Join us on January 17 at the Evergreen Longhouse for an evening of poetry and conversation with four Indigenous Washington poets. Laura Da’ (Eastern Shawnee), Rena Priest (Lummi, current Washington State Poet Laureate), Cedar Sigo (Suquamish), and Arianne True (Choctaw, Chickasaw) will read selections from their work and speak about poetry and the world through an Indigenous lens.
Indigenous Voices: An Evening of Poetry and Conversation is a presentation of the Washington Center for the Book, s’gʷi gʷi ʔ altxʷ: House of Welcome, Humanities Washington, and the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA).
The event is free and open to the public.
Click here to register for the IN-PERSON event
Click here to register for the ONLINE event
Participants:
Laura Da’
Tribal affiliation: Eastern Shawnee
Laura Da’ is a poet and teacher. A lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Da’ studied creative writing at the University of Washington and the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is Eastern Shawnee. Her first book, Tributaries, was published by the University of Arizona Press and won a 2016 American Book Award. Da’ has held residencies at the Richard Hugo House, Tin House, and Jack Straw. Her newest book, Instruments of the True Measure, is the winner of the Washington State Book Award. Da’ lives near Seattle with her husband and son. Website: http://www.laurada.com/
Rena Priest
Tribal affiliation: Lhaq’temish (Lummi)
Rena Priest is a member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She is the incumbent Washington State Poet Laureate and Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writing Fellow. Priest is also the recipient of an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, Indigenous Nations Poets, and the Vadon Foundation. Her debut collection, Patriarchy Blues, received an American Book Award. Her second collection, Sublime Subliminal, was published as the finalist for the Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award. Her most recent book, Northwest Know-How: Beaches, includes poems, retellings of legends, and fun descriptions of 29 of the most beloved beaches in Washington and Oregon. Priest’s nonfiction has appeared in High Country News, YES! Magazine, Seattle Met, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Website: https://www.renapriest.com/
Cedar Sigo
Tribal affiliation: Suquamish
Poet Cedar Sigo was raised on the Suquamish reservation near Seattle, Washington, and home schooled from the eighth grade onward. In 1995 he was awarded a scholarship to study writing and poetics at the Naropa Institute, where he studied with poets Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, Lisa Jarnot, Alice Notley, and Joanne Kyger, among others. Sigo has given poetry readings at the Poetry Project at St. Marks Church, P.S. One Museum of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Poetry Center, San Francisco Art Institute, and Beyond Baroque. He has collaborated with visual artists including Colter Jacobsen, Frank Haines, Cecilia Dougherty, and Will Yackulic. He is currently a mentor in the MFA program at Institute of American Indian Arts. He lived in San Francisco for many years and now lives in Lofall, Washington. Website: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/cedar-sigo
Arianne True
Tribal affiliation: Choctaw, Chickasaw
Arianne True (Choctaw, Chickasaw) is a queer poet and folk artist from Seattle. She teaches and mentors youth poets around Puget Sound and moonlights as a copyeditor. Arianne has received fellowships from Jack Straw, the Hugo House, and Artist Trust, and is a proud alum of Hedgebrook and of the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is currently the Seattle Repertory Theater’s first Native Artist-in-Residence. Website: https://www.ariannetrue.com/
Linley Logan (host)
Linley is a multidisciplinary contemporary artist, curator, arts program manager, cultural arts consultant, and designer. Linley is an award-winning artist, he has a 35-year history of exhibiting his work including internationally, and he has curated contemporary indigenous international art exhibits. He has attended by invitation, six International Indigenous Visual Arts Gatherings. Linley has provided consultation to numerous arts organizations and art events. He has served on numerous local state, regional, and art organization boards, including serving as a past Washington State Arts Commissioner. Website: https://my.getjealous.com/linleyblogan