Press Release: CASCADIA POETICS LAB TO HOST POSTCARDS FROM MAPES CREEK EVENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 9, 2024
Contact: Paul E. Nelson, pen@cascadiapoeticslab.org
CASCADIA POETICS LAB TO HOST POSTCARDS FROM MAPES CREEK EVENT
By Veronica Martinez, Administrative Assistant, Cascadia Poetics Lab
Connect to the gorgeous nature of the Cascadia bioregion through poetry with Cascadia Poetics Lab’s Postcards from Mapes Creek event! Cascadia Poetics Lab is teaming up with the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and the Engage, Educate and Discover at Mapes Creek (dxʷwuqʷəb) project to host Postcards from Mapes Creek: a postcard poetry event and reading at Be’er Sheva Park in Rainier Beach, Seattle on July 14, 2024 at 4:30 P.M. PDT. This event is free and open to the public!
Postcards from Mapes Creek is a celebration of the Poetry Postcard Fest, which is a self-guided 56 day workshop that involves mailing 31 spontaneous poems on postcards to other participants. Postcards from Mapes Creek will feature three long-time Poetry Postcard Fest poets from around the country discussing their approaches to writing poems on postcards, along with past postcard poets from around Washington state reading their poetry. Tim Mateer of Austin, Texas, Abhaya Thomas of Portland, Oregon and Colette Dutton of Yellville, Arkansas.
Cascadia Poetics Lab believes that through creating poetry and art in relation to the surrounding ecosystem and by showing appreciation for the landscapes throughout the Cascadia bioregion, strengthened connection with ecosystems can encourage deepening of community and environmental awareness. Mapes Creek is an important natural landmark in South Seattle that the organization hopes to see daylit in the future. This past April the Cascadia Poetics Lab collaborated with the Engage, Educate and Discover at Mapes Creek (dxʷwuqʷəb) project on a multicultural blessing of the creek, and will continue to work with the project through the Postcards from Mapes Creek event on July 14 and Mapes Creek Radiance residency in August of 2024 to assist with the project’s goal of enhancing salmon recovery efforts in the WRIA 8 Watershed and “exploring collaborative opportunities for events that promote environmental awareness and action.”
Join the Cascadia Poetics Lab’s Postcards from Mapes Creek event to discover the wonders of connecting through poetry! Anyone is welcome to attend the event at Be’er Sheva Park on July 14, 2024 at 4:30 P.M. Registration for this event is not required. Anyone with interest is encouraged to participate, and a background in poetry or writing is not necessary to have a meaningful experience. Thank you to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods for funding this event, and to the Engage, Educate and Discover at Mapes Creek (dxʷwuqʷəb) project for their collaboration and support. For information on Cascadia Poetics Lab’s events and tips for poetry writing, visit https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/ or Cascadia Poetics Lab’s Facebook page.
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Cascadia Poetics Lab, a Seattle-based nonprofit, was founded in Auburn, Washington, on December 14, 1993. Founding Director Paul E. Nelson is available for interviews. (206) 422.5002 or pen@cascadiapoeticslab.org
Postcards From Mapes Creek
Join us next to Mapes Creek as Tim Mateer, of Austin, TX, Abhaya Thomas of Portland, OR, and Colette Dutton of Yellville, AR, talk about their approach to the annual Poetry Postcard Fest along with local poets Zach Charles, Sally Hedges-Blanquez, Poetry Postcard Fest co-founder, Paul E. Nelson and others. Folks from Engage, Educate, & Discover at Mapes Creek/dxʷwuqʷəb share the vision that the whole creek will see the light of day.
This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
Photos of Mapes Creek by Paul E Nelson in honor of dxʷwuqʷəb and the ancestral people of this land.