About the presenters:
\nMari e Marchand served as Poet Laureate of Ellensburg\, WA from 2022-2 4. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review\, Crannó\;g Magazine\, Catamaran Literary Reader\, California Quarterly\, and Tikkun Magazine. She is the author of Gifts to the Attentive and the forthcoming Mostly Sweet\, Lovely\, Human Things. She i s a graduate of Naropa University and The Iliff School of Theology where s he studied psychology\, religion\, and peacemaking.
\nMery N oel Smith\, devoted mother of five\, poet\, storyteller\, and adv ocate\, is Spokane&rsquo\;s sixth Poet Laureate. Mery is the author of the chapbook \;Breadcrumbs (2021) and her poems have been nomina ted for a 2024 Pushcart Prize by Trestle Creek Review. Her work h as also been anthologized in Listen to Your Mother: What She Said Then \, What We&rsquo\;re Saying Now and in Pivot and Pause. Mery was a featured artist in the 'Pictures of Poets' \;exhibit at The Mus eum of Arts and Culture. \;As Spokane&rsquo\;s poet laureate\, Mery is committed to expanding poetry&rsquo\;s reach into unconventional spaces s uch as jails\, addiction and recovery centers\, and community hubs. She sa ys\, &ldquo\;Poetry gave me a way back to myself\, and I hope to help othe rs find their way home\, too.&rdquo\; Mery&rsquo\;s work as Poet Laureate this last year specifically focused on using poetry as a way of empowering and uplifting the youth in Spokane through Spokane Arts and Spark Central . Learn more at www.merynoel.com.
\nJennifer Passaro is a poet\, nonfiction writer\, an d stay-at-home mom. Born in Idaho&rsquo\;s Wood River Valley\, she has spe nt much of her life in what Moscow writer Mary Clearman Blew coined the &l dquo\;roughhewn circle\,&rdquo\; a cultural and geographic centering that encompasses Idaho\, Western Montana\, and Eastern Washington. \;
\nShe earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Monta na in 2011\, with an emphasis in creative writing\, particularly poetry an d fiction from the western United States and Native American literature an d cultural studies. \;Her experiences include working on trail crews i n the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana and out of the Fernan Ranger Dist rict on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. She worked as a reporter for the Coeur d&rsquo\;Alene Press covering Kootenai County and has contribute d to the Sandpoint Reader\, Trestle Creek Review\, and Opt We st Literary Magazine\, among other publications. Most recently\, Jenn ifer has been a writing instructor at Emerge\, where she led poetry worksh ops and performed at events like Lit Crawl CDA. Jennifer made Coeur d&rsqu o\;Alene her home in 2018 and currently resides in the Sanders Beach neigh borhood with her husband\, their son\, and their two old dogs. She is the current CdA Poet Laureate. You can read some of her poetry here. \;
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\n\nhttps://spokanelibrary.libn et.info/event/13758896 URL;VALUE=URI:https://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/13758896 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR