Follow the Poet Laureate in the New Year!

I'm keeping busy at the beginning of 2013! Check out these Poet Laureate Events During the First Few Weeks of January! Go go go!

At Bellevue Art Museum on January 4, a free "First Friday" at the Museum, I'll be helping celebrate Japanese traditions, and I feel greatly honored to be doing so! I'll be doing a short reading of poems inspired by Japanese folk tales from 4:30-5 PM with an accompanying slide show of custom art for the poems by Michaela Eaves, then doing an hour-long workshop on haiku and haibun. I hope to see you there! Bellevue Art Museum is a wonderful resource and I'm very happy to be working with them! I believe the gift shop there will also be carrying my books the day of the reading, and there will be recordings in the museum of me reading a few of my poems. Cool, right?

At the Redmond Library on January 5th at 3 PM, I'm happy to be hosting a panel on "Multicultural poetry and the language of science" with guest poets Natasha K. Moni and Raul Sanchez. Refreshments will be served and the conversation should be lively!

On January 11th, I'll be heading down to Tacoma to a reading at 7 PM at King's Books. It's a wonderful bookstore if you've never visited, and I always feel like I don't get to see my Tacoma friends often enough. (And the Glass Museum, and the Point Defiance Zoo, and...)

On January 20th, I'll be heading back to Bellevue Arts Museum to do a children's haiku workshop!

I hope you can make it out to at least one of these events. And I'll be reading at the Library on February 20th as part of the "Redmond Reads Poetry" series - I'll be reading all comic-book and fairy-tale poetry !

Reading with Hello, the Future at Soul Food and A week of crazy!

In case you're looking for something to do tomorrow night, you know, getting ready to celebrate the Mayan-end-of-the-world solstice and all that, I'm reading all apocalypse and futuristic poetry at 6 PM opening for a band called "Hello the Future" at Soul Food Books Friday.
http://www.songkick.com/concerts/14860894-hello-the-future-at-soulfood-books-and-café

I have had the nuttiest week - my little brother and his wife came in to visit from Thailand, so we took them on a tour of all the fun stuff you can do here in the cold rainy season - wine and beer tasting in Woodinville, sushi dinner and the Sorrento Hotel lounge for cocktails, a pilgrimage to Caffé Vita and helping them catch up on any American things they'd missed (Whole Foods! Book stores! Back episodes of Community and Family Guy! Ah, America...) I also had several poetry events and trying to get everything together for New Binary Press for my third book, "Unexplained Fevers" - copyediting, updating acknowledgements, getting an author photo (hopefully) and working with Michaela Eaves on the cover art. I think I've gotten about seven hours of sleep over the past seven days, which hopefully will be fixed over the weekend. (Along with working on a friend's manuscript, writing my Poet's Market articles, and getting Christmas shopping finished...and Christmas cards, um, started? And responding to all the e-mails I've been ignoring?)

Reading with Hello, the Future at Soul Food Books Dec 14

http://www.songkick.com/concerts/14860894-hello-the-future-at-soulfood-books-and-café

I know I said that my last Poet Laureate thing of the year was over, but I was wrong - I'm reading with an indie rock show at Soul Food Books this Friday at 6 PM.

"Redmond Poet Laureate Jeannine Hall Gailey reads poetry and musicians Hello, the Future, Larry Murante, and Michael Clune play."

I'll be reading all futuristic/apocalypse poetry in honor of the upcoming Mayan-predicted-solstice-apocalypse AND the fact that I'm opening for a band called "Hello, The Future." I might break out some poems I haven't read in public before since I've been working on some new work all about the end of the world (or how we imagine it.)

E-publishing Panel and Happy Holidays

Last night's panel at Redmond Library on Poets and e-publishing, social media and other tech was amazing! Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy dazzled the crowd with their knowledge of e-book publishing, and the crowd was full of intelligent and animated questions about how to publish in the "new world" of e-books.
Here's a shot of Annette and Kelli interacting with two engaged audience members (writer Laura Lee and editor Anne) while I look on in interest:

I appreciate everyone who came out and we'll see you in the new year! Excepting Mayan Apocalypses and such...

A very happy holiday wish to all of you poetry-lovers in Redmond and beyond! I've got some fun plans in the works for this spring, so stay tuned!

Poetry and Technology Panel - Dec 6th at Redmond Library

Come out to Redmond Library at 7 PM on Thursday, December 6th to a panel on poetry and e-books, social media for poets, and other discussions of poetry and technology, hosted by me, Jeannine Hall Gailey, with two special guests: e-book publishers and editors of Crab Creek Review, Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy. Come with questions. Refreshments will be provided!

 Annette Spaulding-Convy is a poet and editor in the Seattle area. Her full length collection, In Broken Latin, was published by the University of Arkansas Press (Fall 2012) as a finalist for the Miller Williams Poetry Prize. Her chapbook, In the Convent We Become Clouds, won the 2006 Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She was chosen for the 2011 Jack Straw Writer's Program and is a recipient of the Artist Trust GAP Grant. Her poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, North American Review, Crab Orchard Review and in the International Feminist Journal of Politics, among others. She is co-editor of the literary journal, Crab Creek Review, and is co-founder and co-editor of Two Sylvias Press, with Kelli Russell Agodon. Two Sylvias has published the first eBook anthology of contemporary women's poetry, Fire On Her Tongue. Annette currently lives in a small community on Puget Sound and is originally from Northern California. http://www.annettespauldingconvy.com


Kelli Russell Agodon is the author of Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room (White Pine Press, 2010), Winner of the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Prize in Poetry and a Finalist for the Washington State Book Award.  She is also the author of Small Knots and the chapbook, Geography.  Recently she co-edited the first eBook anthology of contemporary women’s poetry, Fire On Her Tongue.  Her work has appeared in magazines and journals such as The Atlantic, Prairie Schooner, and North American Review as well as on “The Writer’s Almanac” with Garrison Keillor. 
Kelli is the editor of Seattle’s literary journal, Crab Creek Review and the co-founder of Two Sylvias Press.  She lives in the Northwest where she is a mountain biker, paddleboarder, and kayaker.  She is recently completed her third book of poems, Hourglass Museum.
Visit her at www.agodon.com or on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/agodon
She writes about living and writing creatively on her blog, Book of Kells at: www.ofkells.blogspot.com
Photo credits: 
Annette's photo by Ronda Broatch
Kelli's photo by Delaney Russell Agodon

Kathleen Flenniken's Redmond Reading and the Last Event of the Year

Thanks to everyone who came out for Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken's reading at Redmond Library - we had a great time!

The library was a wonderful host and the crowd was terrific and asked great questions. Kathleen's reading from Plume sparked lots of interest in Hanford as well, as well as questions about how to incorporate history and memoir in a book of poetry.

I'd like to remind everyone about our last Redmond Poet Laureate Event of the Year, a Panel on E-publishing and Social Media for Poets, with guest panelists Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy, who published the poetry e-book anthology Fire on Her Tongue and co-edit The Crab Creek Review. I'll moderate the panel, but bring your own questions about how to publish and market poetry e-books, how to use twitter/facebook/blogs best as a poet (and whether to use them at all) and other poetry and technology questions!
December 6th at 7 PM at Redmond Library. Refreshments will be served!

Kathleen Flenniken Reads Plume at Redmond Library

Redmond Library is happy to host Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken at 3 PM on Saturday, November 17! Kathleen will be reading from her new book, Plume, and I'll be hosting a short Q&A session afterwards. She will have books available for sale and refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!

A few sound files from the Inaugural Reading...

In case you missed the Inaugural Poet Laureate reading on October 6, you can listen to me read a few of the poems here:
http://soundcloud.com/redmondarts/sets/redmond-poet-laureate
Hope you enjoy!

Five Questions with Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken

As Redmond's Poet Laureate, I've started a book group at the Redmond Library called "Redmond Reads Poetry," and our first book choice for Fall 2012 is Kathleen Flenniken's Plume. The book group meets this Wednesday night, October 24th, at 7 PM at the Redmond Library and Kathleen will come out to do a reading and a Q&A at Redmond Library on November 17th at 3 PM, so come out for one or both events!

I thought it would be fun to get to know our first "Redmond Reads Poetry" author a little better on this blog, so I asked her a few questions.

 

Jeannine Hall Gailey: Kathleen, congrats on your Washington State Poet-Laureate-ship! I just loved your second book, Plume, which recently came out from University of Washington Press (and which I reviewed here at The Rumpus.) Can you tell us a little bit about the process of writing that book? You did both historical and scientific research for the book, didn't you?

Kathleen Flenniken: The book started as just one one-page poem, a kind of letter to my friend Carolyn, whose father died of a radiation illness when we were in our late 20s.  I had never really faced up to it and wanted to make peace.  One poem led to another and I started writing about childhood in Richland.  At some point I realized I needed to visit the site and begin researching its history, and discovered Michele Gerber’s book, On the Home Front: The Cold War Legacy of the Hanford Nuclear Site http://www.amazon.com/Home-Front-Legacy-Hanford-Nuclear/dp/0803259956.  That book triggered many more poems.  I thought then I had a collection, a completed manuscript, but I’d guess it took another three years for me to realize the poems had to come back to me.  I’m not at the center of the story, but I had to be its conscience.  So—more travels, including a trip to D.C. where I saw an exhibit about Richland and Hanford at the Smithsonian.  It took me a long time to find the voice and tone for that last half-dozen poems.

JHG: So, I bet one question that a lot of people might have for you is, "What exactly does a State Poet Laureate do?" I know you have already started a blog called "The Far Field" to feature Washington poets? What other kinds of things are your responsibilities?

KF: The ingenious thing about the Washington State Poet Laureate program is its flexibility.  Applicants (and it is an application process) are asked to propose two projects.  The panel knows exactly what to expect from the candidates and the eventual Poet Laureate is encouraged to pursue his or her enthusiasms.  I came to poetry late—in my 30s—so one of my passions is getting into the schools to reach a young audience, especially 3-5^th graders. I grew up in Eastern Washington, so another priority for me was getting into all 39 counties in the state, not just the easy destinations up and down the I-5 corridor.  That’s a work in progress.

I visit schools and bring writing workshops into classrooms, I visit groups that invite me to speak about the PL program and read.  I work with librarians across the state (especially through the marvelous State Library) to set up readings and workshops for the community.  I try to bring other poets to various readings to give the audience a range of voices.  I love the poetry sampler. Even if I’m reading alone, I bring poems by other Washington poets to round out my offerings.

JHG: In a related question, can you talk a little bit  more about your plans for the next two years? 

KF: This first year I’m taking invitations as they come and trying to accommodate as many as I can. I can see that my second year will be more proactive,  going after readings and school visits in counties that may not know they want me.  But they do.  The State Librarians are helping immensely with this task.  They have arranged readings for me in prisons and tribal and remote libraries.  I’m indebted to them for taking me under their wing.

And I can’t repeat often enough how helpful my sponsors, Humanities Washington and Washington State Arts Commission, have been in getting the word out about this program and backing it with such energy and enthusiasm, not to mention their financial support.  We wouldn’t have this program without them and I’m indebted for life. 

JHG: You've worked with students with the Writers in the Schools. How has that experience been? What do you like best about working with young people?

KF: I got very lucky and hired on with Writers in the Schools fairly early in my poetry evolution. It is the gold standard  for teaching creative writing in the schools.  I use the WITS model in my visits across the state.  I’m not much for philosophical talks about poetry or defining what poetry is—I just don’t think about it that way.  In fact, hushed reverence for poetry as a calling or some elevated state of being is off-putting to me. I’d rather just get started. Let’s read a poem and talk about it.  Let’s use it as a model for our own writing.  Let’s share what we’ve written.

