June 1, 2022: Michael Dylan Welch
![]() Michael Dylan Welch is a former poet laureate of Redmond, Washington, where he is also president of the Redmond Association of Spokenword and curator (since 2006) of the monthly SoulFood Poetry Night reading series. He is also founder and president of the Tanka Society of America, and a cofounder and director of the Haiku North America conference and the American Haiku Archives. In 2010, he also started National Haiku Writing Month, held every February (www.nahaiwrimo.com). Michael's poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in hundreds of journals and anthologies in at least twenty languages, and he has published dozens of poetry books, and books of translation. Michael lives in Sammamish, and his website, devoted mostly to haiku and other poetry, is www.graceguts.com.
Emcee: Mary Crane July 6, 2022:
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October 5, 2022: Lynne Ellis
![]() Lynne Ellis writes in pen. Her words appear in Poetry Northwest, Sugar House Review, WA 129, and elsewhere, and she was awarded the 2021 Perkoff Prize in poetry by the Missouri Review. Her book--In these failing times I can forget (Papeachu Press)—considers the human cost of rapid economic growth in a prosperous American city.
Emcee: TBA November 2, 2022: Benjamin Schmitt
![]() December 7, 2022: Rena Priest
![]() Rena Priest became the sixth Washington State Poet Laureate on April 14, 2021, and her term will run until March 31, 2023.
Priest’s literary debut, Patriarchy Blues, was honored with the 2018 American Book Award, and her most recent work is Sublime Subliminal. A member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation, she is the first Indigenous poet to assume the role. She succeeds poets Claudia Castro Luna (2018-2021), Tod Marshall (2016-2018), Elizabeth Austen (2014-2016), Kathleen Flenniken (2012–2014), and Sam Green (2007–2009). Learn more about past laureates here. Priest’s work can be found in Poetry Northwest, Pontoon Poetry, Verse Daily, Poem-a-Day at Poets.org, and elsewhere. She has taught Comparative Cultural Studies and Contemporary American Issues at Western Washington University and Native American Literature at Northwest Indian College. Priest holds a BA in English from Western Washington University and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in Bellingham, Washington. Each laureate puts their own unique focus on the position, and Priest focuses on two primary goals during her term: celebrating poetry in Washington’s tribal communities, and using poetry to increase appreciation of the natural world and the threats facing it. Read Priest’s blog at wapoetlaureate.org, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. This event is sponsored & co-hosted by: - Duvall Cultural Commission - Duvall Poetry - Humanities Washington Emcee: TBA |