Bloglander

When we profiled Washington state poet laureate and Spokane resident Tod Marshall last year, he was using some of his time criss-crossing the state encouraging poets of all stripes and experience levels to contribute to a communal poetry project.

The idea was to gather a collection of new poems, one for each year Washington has been a state, and put them together in a book. That book, WA 129, is now ready and will be celebrated with a public launch party on April 13 at the state capitol. The book is being published by Sage Hill Press.

Spokane residents won't have to wait, though, to hear some of the work as Marshall is currently in the midst of a series of appearances for National Poetry Month. He's appearing for a reading tonight at Shadle Library at 6:30 pm, and no doubt some of the WA 129 poems will make their way into the festivities.

On Wednesday, Marshall will be at the North Spokane Library at 6:30 pm for "Tod Marshall Presents Poetry: Six Poems That Can Change Your Life."