City offers poetry aplenty in new week
This is a week for poetry happenings in Spokane.
On Tuesday, the Wave Books Poetry Bus Tour will hit town. The 50-city tour, sponsored by the Seattle-based publisher, stops at Auntie’s Bookstore at 7:30 p.m. with readers Joshua Beckman, Anthony McCann, Katy Lederer, Catherine Wing, Erin Belieu and Melanie Noel.
They will be joined by Spokane poet and Gonzaga University English professor Tod Marshall.
Following the Auntie’s event, the traveling poets – along with Spokane poets Nance Van Winckel, Laurie Lamon and Dennis Held, plus Matthew Zapruder, Sierra Nelson and Travis Nichols – will read at 9 p.m. at RAW Sushi and Island Grill, 523 W. First Ave.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, an event called “The Last Hoorah of Spoken Word” will be held at Mootsy’s, 406 W. Sprague Ave.
The “Last Hoorah” will have a dual purpose. One, it will mark the end of the 10-year-old Out Loud poetry reading series at the tavern. Two, it will be a tribute to poet Craig Bickerton, who was the focus of a piece in the Aug. 13 edition of The Spokesman-Review about a disputed local historical monument.
The Bickerton tribute, with Zan Agzigian and Bickerton himself acting as co-masters of ceremonies, will begin at 6 p.m. and includes open-mike readings and musical performances.
For more information on the Mootsy’s event, call (509) 624-4502.
A poet who knows it
If you think you have what it takes to write poetry, then Dennis Held might be just the person to consult.
Held, author of the poetry collection “Betting on the Night,” will teach a five-credit creative-writing class, emphasizing poetry, this fall for Spokane Community College.
The class, English 221-222 – two courses that can be taken separately or in combination – will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 18.
For registration information, call (509) 533-8006. Or consult the SCC catalog at www.scc.spokane.edu.
Contest time
Speaking of poetry, here’s a local contest that might prove worthwhile
Cash prizes will be offered to winners. There’s a 40-line limit, and writers can enter up to two poems in free verse, or two poems in rhyme, on various topics.
The cost is $5 per poem, and the deadline is Sept. 15. Mail entries to Donna Hilsabeck, 7718 E. Glass Ave., Spokane Valley, WA 99212.
For more specifics, call Clara Rose Childs at (509) 325-4393 or Anita Pederson at (509) 327-6130.
Historic Cougar
Washington State University football fans who attend Saturday’s home opener against Idaho will have two chances to purchase copies of “Keep-A-goin’: The Life of Lone Star Dietz.”
The book, by Pennsylvania author Tom Benjey, is a biography of William Dietz, the one-time WSU head football coach who led the Cougars to their 14-0 Rose Bowl victory over Brown in 1916.
Benjey will make several appearances in Spokane, Pullman and Walla Walla (see reader board below) to sign copies of his book, including before and after Saturday’s 12:45 p.m. game.
For more information, go to www.lonestardietz.pa.net.
The reader board
“Wave Books Poetry Bus Tour, readings, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington; call (509) 838-0206. A late-night reading, beginning at 9 p.m., will follow at RAW Sushi and Island Grill, 523 W. First Ave.; call (509) 747-0556.
“Tom Benjey (“Keep A-goin’: The Life of Lone Star Dietz”), signings, 10 a.m. Tuesday, The Bookie, Washington State University Spokane campus, 410 E. Spokane Falls Blvd.; 3 p.m. Friday, The Bookie, Too!, 405 N.E. Stadium Way, Pullman; 10 a.m., The Bookie, WSU Pullman campus, 700 N.E. Thatnua; and at WSU’s Hollinberry Fieldhouse following Saturday’s 12:45 p.m. home game against Idaho. Call (717) 440-2484.
“Alex Kuo (“Panda Diaries”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Terry Bain (“We Are the Cat: Life Through the Eyes of the Royal Feline”), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Kim Barnes (“Finding Caruso”), reading, 2 p.m. Friday, East Bonner County Library, 1407 Cedar St., Sandpoint. Call Ginny Jensen at (208) 265-6141.
“Sara Rossett (“Moving is Murder”), signing, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.