I curated Joe Nasta’s poem on urban bees into a window display at Slide Gallery in Belltown for my public poetry campaign as Seattle Civic Poet for National Poetry Month. Joe’s poem is paired with an image by Jovelle Tamayo of poet and urban beekeeper Bob Redmond, who passed away in September 2023. Bob spent a lot of time in Belltown in his days as a young poet, as a writer in residence at the Belltown Cottages for Hugo House. Towards the end of an amazing career as an arts leader who held roles with Town Hall Seattle, Bumbershoot, and Real Change, he took up urban beekeeping. I’d wanted to include some of Bob’s work in this campaign but things didn’t work out. I was very happy to create an homage and memorial to him through this display which was made with Joe’s blessing, and that of Bob’s widow. Designed by Jayme Yen and funded by the Academy of American Poets and the Windrose Fund.

Some images from my city-wide public poetry campaign in Seattle.

I’m launching a public poetry campaign on April 1 for The City of Seattle’s ARTS office in my role as Civic Poet. The campaign will feature the work of poets Bryan Wilson, Kathya Alexander, Bryna Antonia Cortes, Cindy Luong, and Joe Nasta and involve taking over 7 sites around the city, including:

• Wa Na Wari
• Slide Gallery
• Seattle Public Library (downtown and Southpark)
• Friends of Little Saigon
• Bureau of Fearless Ideas
• Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery

This public poetry program is made possible by the Academy of American Poets with funds from the Mellon Foundation. This project was also supported by The Windrose Fund.

My co-author Amy Wong Hope and I will be doing a program at the Alchemist’s Kitchen in NYC on April 13. Details and ticketing here.

I’m at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this week with Chenxing Han, Bryan Thao Worra, and other Buddhist writers for a knowledge share and convening.

I created a new guided journal with licensed therapist Amy Wong Hope for anyone ready to embark on their own microdosing journey. SMALL DOSES OF AWARENESS is a 12-week companion guide to deepening your reflections and integrating the knowledge gained through your microdosing experiences. Each of the twelve weeks has a different focus—from journeying inward, to questioning and deconstructing self-limiting beliefs, to aligning with your values and exploring your identity, to harnessing the power of mindfulness and creativity, and more. It’s out in February, but available now for pre-order: https://smarturl.it/SmallDosesofAwareness

I’ll be signing copies of Less Desolate at Mam’s Bookstore in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District on Saturday at 3 pm. Drop by and see me!

Bushwick Bookclub Seattle invited me to curate this year’s Ink Aloud! showcase with Seattle poets. Come out next Saturday at 7:30 pm for music from Joe Kye, Drea Marilyn, Leanna Keith and more.

Earlier this year, I had a chance to sit down with En Ning to talk to her about my work for a feature story for the Seattle Design Festival website. View the story here.