🌲✨ Join Us for a Magical Afternoon in the Redwoods! ✨🌲
Poetry in Parks on Saturday, July 26th from 1PM to 3PM at the Redwood Forest Theater.
Join us for an inspiring afternoon featuring celebrated poets Iris Jamahl Dunkle, Ada Limón, Nicole Callihan, Forrest Gander, Emily Fordham and others, each bringing their distinct voices to the stage.
Stewards will have wine and beer available for purchase.
We will also be serving water, sodas and snacks, and Russian River Books & Letters will be on site to sell books.
Parking is available just outside the park on the street ($0), or inside the park at $10 per car. You may park in the front parking lot or one mile past the entrance kiosk in the picnic area. The walk to the theater is a flat, easy walk through a stunning redwood grove, and will take about 10 or 15 minutes from your parking spot!
Please note: Stewards would like to reserve the small Forest Theater parking lot for those with restricted mobility. For more information call (707) 869-9177 ext 2. Armstrong Redwoods Forest Theater, 17000 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, CA 95446. Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tP9ZTak62vtQQfsx9
🌲✨ About the poets! ✨🌲
Iris Jamahl Dunkle is a poet, biographer, and scholar whose work challenges the male-centric narratives of the American West’s recorded history and amplifies the often-overlooked voices of women. Her new book, Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb (University of California Press, 2024), is a USA Today bestseller, receiving national acclaim for its poignant exploration of Babb’s life and her fraught relationship with the literary history of the Dust Bowl. PBS producer Ken Burns describes the biography as “heartbreaking and heroic,” bestselling author Kristin Hannah calls it “long overdue,” and U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass lauds Dunkle as a “brilliant and vivid storyteller.” The book has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Millions, The Los Angeles Times, Alta, and many more. An excerpt describing how “Steinbeck mined her research for The Grapes of Wrath. Then her own Dust Bowl novel was squashed” appeared in Salon and sparked dialogue about Babb’s unacknowledged contributions to literary history. Dunkle earned her MFA in poetry from New York University and her PhD in American Literature from Case Western Reserve University. Her previous books include the biography Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) and four poetry collections, including her latest, West : Fire : Archive, published by The Center for Literary Publishing. Her poetry has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, Orion, Poem-a-day. Dunkle curates Finding Lost Voices, a weekly blog dedicated to resurrecting the voices of women who have been marginalized or forgotten.
Ada Limón is the author of seven books of poetry, including Startlement: New & Selected Poems; The Hurting Kind, which was a finalist for the Griffin Prize; The Carrying, which won the National Books Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award; and Bright Dead Things, which was named a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Award. Limón is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and was named a 2024 Time Magazine Woman of the Year. She is the author of two picture books, In Praise of Mystery as well as And, Too, The Fox, and was the editor of the anthology You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World. She served as the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States.
Nicole Callihan, winner of the 2023 Tenth Gate Prize and a 2023 Alma Award, has two recent poetry collections: chigger ridge (The Word Works 2024) and SLIP (Saturnalia March 2025). Other books include This Strange Garment (Terrapin 2023), the 2019 novella, The Couples, and a new chapbook, griefbeing, from Lily Poetry Review Books. Her work has appeared in Sixth Finch, Kenyon Review, Conduit, The American Poetry Review, and as a Poem-a-Day selection from the Academy of American Poets. Find out more at www.nicolecallihan.com.
Forrest Gander, A writer and translator with degrees in geology and literature, was born in the Mojave Desert and taught at Harvard and then Brown University where he was the AK Seaver Professor of Literary Arts and Comparative Literature. He’s the recipient of The Pulitzer Prize, Best Translated Book Award, and fellowships from the Library of Congress, Guggenheim, and US Artists foundations. His books, often concerned with ecology and intimacy, include Twice Alive, the desert novel The Trace, and— most recently—Mojave Ghost: a Novel Poem. Gander’s many translations include Alice Iris Red Horse: Poems by Gozo Yoshimasu and Then Come Back: the Lost Neruda Poems. Gander has often collaborated with artists such as Ann Hamilton, Sally Mann, Eiko & Koma, and Chinese artists Cao Fei and 33EMYBW. His essay collection, A Faithful Existence, considers translation and the relation between science and literature. His collaborative book with Australian poet/activist John Kinsella, Redstart: an Ecological Poetics, is frequently cited in reference to ecological poetics. He lives with the sculptor Ashwini Bhat in California.
Emily Fordham: Since freshman year at Maria Carrillo High School, I’ve found a love for poetry through translation. Deciphering the complexities of a person’s thoughts into another language has allowed me to uncover a deeper understanding for the words I speak and interpret, and I’m forever grateful for all of the support that I have received to explore this route of expression. With the encouragement from those around me, I was able to place in the top 5 in the state of California for Poetry Out Loud, and I plan to try again this spring to bring our county to Nationals once more. I will keep poetry as a constant in my journey, as it is truly the language of the heart that touches its listeners in a way different from any other form of writing. I’ve found this soft language in all areas of my life, from learning piano to joining choir and even in my experience as a martial artist, poetry has been a constant presence. There’s a style of expression for everyone, and from this experience today, I hope that all attending will leave having found that here at Poetry in Parks.
Music by Nicholas Xenelis, clarinetist and alto & tenor saxophonist, will join us to fill the interludes with beautiful sound. He is a member of the Sonoma County Philharmonic, Ukiah Symphony, and Symphony of the Redwoods as Principal and second clarinet and plays saxophone in the Wednesday Night Jazz Band in Petaluma.
🌲✨ Poetry in Parks is a free event ✨🌲
Poetry in Parks is a free event and a partnership with Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods in cooperation with CA State Parks. The program is sponsored by Arts in California Parks, a program by California State Parks and Parks California. Call 707-869-9177 ex 2 if you have any questions about this event. Print this flyer!
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods welcome individuals of all abilities. If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at 707-869-9177 ex 2 or at [email protected] at least 5 days in advance so we can make arrangements.
Sorry, but this event is sold out.