I’ve had the chance to work with every age group along the way, and each has its pleasures.  I’ve targeted third, fourth and fifth graders for my term as Poet Laureate because they are enthusiastic and open and their minds are beginning to appreciate—and make—metaphor.  I want to get to them early with the thought that when they try it they’re like it, they’ll connect poetry with enjoyment and, I hope, new confidence.  This is my sneaky way of building a new generation of poetry readers.

And sometimes they write poems that will knock your socks off.

JHG: Are you working on another book project? Anything else you want to tell us about?

KF: I am.  While I was working on Plume, which is entirely about the Hanford Nuclear Site, I was writing about other matters too, and those went into a separate folder.  I’m turning my attention to that work now.  I’ve got a long way to go, but a project has emerged.  I want to write about my twin concerns—long love and marriage, and my “troubled love affair” with my country, as my teacher Albert Goldbarth once termed this preoccupation I have with contemporary American society.  I’m calling it “Post-Romantic,” at least for now.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), I’ve recently been taken up by Chernobyl and Fukushima stories.  Part of me thinks, “oh no…” but another part is already spinning some web in my head between them.

JHG: Thanks so much Kathleen, and we're looking forward to hearing you read in Redmond!

A Big Thank You to Everyone Who Came Out for the Poet Laureate Inaugural Reading!

A wanted to give a big shout-out of thanks to everyone who came out for yesterday's Redmond Poet Laureate Inaugural Reading and the folks who helped make it possible, including the City of Redmond, SecondStory Repertory, and a lot of supportive friends who helped out at the reading. The audience was wonderful, asked lots of intelligent questions, and seems really excited about the "Geeks for Poetry, Poetry for Geeks" theme. So it bodes well for the next couple of years!
If you would like a "things I have learned" rundown from the event, check out my post at my personal regular blog, "What I Learned from the Poet Laureate Inaugural Reading Event:"
http://myblog.webbish6.com/2012/10/things-i-learned-from-my-first-big.html

One thing I really liked that we got to fulfil my dream of bringing different kinds of art together - visual art, theater arts, and poetry. The audience was full of intelligent kids who were interested in writing and learning more about poetry, which was really encouraging, and several young adults who wanted to know more about poetry and publishing and technology and all that good stuff. But they also wanted to sign up for acting classes and buy art and I thought: this is the way Redmond might actually grow an "arts scene."

Jeannine Hall Gailey's Inaugural Reading Saturday October 6th 4 PM!

Tomorrow, Saturday at 4 PM, be sure to show up at SecondStory Repertory at Redmond Town Center for a little poetry reading (by me) an interactive art exhibit (by tremendously talented Michaela Eaves, who is also responsible for the art on my Poet Laureate slogan, above) and a little reception - that's right, free food AND drink - celebrating Poetry in Redmond. I promise you will have at least a little fun!

Redmond Reporter did an article on the new Poet Laureate and all her crazy plans here:
http://www.redmond-reporter.com/entertainment/172850521.html
Thanks, Redmond Reporter!

Besides tomorrow's readings, in the next month I'll be:

• Hosting an anime and Japanese poetic form workshop for teens at the Redmond Teen Center (1-3 PM at the Redmond Teen Center on October 20th)
• Hosting a book group to talk about Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken's Plume at the Redmond Library (7 PM on October 24th)
• Visiting an English Class at Redmond High School (should be fun!)

