Two Weeks and a Bit Remaining - The Stafford Celebration "Community Write" Memorializing Local Rivers

By now you know this blog is a "community write"
memorializing Wallowa County rivers and streams
in the style of William Stafford - or in your own style.

The William Stafford Birthday celebration in Enterprise
is Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. - a little over two weeks from now.

If you aren't brave enough to write, that's okay. You can
simply come to the party, and bring your favorite Stafford
poem to the open mic. But we would love it if you'd
send one of your own in, memorializing your favorite
local river "in the style of William Stafford."

See http://fishtrap.org/staffordpoems.shtml for details.

Wallowa Waters, William Stafford Style

As part of Wallowa County’s celebration of poet William Stafford’s birthday this month, Fishtrap is inviting writers to submit poems about Wallowa County rivers and streams for web publication. While the inspiration is to write “in the style of William Stafford” (see the sample poem, used here by permission from Graywolf Press (www.graywolfpress.org), you may use any form you like, from haiku to sonnet to free verse.

Ask Me

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

Whether you submit a poem or not, please come to the William Stafford birthday celebration at the Fishtrap Coffin House at 400 E. Grant Street in Enterprise, Oregon, at 3 p.m. on January 23.

We will have a short video, an open mic reading event, and a few treats. You can come just to listen, or to share a poem you wrote - or your favorite William Stafford poem. We will publish selected submissions here.

Unsure or want assistance? E-mail staffordpoems@fishtrap.org.