Annual William Stafford Birthday Reading to be Jan. 22

METHOW VALLEY - The 5-year Anniversary of the annual William Stafford Birthday Reading will be held on Friday, January 22, at 6:30 pm via Zoom. This poetry event will feature guest speaker Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita and founder of the Stafford Birthday Reading series. Featured readers include members of the Confluence Poets: Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Christine Kendall, Sam Owen, Greg Wright, and host Cindy Williams Gutiérrez. All featured readers will read one Stafford poem and a poem of their own inspired by the Stafford poem.

Liberty Bell High School English teacher Dani Golden will also read a Stafford poem about social justice followed by several of her freshman students reading their own poems about a just America. Singer-songwriter Ken Bevis will close out the event with one of Stafford’s Methow River poems set to music.

Sam Lucy will lead off the communal portion of the reading with a Stafford poem and a poem of his own, along with a Stafford-inspired anecdote. Audience members are invited to share their favorite Stafford poem or a personal story about William Stafford.

Please join the Confluence Poets in this tribute to poet William Stafford remembered for his Methow River poems. Share your favorite Stafford poem or tale! The Zoom meeting ID is: 869 7359 1444, passcode: 741134. This information is also available on the News page of www.confluencepoets.com.

The Confluence Poets is a collective of Methow Valley poets founded in 2014 by Christine Kendall, Kelleigh McMillan, Sam Owen, and Cindy Williams Gutiérrez. Inspired by an ekphrastic poetry workshop at the Confluence Gallery, the group began meeting on a semi-monthly basis to generate and critique new work. The Confluence Poets present the annual William Stafford Birthday Reading, a National Poetry Month reading, and readings in response to Confluence Gallery’s themed exhibits. Currently the poets meet the second Monday of the month at 11:00 am and the fourth Wednesday of the month at 2 pm via Zoom. Interested poets, please contact Christine Kendall at christineintwisp@gmail.com . For more information, visit www.confluencepoets.com .

The 32-year old nonprofit arts organization Confluence Gallery hosts 8 main gallery and 8 community gallery exhibits each year. The mission of the gallery is to enrich the greater Methow Valley with a quality art gallery, art education and artist cultivation.