- Kathleen Flenniken
Join Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken, and West Region National Student Poet Miles Hewitt, as they share their talents in an evening of conversation and poetry sponsored by the Washington State Library.
The free 90-minute gathering, sponsored by the Washington State Library, starts at 6 p.m. in the Legislative Building’s Columbia Room (located on the first floor), on the Capitol Campus. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Gov. Gregoire last February approved Flenniken’s appointment as State Poet Laureate.
Flenniken grew up in Richland. Later she worked at Hanford as an engineer. Her book, Plume, in which she reflects on Hanford, was recently chosen for the Pacific Northwest Poetry Series and is a featured book for the State Library’s Washington Reads program.
- Miles Hewitt
Hewitt recently was named West Region National Student Poet. He is one of five students across the nation to receive the honor. Hewitt is a senior at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. A writer since the third grade, he eventually turned to songwriting, penning over 100 songs.
Miles is among the first inaugural group of 5 student poets who are recognized as National Student Poet. He represents the West Region of the U.S. and we are very fortunate that he is from Washington State.
The National Student Poets Program, a signature initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, honors, promotes, and celebrates young people as makers and doers who can inspire their peers to achieve excellence in their creative endeavors. More information on the National Student Poets Program can be found at www.artandwriting.org/NSPP.
Students interested in being selected as 2013 National Student Poets can submit their work now for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in poetry, the exclusive pathway to receiving this honor—the nation’s highest for young poets presenting original work.
For more information about the event, you can contact the State Library’s Marilyn Lindholm at (360) 704-5249 or [email protected]. For more information about the Washington State Library, visit http://www.sos.wa.gov/library.