State's first poet laureate takes his job seriously

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Since December, Samuel Green has been home a total of nine days.

Living on fast food and criss-crossing the state, he's visited festivals, schools, workshops, retreats, conferences and workshops, including last fall's LitFuse poetry workshop in Tieton.

That, however, is what he knew he was in for as Washington's first ever poet laureate.

"I applied for the job, not the honorific," the 60-year-old Green says during a brief respite in his hotel room in downtown Yakima.

"The truth is, this is no different than my normal job -- just more of it. It's more, and I have a title," he adds. "And the title is not something I take lightly."

When Washington's poet laureate bill passed in 2007, it wasn't just a way to pay lip service to Washington wordsmiths. It stated that the poet laureate "shall engage in activities to promote and encourage poetry within the state including but not limited to readings, workshops, lectures, or presentations for Washington educational institutions and communities in geographically diverse areas over a two-year term."

This week, Green visited with 500 to 600 students in the Yakima Valley, talking in classrooms and leading an after-school poetry workshop for high school students.

Friday, he'll give a free public poetry reading at Yakima Valley Community College and wrap up his poet-in-residence Saturday with a daylong poetry workshop for adults.

"I think of him as an ambassador of poetry," says Jessica Moskwa, executive director of Allied Arts of Yakima Valley, which organized Green's visit in partnership with the ESD No. 105.

"He doesn't just come here and read, he speaks to why poetry should be a part of our lives."

Green's visit to Yakima also holds special meaning because it was the late Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, who sponsored the poet laureate bill and "really led the charge," notes local poet and former Yakima Herald-Republic reporter Ed Stover.

At least a decade in the making, House Bill 1279 was a partnership of the Washington State Arts Commission, Humanities Washington and the Washington Poets Association. It was signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire in April 2007. Green's two-year term ends in December.

For Green, poetry began as entertainment -- his dad would read him long verses that told a story. But after reading a W.B. Yeats poem, he found poetry to be a way to understand himself and the world around him.

"That's different than a story -- this person feels the same way I do," he explains. "I started looking for poems that could tell me about my life ... So suddenly poetry took on a new meaning for me."

Living on the secluded Waldron Island in San Juan County, Green and his wife Sally make their home in a log cabin Green built. Out of it they run the award-winning Brooding Heron Press, which specializes in the publication of fine letterpress editions of poetry.

There's no electricity or running water on Waldron; a couple solar panels power a laptop and cell phone chargers and a generator pumps water. It's an off-the-grid lifestyle the couple chose in order to devote more time to family, and to poetry.

"We read, write, edit, think about, print and publish poetry," he says.

For years, Green's also been a teacher of poetry and served as a visiting poet and teacher at Seattle University. His own poems have appeared in hundreds of journals and he is the author of 10 collections of poetry.

"Not much has changed since the sixth grade," he says about his poetry. "Something happens to me and I write about it."

Kim Nowacki can be reached at 509-577-7680 or knowacki@yakimaherald.com.

WHO: Washington Poet Laureate Samuel Green

WHAT: Poetry reading

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: Yakima Valley Community College's Kendall Hall auditorium, South 16th Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard.

HOW MUCH: Free.

POETRY WORKSHOP: From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Green will lead a workshop -- open to college-age and older wordsmiths -- at the Allied ArtsCenter. Cost is $100, and includes lunch. To register, call Linda Brown at 509-453-6938.

• Jobs
  www.yakjobs.com
• Homes
  www.yakhomes.com
• 
• 
  
• Autos
  www.yakwheels.com

• All Special Pubs Yakima Magazine Channels YakJobs.com YakWheels.com YakHomes.com Playdate Yakima Bride Yakima Wheels (Print) Home Buyer's Guide Baby Brag Book Graduates 2009 Summer in the Valley Prep Football 2009 Women in Business Holiday Gift Guide
• Advertisement