In This Time
Sunday, March 29 | 1—3:30 p.m.
Brewery Arts Center | Carson City
FREE and open to the public
Join us for a special afternoon featuring state poets laureate and writers from cities and rural communities across the West. Whether you are a lifelong reader of poetry or simply curious, this is a rare opportunity to:
- Hear poetry from nine distinguished Western state poets laureate and writers
- Reflect, connect, and find inspiration
- Engage with diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences
MEET THE POETS LAUREATE
Shaun Griffin, Nevada Poet Laureate
Shaun Griffin has spent a lifetime working to build bridges where there are none for communities. For more than 30 years, Griffin has taught a poetry workshop at Northern Nevada Correctional Center, publishing a biennial journal of inmate work entitled, Razor Wire. His most recent books are “No Charity in the Wilderness” (poems) and “River Ask Me Why” (memoir). He was also awarded the Rosemary McMillan Lifetime Achievement in Art Award in 2006 by Sierra Arts Foundation and was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2014.
Lisa Bickmore, Utah Poet Laureate
Lisa Bickmore is the author of three books of poems. The second, “flicker” (2016), won the 2014 Antivenom Prize (Elixir Press). She won the 2015 Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize for the poem “Eidolon.” She is the founder/publisher of Lightscatter Press. In 2022, she was named the Poet Laureate for the state of Utah, and in 2023 received a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets for her poet laureate project, moonintheryepress.org.
Lauren Camp, New Mexico Poet Laureate
Lauren Camp served as the second New Mexico Poet Laureate (2022-25), and spearheaded the New Mexico Epic Poem Project, a series of visits to rural communities that will result in broadsides, an exhibit and an anthology. She is the author of nine poetry collections, most recently “Is Is Enough” (Texas Review Press, 2026) and “In Old Sky” (Grand Canyon Conservancy, 2024), which grew out of her experience as Astronomer-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park.
Lee Herrick, California Poet Laureate
Lee Herrick is the California Poet Laureate and the first to be officially reappointed to a second term. He is the author of four books, including “In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems.” Born in Daejeon, Korea, and adopted to the United States at 10 months old, he lives and teaches in Fresno, California.
Allen Jones, Montana Poet Laureate
The Poet Laureate of Montana, Allen Morris Jones has published widely across genres and forms, novels to children’s books to a well-regarded look at the ethics of hunting. His recent poetry collection “Mumblecusser” was a High Plains Book Award winner, as well as a Montana Book Award honor book.
Barbara Smith, Wyoming Poet Laureate
Barbara Smith was appointed Wyoming’s Poet Laureate in 2023. Her poetry collection “Putting a Name on It” was published by Deep Wild Press in 2022, and she has had numerous works included in collections such as Montana’s “The Last Best Place.” A Westerner, she was born into a Norwegian community in North Dakota, grew up on the hi-line in Montana and has made her home in the high desert community of Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Derek Sheffield, Washington State Poet Laurate
Derek Sheffield is the eighth poet laureate of Washington state. His books include “Cascadia Field Guide,” winner of a 2024 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, and “Not for Luck,” selected by Mark Doty for the Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize. He edits poetry for Terrain.org and lives near Leavenworth, Washington.
Mitchell Wieland, Idaho Writer in Residence
Mitch Wieland is the author of the novels “Willy Slater’s Lane,” “God’s Dogs,” and “The Ghosts of Okuma.” His story publications include The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, Best of the West, and The Kenyon Review. He’s received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, and the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Wieland is founding editor of The Idaho Review and co-founder of the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at Boise State University.
Ellen Waterson, Oregon Poet Laureate
Ellen Waterston has dedicated herself to writing and advocating for the literary arts in the high desert region of Oregon while continuing to write poetry and nonfiction works that have evolved into essential reading about Oregon and the West. In 2024, she received both Soapstone’s Bread and Roses Award and Literary Arts’ Stewart H Holbrook Award, recognizing her work as author and advocate, and was named the eleventh Poet Laureate of Oregon. Her fifth poetry title “As Far as I Can Anthem, Poems” (2026) features poems largely written during her first laureate year. Waterston has also published four literary nonfiction titles, including, most recently, “We Could Die Doing This” (2024). She is the founder of the Writing Ranch and of the Waterston Desert Writing Prize.
What is a poet laureate?
A poet laureate is a poet who is officially appointed to represent poetry for a community, region, or country. Hosted by the Nevada Arts Council and Nevada Poet Laureate Shaun Griffin, this gathering brings together poets laureate and writers from nine Western states. This is the largest gathering of poets laureate the country has seen in decades.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
This event is made possible by the private donors Kit Miller and William A. Douglass as well as:
