Projects Keeping Me Busy - WordsWest, Gaza, and Poets on the Coast 2015

WordsWest at C & P Coffee 

I can't tell you how excited I am to be working with Harold Taw and Katy Ellis on this brand new arts series: WordsWest Literary Series happening at 7 pm this Wednesday, September 17th at C & P Coffeehouse in West Seattle.

Our line-up for Fall is pretty awesome 

In the fifteen years I've lived in West Seattle there has never been a literary series in any coffeehouse, arts center, bookshop, or other venue --- at least not that I've been aware of. And now, five minutes after meeting Katy Ellis for the first time and then inviting Harold to participate...Well, we have a really exciting group of writers in a superb coffee shop. And we have area businesses participating in the Favorite Poem Project by reading one poem that has meant something to them in their lives and sharing it with the audience. We're also archiving every reading and creating a podcast -- with the authors' okay.

And what else has been happening? Well, I was honored to be invited by Elizabeth Austen, Washington State Poet Laureate to read my poems on the Seattle NPR affiliate, KUOW. This was especially meaningful to me because I am reading and talking about my time in Israel and Palestine. You can listen here just click on Listen to the Story.

New home for Poets on the Coast 2015

Finally, just back from a wonderfully successful Poets on the Coast 2014, Kelli Agodon and I are deep into planning for Poets on the Coast 2015 --- the 5th Anniversary of our Poets on the Coast retreat for women. This year we added a collaboration with the fabulous Northwest Museum of Modern Art (NoMA) which gave poets full run of the museum to write ekphrastic work which will soon be published by NoMA on their website. Stay tuned!

I think there are several more projects and readings happening. For example Kelli Russell Agodon and I read for LitFix at the Rendezvous Room next Thursday, September 18th. We'd love to see you.