Poetry Events and News
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On-going
Voice Over Internet Podcast​
Celeste Thompson interviewed me for her new podcast (I am the second ever guest!) and you can listen to it on Spotify. I read a few of my poems, blanked on a lot of names (sorry!), and discussed all of the poetry and reading-related things I did during the summer of 2024 (I get exhausted just thinking about it all!). If you want a poetry-heavy summer in 2025, listen and sign up for the same things I did, and plan to do again. Click here to listen!
Peeled Citrus Prompts
If you are looking for more inspiration than just Sundays on my blog, you can subscribe (it's free!)
to my Substack, Peeled Citrus Prompts. I post a prompt 3 times each week there: Tuesdays, Fridays,
and Sundays (the Sunday prompts are the same ones as my blog).
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Subscribe here: https://marychristinedelea.substack.com/
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Ohio Reading Road Trip
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In 2002, two of my many poems about Marietta, Ohio, were published in a wonderful anthology entitled I Have My Own Song for It: Modern Poems of Ohio (edited by Elton Glaser and William Greenway). One of the poems, "Leaving Downtown Marietta, Ohio, 1983" has been included on the Ohio Reading Road Trip web site, along with a poem by Ron McFarland, for a lesson called Contemporary Ohio Poets Extension Activities: The Poetry of Leaving. The page includes a wonderful lesson plan. I encourage anyone who is teaching poetry to check out this resource. Click here to go to the page that discusses my poem. And to read a great essay about why every student in this country should be studying poetry, click here; it will take you to Tony Hoagland's "Twenty Poems That Could Save America." He also has a book by the same name.
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Lesson Plan
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A lesson plan for college students. This lesson includes my poem, "CoCo Chanel in the Stairwell" and Rebecca Brown's "Forgiveness."
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Wednesday, December 11, 2024: Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Virtual Workshop
Online
7:00-9:00 Eastern, 4:00-6:00 Pacific
(More information and registration can be found here.)
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In this workshop, we will focus on creating our own work inspired by Carl Sandburg poems. I will provide a number of prompts that will familiarize you with his work while also challenging you to write poems (or flash fiction) that is uniquely yours. This workshop will be very interactive, and the students who wish to share what they write during our time together will be able to do so. The goals for this workshop are to read and appreciate some less familiar Sandburg poems, to understand how prompts can allow us/force us to write pieces we would not have without the prompt, and to feel comfortable with the process of creating first drafts that we know we will need to revise. Writers of all skill levels, publishing experience, and backgrounds are welcome!
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​Sunday, February 2, 2025: Poems of Childhood (Generative Workshop)
​Online
11:00-1:30 Pacific
Cost: $10 and up (pay what you wish)
THIS IS A FUNDRAISER FOR SMART READING!
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In this fundraiser for SMART Reading, we will first discuss some poems that focus on children and/or childhood. This is a subject poets love, and we will have a wonderfully diverse group of poems to talk about. Participants will then be given some things to think about and some writing prompts, as well as some time to write. We will get back together and those who wish to share what they have written may do so. Participants will leave with a packet of poems (which they will receive prior to the workshop) and a packet of prompts, thoughts, and advice on writing about children and childhood.
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​PAST EVENTS​​
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Friday, October 18-Sunday, October 20, 2024: The Astoria Creative Writing Festival
Astoria, OR (Workshop and Reading)
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Sunday, September 8, 2024: Reading with Judith Montgomery
Ross Island Grocery and Cafe
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Friday, April 19, 2024: Beyond the Ekphrastic Free Poetry Workshop
Oregon City Public Library
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Saturday, December 16, 2023: Connections Cafe Poetry Discussion--Winter Poems
​Rose City Book Pub (Sponsored by Thrive Guides)
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Saturday, August 12, 2023: Find Your Voice Through Persona Poems Free Poetry Workshop
Oregon City Public Library
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Sunday, February 19: Love Is Strange Online Poetry Workshop
Another fundraising online workshop. Benefits For Goodness Cakes, PDX Chapter
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Sunday, May 15, 2022: Food, Glorious Food! Poetry Workshop
Fundraising online workshop. Benefits For Goodness Cakes, PDX Chapter
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2009: Poet in the Schools
Pratum and Butte Creek Schools in the Silverton, OR area
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October 2021: All Month
​I was a 30/30 poet this month, which meant that I wrote one poem each day and raised money ($500) for Tupelo Press, where the poems by each month's poets, are posted.
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Previous Readings
Portland, OR
Oregon City, OR
Salem, OR
Vancouver, WA
Lexington, KY
Richmond, KY
Seaside, OR
Grand Forks, ND
West Islip, NY
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Previous Workshops
Roseburg, OR
Oregon City, OR
Hillsboro, OR
Lake Oswego, OR
Richmond, KY
Grand Forks, ND
Huntington, WV
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