Milwaukie Poetry Series: Black History Month Celebration

This month the Milwaukie Poetry Series is celebrating Black History Month. Our Featured Reader will be Emmett Wheatfall. He will read his own work or favorite poems for approximately 20 Min. There may be other special guests. Then there will be an Open Mic. We would ask that you read works of black poets.

Emmett Wheatfall resides in Portland, Oregon, where he has twice been nominated for Oregon Poet Laureate. His poetry has been published in several books, collections, anthologies, and one of them, As Clean as a Bone, was a 2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist and a da Vinci Eye award finalist.  He frequently speaks about poetry and recites his own work, including during the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the March on Washington (Portland event), and as the keynote speaker at two Oregon Poetry Association's Annual Conferences.  In 2020, Corban University produced a 9-part series documentary, A Brief History, that showcases Emmett’s life and poetry.

Anyone who would like to participate in the Open Mic is welcome. You can register on the Milwaukie Poetry Series website at https://milwaukiepoetryseries.com/. You can be prepared to read two poems. Please read your favorite work of black poets. We will proceed in rounds and read 2 in the first round. We will do another round of poems as time permits depending on the number of participants and length of the poems. Indicate on the website if you are registering for Zoom. You will receive a link prior to the event.

The event will be recorded and available for viewing on demand on the Ledding Library YouTube Channel after the event.

Please call Tom Hogan at 503-819-8367 or email at  tomhogan2@comcast.net with any questions about this or about the Series. We hope you can join us.

Thank you for participating, please be safe and well.

Seventeen Years: Enriching Milwaukie one poem at a time.              

*This project is supported in part by a grant from the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition (managed by the Clackamas County Arts Alliance), and made possible by funding from the Oregon Cultural Trust.