Poetry Workshop & Reading

Invitation Bookshop welcomes Ansley Clark and Kathleen Byrd, who will teach a free poetry workshop from 2-3:30p followed by a reading from their own poetry collections from 4-5p. RSVP required for the workshop as space is limited.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

Inherited Objects: A Writing Workshop This 90-minute writing workshop with poets Kathleen Byrd and Ansley Clark focuses on the theme of inherited objects, family stories, and ancestors. Kathleen and Ansley will offer examples of poems about inheritance along with writing prompts, and participants will have time to write and share their work. You are invited to bring an inherited object for reflection, but this is not required, and the workshoppers will also provide a few objects for you to use while writing. This workshop is open to all–no experience necessary.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Kathleen Byrd 

I’m a writer, teacher, and poet living in Olympia, Washington. I love helping people gain an appreciation of poetry and guiding people to find the poet within. I believe we all have deep inclinations toward poetry. This comes through our play with language such as figures of speech, rhyme, and rhythm. Poetry helps us feel and express the ineffable of shared human experience. It is sensory and mysterious but also accessible to all. I lead workshops in reading and writing poetry and love to collaborate with other writers and artists. I teach writing at SPSCC and am serving as the 4th poet laureate of Olympia, Washington through July of 2025. My first collection of poems, Last Resort, was recently published by Last Word Books in Olympia, WA.

Ansley Clark

Ansley is a writer and teacher from the Pacific Northwest. She is the author of Bloodline (MoonPath Press 2024), and the chapbook Geography (Dancing Girl Press 2015). Her poems and essays have appeared in Poetry Northwest, Colorado Review, Bennington Review, and elsewhere. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016. She currently is the director of the Writing Center at The Evergreen State College and lives in Olympia, Washington with her dog.