Following our summer hiatus, WordFest resumes with a strong line up of presenters on Tuesday, September 9, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.
Robert Michael Pyle reads from his latest book, Swimming with Snakes: Poems & Prose: Encounters with the Actual World(Watershed Press, Seattle). Blending narrative poems with short vignettes and essays, Bob celebrates experiences he has shared with creatures, plants, and places in the natural world.
A Colorado native, Bob has lived, studied nature, and written from an old Swedish farmhouse in Grays River for the past 47 years. A biologist, teacher, butterfly scientist, and independent scholar, he has received many awards and honors for his work, which includes Wintergreen, Sky Time in Gray’s River, and Where Bigfoot Walks(adapted for the feature film, The Dark Divide). His previous collections of poetry include The Evolution of the Genus Iris, Chinook & Chanterelle, The Tidewater Reach, and The Last Man in Willapa.
James Dott will be reading from his new poetry collection, Touch Wood, recently published by Watershed Press. The poems form a lyric field guide to trees. The short life and tragic death of David Douglas, early botanist who cataloged Northwest trees, threads through the work, offering elegies, narratives, and meditations on our tangled histories.
Jim is the son of a geologist and a naturalist who kindled his love of nature and natural history. Born in Eugene, Oregon, and growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, Jim began writing poetry and fiction at an early age. He is the author of several chapbooks and two previous poetry collections, A Glossary of Memoryand Another Shore. He and his family live in Astoria, Oregon, above the Columbia River. More information at jamesdott.com.
In her newest book, The Freedom of the Day: Everyday Silver Linings, Jan Bono shares 117 personal stories and poems spanning 7 decades—a few of her “silver lining moments”—that illustrate how we can focus on the good stuff in our everyday adventures. The book concludes with a challenge to readers to keep what’s going right in their lives on the front burner and recognize their many blessings.
Jan has written 18 books, including the Sylvia Avery Mystery series, all set on the SW Washington coast. www.JanBonoBooks.com
Retired LCC instructor and counselor Mary Stone will read from her latest novel, Silent Pleas, which she describes as “an inspirational romantic suspense—the story involves a Mansion, Murder, and Guilt which join forces to ensnare and unite two strangers.” Reclusive, elderly Ophelia Wentworth owns Cavashahn Mansion. Venice Cambriole’s dream job is to liquidate the treasures within the estate. Besides their love for Cavashahn, the two women share something else:
Each has failed to save a woman in peril. Remorse and guilt haunt them. As Venice sorts through Ophelia’s possessions, will the mansion and intriguing journals reveal the mystery as to who would have reason to kill Ophelia? Could this put Venice and her Estate Treasures crew at risk of harm—or even death?
Mary continues to write and teach writing classes. She loves to visit book clubs in person or via Zoom to discuss her books. More information at [email protected].
An open mic will follow where people have 10 minutes to read. The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, in the fellowship hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The events are free and open to the public.