place on October 28, November 25, and December 9.

If you are looking for writing coaching, editing/manuscript review, or information about poetry and memoir classes, send Christopher an email via printedmattervancouver@gmail.com.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Joannie Stangeland at Angst Gallery on September 12, 2019

August 11, 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic flyer September 12 2019 edit

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Featuring Joannie Stangeland

7 pm
Thursday, August 8
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
$5 Suggested donation

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Stangeland_ROlsonPhoto
Photo of Joannie Stangeland by Roseanne Olson

Joannie Stangeland is the author of The Scene You See, In Both Hands, and Into the Rumored Spring. She received the 2019 Crosswinds Poetry Journal grand prize, and her poems have also appeared in Boulevard, Prairie Schooner, The Southern Review, and other journals.

Self-Portrait with an Aubade
By Joannie Stangeland

The light must be sheer—Vermeer’s camera obscura
draws early sun, gauze filtered
through green. Leaving shadows’ blue pools,
night’s voices vanish.

Water jug, leaded glass, and ultramarine,
morning streams a sacrament—thin blessing
melts before you swallow. Tension subtle,
serene across the canvas.

Look to the window when day brushes your face,
clean strokes—the care, translucent.
Step into this skin like an artist, a flautist,
a muse. A yellow cup.

Place your eye in the middle.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Central Washington Poet Eugenia Hepworth Petty with special guests Xavier Cavazos & Connor Simons at Angst Gallery on August 8, 2019

July 12, 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic flyer August 8 2019 edit

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Eugenia Hepworth Petty with special guests Xavier Cavazos & Connor Simons

7 pm
Thursday, August 8
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
FREE

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Eugenia

Eugenia Hepworth Petty writes, shoots film, and covers things with wax and resin. In the past she had an obsession with cassette tape recorders. She prefers buses over planes. In the mid 1990s she lived in Ukraine and began using her camera more than her tape recorder, and later began making postcards, which she continues today. Most recently she co-founded and co-edits the online journal Squatters’ Press, which is dedicated to the myriad causes and consequences of the migration of sentient beings upon this earth. Eugenia’s most recent publication is the chapbook Instructions or the Apocalypse (Dancing Girl Press, 2016).

Cavazos edit

Xavier Cavazos is the author of Diamond Grove Slave Tree (2015), the inaugural Prairie Seed Poetry Prize from Ice Cube Press, and Barbarian at the Gate (2014), which was published in the Poetry Society of America’s New American Poets Chapbook Series. Cavazos earned an MFA in Creative Writing and the Environment from Iowa State University. His poetry appears in anthologies such as Aloud: Voices from the NuYoRican Poets Café (1994), Under the Pomegranate Tree: Best Latino Erotica (1994), Verses That Hurt: Pleasure and Pain from the POEMFONE Poets (1996), and Best American Experimental Writing 2015. Cavazos’s honors include a Nuyorican Poets Café “Fresh Poet Award” (1993), Grand Slam Champion of the Nuyorican Poet’s Café (1995), and a Poetry Society of America National Chapbook Fellowship (2013). He currently teaches in the Africana and Black Studies and the Professional and Creative Writing Programs at Central Washington University.

Connor

Connor L Simons is a poet and translator based in Minneapolis. He is currently a candidate for an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Minnesota, where he also works as the poetry editor for the Great River Review. His work has recently appeared in the Apricity Press, Indianapolis Review, Adelaide Literary Journal, and is forthcoming in the Colorado Review and La Revista Union.

Niche 9th Anniversary Poetry Contest (Deadline August 15)

June 21, 2019

Niche 9th Anniversary Poetry Contest (Deadline August 15, 2019)

Niche logo

Niche Wine Bar and Printed Matter Vancouver are seeking short poems on the theme of “community” to commemorate the ninth anniversary of Niche Wine Bar. What does community mean to you? What does community look like? How does one strengthen community?