Upcoming Event: Inaugural Event at SecondStory Repertory - Poetry, Art Exhibit, Salon

You say you want more art events in Redmond? Visual art, poetry, theater? Yes, we are planning a super-fun, multiple-arts-celebrating event on October 6th, now that you asked! Here's the info:

Who:
New Redmond Poet Laureate Jeannine Hall Gailey and artist Michaela Eaves

Where:
SecondStory Repertory at the Redmond Town Center

When:
October 6th, 4-6 PM

What is it?
Jeannine Hall Gailey reads geek-themed poetry from her first two books, Becoming the Villainess and She Returns to the Floating World, and hosts a Q&A about poetry in Redmond. Local artist Michaela Eaves provides an art exhibit of mermaids, monsters, zombies, and other poetry-related subject matter. Snacks and drinks are provided. And the event is free! Come and bring all your friends!

Geek Girl Con Poetry Panel and other Redmond Poet Laureate Business

Where in the World is Redmond's Poet Laureate, you ask?

Last weekend, I presented a panel on Geek Girl Poetry at the sprawlingly successful second Geek Girl Con.

A little write up of our panel is up at Paperdroids. Here's an excerpt:
“Monster Brides, Robots, Superheroines, and Anime Girls: Geek Girl Poets!” was devoted entirely to geek-themed poetry. Jeannine Hall Gailey, author of She Returns to the Floating World (Kitsune Books) and Becoming the Villainess (Steel Toe Books), and Lana H. Ayers, author of A New Red (Pecan Grove Press), read some of their own poems, as well as poems from other women about female characters in pop-culture. It was a funny, inspiring panel and a good way to start the second day of the conference."
Thanks to Chelsea Novak for the shout out!
Despite being the first-thing-in-the-morning panel on Sunday, the second day of the Con, we had a lively, attentive audience who asked lots of questions and hailed from cities as far away as San Francisco! The audience actually cheered when I told them my Redmond Poet Laureate slogan: "Geeks for Poetry, Poetry for Geeks!"
If you're at all into any and all of the following: comic books, anime, science fiction, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or anything Joss-Whedon-related, post-apocalypse, amazons, unicorns, robots, women working in tech, cons where people actually shower, dressing up in costumes...you should definitely consider next year's Geek Girl Con. (And yes, males are welcome at Geek Girl Con...) Thanks to Jennifer K. Stuller for organizing this fantastic conference!

I'm conjuring up all kinds of poetry fun for fall 2012. Stay tuned!

What Kind of Poetry Activities Are You Looking for In Redmond?

So, I'm finalizing my proposal for a year's worth of poetry activities, and I'd love to hear from you what kinds of poetry activities, programs, readings, panels, workshops, etc Redmond needs. What do you feel we have covered already, and what are we missing?

I'd love to get your feedback on some of my ideas, including:

--Poetry readings with featured artist exhibits and salons
--Geek Talks - Poetry panels with local poets about subjects that might be familiar to Redmond-ites - math, science, computer code, comic books, etc...
--Redmond Reads Poetry - a Community Reading Series that would pick one book per quarter to read together. The Redmond library will provide some copies of the book to check out, and Soul Food Books will carry the quarterly book choice as well. (Open Books in Wallingford is a great choice for poetry book shopping outside Redmond...) The library will also host one reading and Q&A by the author of the chosen book.
--Panels on Cross-Cultural Poetry
--Teen workshops, Outreach events in Seattle to let people know about Redmond poetry programs...

What do you think? Let me know in the comments..

A New Poet Laureate, A New Place to Find Poetry

H there! My name is Jeannine Hall Gailey, and I'm Redmond's new Poet Laureate! Since Redmond's known for its technology brainpower, and a lot of the poetry in my books has been inspired by subjects like comic book superheroines, Japanese pop culture, and robots, I think it's appropriate that the slogan for my term is "Poetry for Geeks; Geeks for Poetry."

I'm hoping to create in this blog a Redmond community resource to find out about all the cool poetry stuff going on in Redmond. I hope that can be a great launch pad for you all to tell me what you are looking for in terms of information, kinds of events, and ways to connect to other poets in the Redmond area. What are you looking for from your new Poet Laureate? I'd like to know! Would you like to see more readings? workshops? I'm hoping to build up our community calender to show all kinds of poetry-related events in our neighborhoods as well.