Reading: Alison Apotheker & Kelly Terwilliger Jan 11, Stayton, OR

Alison Apotheker & Kelly Terwilliger to read from new books and from past Oregon poets who have influenced them January 11 in Stayton


Stayton’s Second Sundays Series of Poetry Readings will hold its first 2009 reading on Sunday, January 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. Throughout 2009, to help celebrate Oregon’s sesquicentennial year, featured poets will read from past Oregon poets who have influenced them, as well as from their own work. In this first sesquicentennial reading, Alison Apotheker of Portland will read poems from her new book, Slim Margin, plus some by former Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford; Kelly Terwilliger of Eugene will read from her recent chapbook, A Glimpse of Oranges, and from the poetry of Hannah Wilson, who lived and wrote in Eugene until her death in 2004.

The reading will be held in the studio of artist Paul Toews at 349 N. Third Ave., where it shares space with the Stayton Friends of the Library Used Bookstore. The new collections by the featured poets will be for sale at the reading, and they will sign copies. Admission will be free; donations are appreciated. Audience members are invited to bring one or two short poems of their own or by favorite past Oregon poets to share during an open part of the reading.

Alison Apotheker teaches writing and literature at Portland Community College. Her poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Mid-American Review, and Prairie Schooner. She has received the C. Hamilton Bailey Fellowship from Literary Arts, and her work has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Slim Margin, her first book of poems, was released in December 2008 from WordTech Communications.

Kelly Terwilliger grew up on the southern Oregon coast and later attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and received an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, before eventually returning to the Pacific Northwest. A Glimpse of Oranges, her first chapbook, was issued by Finishing Line Press in 2008. Her poems have also appeared in various journals, including The Atlanta Review, Hunger Mountain, Poet Lore, and The Potomac Review. She works as a professional storyteller in schools and community centers. Written stories of hers have appeared in Spider Magazine, and a picture book has been issued by Karben Publishing.

Stayton’s Second Sundays Series of Poetry Readings is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Marion Cultural Development Corporation. For more information about upcoming readings, contact series coordinator Eleanor Berry at 503-859-3045 or <eberry@wvi.com>.

Directions to Stayton and Paul Toews’ Studio:

Stayton is about 12 miles east of Salem, off Hwy. 22 (North Santiam Hwy.). Coming from either north or south on I-5, take the Hwy. 22 exit at Salem; go east about 12 miles on Hwy. 22, to the Stayton/Sublimity exit. To reach Paul Toews’ studio, turn right at the end of the ramp, onto what will become First Ave. At the third light, turn left onto Washington St. Go two blocks, and turn right onto Third Ave. Go four blocks. When you pass Marion St., look for the Star Cinema on the left in the middle of the block ahead; Toews’ studio is across from it, at 349 N. Third Ave.