THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019 // 7
Fine lines
PoetryFest 2019 offers
workshops, readings
with major writers
By CARA MICO
FOR COAST WEEKEND
File photo
Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford.
O
regon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford
believes writing is a “pleasure we need
not deny ourselves.”
“Poetry is a skill everyone has —
when they let themselves use language
in a way that is intuitive, playful, coura-
geous, thoughtful and musical,” Stafford
told Coast Weekend. “It’s an aptitude we all
have, and we all can grow.”
Stafford is one of three Pacific North-
west poets featured at the fifth annual Man-
zanita PoetryFest 2019, taking place Fri-
day through Sunday, March 15 through 17.
He will be joined by Andrea Hollander and
John Brehm.
PoetryFest is a series of weekend work-
shops and readings at the Hoffman Cen-
ter and the North Tillamook Library. This
Manzanita Writers Series event is hosted by
the library and the Hoffman Center for the
Arts.
Though the workshops are currently
full, organizers encourage you to join the
waiting list as space might open up (email
File photo
File photo
Poet John Brehm.
Poet Andrea Hollander.
info@hoffmanarts.org). Hollander’s
workshop focuses on the structural
integrity of quality poetry, while Brehm’s
focuses on the emotional nature of human
impulse.
The readings are open to the public and
will be hosted at the Hoffman Center on
Saturday, March 16. Stafford’s reading
starts at 4:30 p.m., Hollander and Brehm’s
at 7 p.m., followed by a PoetryFest partic-
ipant open mic. Space at the Stafford read-
ing is limited to about 60 people, so get
there early to reserve a seat.
Write to learn
Stafford, the author of 12 books of poetry
and prose, is a busy man.
“I respond to requests from communities
all over the state, from the coast to the Alvord
Desert, from Astoria to Klamath Falls. It’s a
joy to see so much of Oregon as I travel to
share poetry,” he said of his recent travels.
On top of the statewide touring he’s
recently undertaken, he’s also the director of
the Northwest Writing Institute at Lewis &
Clark College and a professor of 40 years.
“Writing and teaching, in my experi-
ence, are a great marriage, and the common
ground is learning. I teach in order to learn
with my students, and I write in order to
learn by writing.”
Why the Pacific Northwest?
“I’ve lived in many Northwest places,
and each has poured sensation, imagery,
story, weather, history and local knowledge
of all kinds into my psyche. When I pick
up a pen, all those rivers, farms, mountains,
wrens, storms and hidden places course
through my hand onto the page. How can I
help it?”
The Writers Series has other upcom-
ing events to keep an eye on. On Saturday,
April 20, Jennifer Haupt, author of “In the
Shadow of 10,000 Hills,” and Liz Prato,
author of “Volcanoes, Palm Trees & Priv-
ilege: Essays on Hawai’i,” will read at the
Hoffman Center.
For information on the event or the
Hoffman Center, visit hoffmanarts.org/events/
poetryfest/ CW
The beer necessities of life
Pouring at the Coast takes
place March 15-17 in Seaside
More than 40 independent craft brewers
are on tap for Pouring at the Coast, the annual
beer festival taking place Fri-
day through Sunday, March 15 to
17, and presented by the Seaside
Chamber of Commerce and Sea-
side Brewing Co.
The event features a wide
selection of beers — and some
ciders — created across the
Pacific Northwest.
The centerpiece of the festival,
now in its 10th year, is the Craft Brewfest and
People’s Choice awards from noon to 6 p.m.
Saturday at the Seaside Civic & Convention
Center.
This year, the event lineup includes a
Brewers B-Ball tournament, from 7:30 to
9:30 p.m. Friday, at Clatsop Community Col-
lege’s Patriot Hall. The tournament will pit
teams from the different breweries against
one another, and the public is welcome to
spectate. Attendees can enjoy a beer garden
with live music from 8 to 10 p.m.
Saturday at the Convention Cen-
ter. There also will be a Brew-
ers Brunch held 11 a.m. Sunday
at Seaside Brewery Co.; reserva-
tions are required.
The $20 admission fee pur-
chases each participant a tast-
ing glass and five tasting tick-
ets. Additional tasting tickets are
available for $1 a piece.
For more information, visit pouringatthe-
coast.com.
Information gathered by Katherine
Lacaze.
Joshua Bessex
Kegs are stacked in the corner of the brewing room at Seaside Brewing Co.