The winning poem will be printed on wine glasses to be distributed to all those who attend the Niche Anniversary Party at the Kiggins Theatre on October 14, 2019. The second place winner will have their poem printed on t-shirts. The third place winner will have their poem printed on beverage napkins. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will gain entrance to the 9th Anniversary Party on October 14 and have their poem displayed on the screen in the Kiggins Theatre during the slide show.

October 14 is Indigenous Peoples Day. Each year’s anniversary party features short films from a particular country. This year’s films were produced in New Zealand.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS (Deadline August 15)

Address this question using poetry: What does community mean to you?

Submission Guidelines:

Deadline: Poems will be accepted by email only (printedmattervancouver@gmail.com) until 11:59pm on August 15, 2019.

Fee: $5.00 for up to three poems.

You may submit no more than three (3) poems on the theme of community for a submission fee of five dollars. Poems should be no longer than FIVE (5) lines. Each piece may be a complete poem or an excerpt from a longer poem. If the poem is an excerpt, please indicate this and give the poem title. Previously published poems may be accepted subject to the discretion of the editors. However, please indicate the publication name, date, poem title, and publication rights in the body of the submission email.

Mail or hand deliver a check for five dollars written to Angst Gallery, 1015 Main Street Vancouver, WA 98660. Only those poets who have paid the fee in full by August 15 will be considered for the contest.

If your poem is accepted for use in this project, the editors may have suggestions for edits or format changes to prepare the work for display. Whenever possible the editors will work with the author to review suggested changes. Authors will have the final decision on the edits. The editors are unable to guarantee publication of your work if they feel the edits are necessary and the author disapproves of the changes.

Authors agree to public use of their poem and photo. Niche will retain first rights to use and display the poems. From there, rights revert back to the author. Authors agree to have their work and photo appear online or in other publicity/promotions by Niche Wine Bar.

Contest Judges: Angst Gallery Director Leah Jackson and Printed Matter Vancouver co-founders Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna

Poem Format (please pay close attention to these directions):

Format your poem(s) in Times New Roman, 12 point font/one inch margins in one document.

Include your name, address, best phone contact, and email at the top left of the page.

Include the poem’s title in bold with one blank line between the title and the body of the poem.

Poems should be single-spaced with one blank line between stanzas.

Poems may not exceed five (5) lines and must be your original work.

These five (5) lines may be excerpted from a longer poem, if indicated as such.

Poems must be saved as a Microsoft Word document with this extension: your last name+Niche Poetry. Example: Rhodes+Niche Poetry

How to Submit:

Type Niche Poetry Contest 2019 into the subject line of the email.

Include in the body of the email:

The title(s) of your poem(s).

Contact information: name, address, email, and best phone contact number.

For previously published poems, indicate the publication name, date, poem title, and whether you own the publication rights.

Include your poem(s) as a separate attachment in Microsoft word.

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO PRINTEDMATTERVANCOUVER@GMAIL.COM UNTIL 11:59PM PST ON AUGUST 15, 2019.

Note: You will receive confirmation that we have received your submission(s).

Printed Matter Vancouver Presents Driven By Hope, the third book of poetry by Toni Lumbrazo Luna/ Book Launch Celebration at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic July 11, 2019

June 14, 2019

Printed Matter Vancouver presents A Book Launch Celebration for Driven By Hope
The third book of poetry by  Toni Lumbrazo Luna

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic flyer July 11 2019 cropped

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Featuring Toni Lumbrazo Luna

7 pm
Thursday, July 11
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
FREE

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Cover-Driven By Hope 2019-05-30-promo

Driven By Hope is Toni Lumbrazo Luna’s third book of poetry. It contains glimpses into the lives of people she has met throughout her career as a Social Worker and Life/Career Coach. These poems are based on real life and Toni takes them to new places inside her imagination. Perhaps you will see yourself through her eyes.

BW Toni Lumbrazo Luna by Maria Vara
Toni Lumbrazo Luna by Maria Vara

Toni Lumbrazo Luna (formerly Partington) is a poet, editor, publisher, visual artist, and writing coach living in Vancouver, Washington. She holds a B.A. in Social Work and a M.A. in Humanities and Literary Editing. She’s had a long career in social work, college teaching and administration, grant writing, life and career coaching, and nonprofit consulting.

She is the author of three books of poetry: Jesus is a Gas, Wind Wing, and her most recent, Driven By Hope, released in June 2019. Her poetry has been published in VoiceCatcher (editions 3 and 4), OutwardLink, Poeming Pigeon, Perceptions and more. She was Co-Editor for the final print edition of VoiceCatcher 6. Toni is currently working on her memoir, titled Life in View of the Crazy House.

Toni Lumbrazo Luna by Christopher Luna
Toni Lumbrazo Luna by Christopher Luna

Toni is co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver, an editing service and small press imprint that publishes the poetry of Pacific Northwest writers. Toni works with poets and writers on their manuscripts, individual poems, essays, and prose. She has also developed business plans, marketing materials, grant proposals, and government reports. She co-hosts the Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic, established in 2004 by Christopher Luna.

Toni has been creating visual art since 1980 and in the last seven years has enjoyed the challenge of collage using found materials. She uses both 2D and 3D formats, experimenting with salvaged metals, plastics and anything that is the slightest bit unusual.

Most recently she was nominated to serve on the Clark County Arts Commission representing the business community. Originally from central New York, she’s made the Pacific Northwest her home for thirty years. Toni has been writing poetry since she was ten years old and is still in love with it!

Toni can be reached at printedmattervancouver@gmail.com

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Emmett Wheatfall at Angst Gallery June 13, 2019

May 12, 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Flyer June 13 2019

 

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Featuring Emmett Wheatfall

7 pm
Thursday, June 13
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
FREE

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Emmett cropped

Emmett Wheatfall is a published poet, playwright and recording artist. Emmett is the author of six books of poetry and a play titled Under the Red Robin, and has released five poetry CDs. In May 2018 Fernwood Press (an imprint of Barclay Press) published Emmett’s sixth poetry collection entitled As Clean as a Bone. For more information, visit http://emmettwheatfall.com

as clean as a bone cover

Boxed-In

I saw a man with no teeth,
he smiled at me.

I bumped into a woman who had no feet,
she crawled to me.

I hugged a child with no arms; we
laughed until I cried.

A blind man called to me. Why
couldn’t I see where he was coming from?

A homeless man cursed at me,
afterward, he and I shared his beer.

A street-walker propositioned me, I
replied, thank you, but no thank you,

then named that street after her.

Some people are boxed-in. Life is like that
for some.

Life is like that.

Emmett Wheatfall, 2018

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring John Burgess at Angst Gallery on May 9, 2019

April 14, 2019

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Flyer May 9 2019 cropped

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Featuring John Burgess

7 pm
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
FREE

Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com

Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

JB_60

John Burgess grew up in upstate New York, worked on a survey crew in Montana, taught English in Japan, and since 1985 has lived in Seattle, where he works for an insurance company. Past glories include: 2006 Jack Straw writer; co-founder of the original Burning Word Festival; 2008 Words’ Worth curator for the Seattle City Council; and past Board president at Hugo House, Seattle’s creative writing center. He’s a co-instigator with the Band of Poets. He has five books of poetry, some with maps and drawings, from Ravenna Press: Punk Poems (2005), A History of Guns in the Family (2008), Graffito (2011), “by Land…” (2015), and 1977 (2018).

1977 Cover

From 1977:

SPLEEN

I sing in praise of destitute dogs,
for days of melancholy rut
snouts bowed subservient
dissonance from the gut—

of strays, bile and vile
ion charged connected
for scent of beaten,
canine teeth retracted

a pack under attack—
ah, ill-humored howl

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna at a special time and location Thursday, April 11, 2019

March 30, 2019

Printed Matter Vancouver, Clark County Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Morgan,
Clark County Arts Commission, and ArtsWA Present

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Featuring Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
6:30-8:30 pm
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Open mic sign up begins at 6:00 and closes at 6:30
FREE

Columbia Room
Vancouver Community Library
901 C Street
Vancouver, WA 98660

LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Claudia Castro Luna will be signing books at Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street (nichewinebar.com) from 5-6 pm. Spend happy hour with the Poet Laureate. There will also be an after party at Niche Wine Bar at 8:30 pm.

