information from WordsWest

April is National Poetry Month and WordsWest #25 pulls out all stops to celebrate with two nationally acclaimed poets. Don't miss this rare chance to see National Book Award Winner, Terrance Hayes, and his former student, Seattle poet Jane Wong, read their work as a "living anthology"-a distinctive WordsWest reading format that weaves the ideas and images of each poet's work into a never-to-be-duplicated performance of echoes and connections. One night only!

This evening is supported in part by a grant from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

Terrance Hayes's poetry collections include How to Be Drawn (2015), finalist for the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Award; Lighthead (2010), which won the National Book Award, was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award, and was nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; Wind in a Box(2006); Hip Logic (2002), chosen for the National Poetry Series and also a finalist for an LA Times Book Award and an Academy of American Poets James Laughlin Award; and Muscular Music (1999), which won a Kate Tufts Discovery Award. His poems have also been featured in several editions of Best American Poetry and have won multiple Pushcart Prizes.

Jane Wong holds an M.F.A. in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington. She is a former U.S. Fulbright Fellow and Kundiman Fellow.  She is the recipient of scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Squaw Valley, and the Fine Arts Work Center. The recipient of The American Poetry Review's 2016 Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize, her poems have appeared in journals such as Pleiades, Third Coast, and the anthologies Best American Poetry 2015 (Scribner), Best New Poets 2012 (The University of Virginia Press) and The Arcadia Project: North American Postmodern Pastoral (Ahsahta Press). She is the author of OVERPOUR (Action Books).

Every third Wednesday, 7pm, at C & P Coffee Company, WordsWest hosts literary events that range from readings by published local and national authors, to guided writing explorations. Each month we also host a community member to share his or her favorite poem as part of the Favorite Poem Project. On April 19, 2017, we’ll hear a favorite poem from Billie Swift of Open Books – A Poem Emporium – Seattle’s poetry only bookstore. WordsWest is curated by West Seattle writers Katy E. Ellis, Susan Rich, and Harold Taw. Snacks are always free.

WordsWest Literary Series Presents
“A National Poetry Month Celebration”
with Terrance Hayes and Jane Wong
Favorite Poem by Billie Swift of Open Books: A Poem Emporium

7:00 pm, Wed., April 19th, 2017, C & P Coffee Co., 5612 California Ave. SW 98136
Website: http://WordsWestLiterary.com/

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http://www.terrancehayes.com
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