COCC’s Poetry Month Springs ‘From the Ground Up’ with Singer Beth Wood, Poetry Slams

Central Oregon Community College is celebrating National Poetry Month this April with a series of workshops and performances, free and open to the public, with events happening at all four COCC campuses. Featuring singer-songwriter-poet Beth Wood, the Lumina Flute Trio, poetry slams, writing sessions and community gatherings, the lineup is sprung from a “From the Ground Up” theme and highlights topics of personal growth, nature and the outdoors, with some events staged outside. Visit barber.cocc.edu/poetry for complete details and registration.
Workshops:
Beth Wood, an award-winning Sisters-based artist, will lead “Inside a Song: An Interactive Songwriting Poetry Workshop” from 4-5:30 p.m. on April 7 at COCC Bend’s Barber Library. She is the author of several works, including “Ladder To The Light,” a book of poems that was selected as a 2019 Oregon Book Award Readers’ Choice Award. As a musician, she has opened for a number of acclaimed artists, such as Steve Winwood, Michael McDonald and Shawn Colvin.
On April 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at COCC’s Barber Library, “Polishing Poems” will explore revision strategies to help poems feel focused; attendees are encouraged to bring several poems in progress.
A “Prompt Poetry Writing” workshop on April 14 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the Barber Library will provide various prompts to select from for inspired writing. Also on April 14, COCC’s Madras campus will host a “Nature Poetry Workshop” from 2-3 p.m.
Performances and Gatherings:
COCC’s Prineville campus will stage a “Prineville Poetry Reading” event from noon to 1 p.m. on April 20.
Musical offerings from the Lumina Flute Trio, inspired by poetry, classical nursery rhymes and other themes of growth, will take place at the Barber Library from 4-5 p.m. on April 21.
A “Community Poetry Gathering” at the Madras campus is scheduled from 3-4 p.m. on April 23. “Bee Words: Garden Poetry” will gather at two places: at the Bend campus’s pollinator garden, first meeting at the Barber Library entrance, from 3-4 p.m. on April 23, and also at the Redmond campus’s meditation garden, first meeting at the Technology Education Center entrance, from 3-4 p.m. on April 28.
Two audience-judged “Poetry Slams,” moderated by Aaron Rasheed (aka Aaron The Broadside Kid), are being staged: from 6-7 p.m. at the Redmond campus library on April 29, and from 6-7 p.m. in the Bend campus’s Hitchcock Auditorium on April 30. Participants must register online in advance. Prize donations are generously provided by Dudley’s Bookstore and Big Story Bookstore.
For more information on Poetry Month at COCC, contact Kirsten Hostetler, instruction and outreach librarian, at 541-383-7563 or khostetler@cocc.edu.
In advance of college events, persons needing accommodation or transportation because of a physical or mobility disability should contact campus services at 541-383-7775. For accommodation because of other disability such as hearing impairment, contact student accessibility services at sas@cocc.edu or 541-383-7583.