The Manzanita Writers’ Series presents PoetryFest 2018 — workshops conducted by Wendy Willis will run from 9 am to 12 and 1:30 to 4:30 pm. There will be a reading by Wendy and an Open Mic for workshop participants at 7pm.
“Using the wonder of the place, the urgency of the times, and poetry of the ages to spur new and different work, we’ll dive beneath the surface and see what we can find!” says Wendy.
“In the morning, we will work on techniques to break through our habits and tics. We’ll use close observation, stillness, and the kismet of association to spur the imagination in unexpected ways. In the afternoon, we’ll work with a variety of revision practices in preparation for the evening’s open mic. Bring whatever writing implement works for you! All levels welcome.”
Wendy Willis splits her time between her roles as mother, poet, and advocate for democracy.
Wendy’s first book, Blood Sisters of the Republic, was released by Press 53 in 2012. Her second book of poems, A Long Late Pledge, won the Dorothy Brunsman Poetry Prize and was released by Bear Star Press in 2017. Wendy has published poems and essays in a wide variety of journals, including New England Review, Oregon Humanities, Poetry Northwest, The Rumpus, Zócalo Public Square, and ZYZZYVA. Wendy is a faculty member in poetry at the Attic Institute in Portland, Oregon. She has her M.F.A. in poetry from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University.
Wendy is the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the founder and director of Oregon’s Kitchen Table. She also serves on the Boards of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation and Tavern Books. Wendy has served as a federal public defender and as the law clerk to Chief Justice Wallace P. Carson, Jr. of the Oregon Supreme Court. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law Center and holds a B.A. from Willamette University.
She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, the poet David Biespiel; his son Lucas; her two daughters, Ruby and Violet.
Registration opens March 1. Tuition is $125 until March 31st, $150 thereafter.
PoetryFest is a program of the Hoffman Center for the Arts and will be held at the Hoffman Center, 594 Laneda Avenue, Manzanita, OR (across the street from the North Tillamook Library). For more information contact Kathie Hightower, kathiejhightower@gmail.com
