Poetry reading set for Jan. 24 at BMCC
Published 4:14 pm Thursday, January 13, 2011
Traveling Through The Dark, Ask Me and Notice What This Poem is Not Doing could be among the poems read on the Hermiston campus of Blue Mountain Community College on Jan. 24 when the school hosts a commemorative reading to celebrate the birthday of poet William Stafford.
As the author of more than 50 books, Stafford (1914-1993) is recognized as a poet, writer and advocate of free expression. The recipient of the National Book Award for Traveling Through the Dark, Stafford taught at Lewis and Clark College for 30 years. He died in 1993.
I first developed a fondness for Stafford through his poems, but came to admire him even more when I became affiliated with Fishtrap Inc., a writers organization located in Wallowa County, event coordinator Pamela Steele said. Stafford was one of the founding members but had passed away by the time I found Fishtrap. His son Kim is still very much involved, and he is as wise a teacher as his father.
Paulann Peterson, Oregon Poet Laureate and the state coordinator for the Stafford celebrations, began hosting birthday events recognizing William Stafford in 1998. She said there will be 58 celebrations this year, spanning from Oregon and Washington to New York and Vermont. International sites include Sweden, Scotland and Japan.
The Hermiston reading is sponsored by Friends of William Stafford a non-profit poetry advocacy organization and BMCC Hermiston. The event will last about an hour, Steele said, and will include an introduction to the life of Stafford. The featured reader will be Bette Husted, of Pendleton, author of At This Distance, a newly released poetry collection. Members of the audience will be invited to read one of their favorite Stafford poems; anyone interested in reading is asked to bring a copy of one or two favorite poems.
For more information, contact Pamela Steele at psteele@bluecc.edu.