Claudia-Castro-Luna-light-blue-dropshadow

Biographical information from ArtsWA and Claudia Castro Luna’s website: Claudia Castro Luna is Washington State Poet Laureate. She served as Seattle’s Civic Poet, from 2015-2017 and is the author of the Pushcart nominated and Killing Marías (Two Sylvias Press) also shortlisted for WA State 2018 Book Award in poetry and This City, (Floating Bridge Press). She is also the creator of the acclaimed Seattle Poetic Grid, an online interactive map of showcasing poems about different locations around the city. The grid even landed her an interview on PBS NewsHour.

Castro Luna is a Hedgebrook and VONA alumna, a 2014 Jack Straw fellow, the recipient of individual artist grants from King County 4Culture and Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture. Born in El Salvador she came to the United States in 1981. She has an MA in Urban Planning, a teaching certificate and an MFA in poetry. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Northwest, La Bloga, Dialogo and Psychological Perspectives among others. Her non-fiction work can be read in several anthologies, among them This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home, (Seal Press) Claudia is currently working on a memoir, Like Water to Drink, about her experience escaping the civil war in El Salvador. Living in English and Spanish, she writes and teaches in Seattle where she gardens and keeps chickens with her husband and their three children. Since 2009, Claudia maintains Cipota bajo la Luna, a blog with reflections, writing and reviews.

Claudia Castro Luna was appointed the fifth Washington State Poet Laureate by Governor Jay Inslee. Castro Luna’s term will run from February 1, 2018 to January 31, 2020. Prior to Castro Luna, Tod Marshall (2016-2018), Elizabeth Austen (2014-2016), Kathleen Flenniken (2012-2014), and Sam Green (2007-2009) held the position.

The Washington State Poet Laureate program is jointly sponsored by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA). Poets laureate work to build awareness and appreciation of poetry-including the state’s legacy of poetry-through public readings, workshops, lectures, and presentations in communities throughout the state. Laureates are selected through an application and panel review process that evaluates candidates’ proposed project plans, writing acumen, and experience promoting poetry.

ABOUT CLARK COUNTY POET LAUREATE GWENDOLYN MORGAN

Gwendolyn Morgan learned the names of birds and wildflowers and inherited paintbrushes and boxes from her grandmothers. With an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Goddard College, and an M.Div. from San Francisco Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union, she has been a recipient of artist and writing residencies at Artsmith, Caldera, Into the Depths of Winter, and Soapstone. Crow Feathers, Red Ochre, Green Tea, her first book of poems, was a winner of the Wild Earth Poetry Prize, Hiraeth Press. Snowy Owls, Egrets and Unexpected Graces, initially published by Hiraeth Press and now Homebound Publications, is a Nautilus Gold Winner in Poetry and a Foreward Indies Book of the Year Finalist in the Nature Category. Her third book of poems is forthcoming from Homebound Publications in the Summer of 2019. Her poems have appeared in: Calyx, Kalliope, Mudfish, Tributaries: A Journal of Nature Writing, Wayfarer as well as The Cancer Poetry Project 2, and other anthologies, blogs and literary journals. She is currently serving as the Clark County Poet Laureate. Gwendolyn and Judy A. Rose, her spouse, share their home and creekside walks with Naomi, a rescued Chesapeake Retriever and Cardigan Corgi mix.

ABOUT GHOST TOWN POETRY OPEN MIC

Christopher Luna founded Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic in 2004; Toni Lumbrazo Luna, his wife and co-founder of Printed Matter Vancouver, joined him as organizer and co-host in 2007. Printed Matter Vancouver is an editing and writing coaching service for Northwest writers which also publishes books of poetry by Clark County authors. Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic began in November 2004 at Ice Cream Renaissance before moving to Cover to Cover Books and finally, Angst Gallery. It has been LGBTQ+ friendly, all ages, uncensored, and free since its inception. Christopher’s many years of service to the poetry community led the Clark County Arts Commission to name him the first Poet Laureate of Clark County, a position he held from 2013-2017.