The first WordFest event for 2024 is Tuesday, January 9, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.
Woodcut artist and printmaker Debby Neely will show and talk about her recently published book, Words and Wood: Pacific Northwest Woodcuts and Haiku, featuring 70 reproductions of woodcuts created over the past 40 years. In 2011, Debby picked up a small book of haiku and after a few chapters, found herself writing haiku to accompany her woodcuts. “This has added a whole new depth of meaning to my work,” she says. “Haiku help me add a dimension about how I feel about the world and the necessity to protect and cherish the world around us.”
Shamus Award Finalist Tom Larsen will be reading from Stealing History, a Wilson Salinas Mystery of Ecuador, and Parish Memories, a book of oral tales and legends that he translated into English during the time he lived in Ecuador.
Retired judge Ed Putka will be reading one of his Cleveland stories, about the blessing of the houses in his old neighborhood, titled “Koleda,” which means Christmas carol in Polish.
An open mic will follow the presentations.
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.