Walking the talk

Poetry walk ends on a high note

As the closing event for Manzanita’s month-long Poetry Walk, Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani will read from his work in the Wonder Garden at the Hoffman Center for the Arts this Sunday, July 31.

“Anis Mojgani is a trickster and a philosopher, a theologian and a rock star,” said Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Urrea, author of “The Devil’s Highway.”

Mojgani is a two-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam. He has been awarded residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, the Bloedel Nature Reserve and the Oregon Literary Arts Writers-in-the-Schools program. He has done commissions for the Getty Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, and his work has appeared on HBO, National Public Radio and as part of the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series.

Known for his performances and well regarded for them the world over, Mojgani has appeared at hundreds of universities across the US and at festivals around the globe such as the Sydney Writers Festival, Jamaica’s Calabash festival and Seoul’s Young Writers Festival. He is the author of five books of poetry and the libretto for “Sanctuaries,” and his first children’s book is forthcoming. Originally from New Orleans, he currently lives in Portland.

The reading will begin at 1 pm in the Wonder Garden at the Hoffman Center, located at 594 Laneda Avenue in Manzanita. For more information, go to hoffmanarts.org or call 503-368-3846.