Find Your Inner Poet!

Celebrate National Poetry Month with three poetry workshops at the Newport Public Library, April 4, 11, and 18. Each session will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Marianne Klekacz, a poet from Salado, Oregon, will facilitate the workshops. Klekacz is a former president of the Oregon State Poetry Association and a board member of Writers On The Edge. Her full-length poetry collection, "When Words Fail," was published in 2009.

The workshops will focus on "Having Fun With Poetry," exploring a selection of light and fun poems, and in the process figuring out what makes a poem a poem. Participants will spend some of the time working on their own poetry.

The first two sessions will conclude with readings from two noted Oregon poets. Penelope Scambly-Schott, winner of the 2009 Oregon Book Award for Poetry is the guest poet for the April 4 workshop. Peter Sears will read at the April 11 program. Sears is the founder of the Oregon Literary Coalition, a co-founder of The Friends of William Stafford, and a recipient of the Stewart Holbrook Award Literary Legacy Award.

The final workshop will give participants an opportunity to read from their own material created in the workshops.

These workshops assume no pre-knowledge of poetry, and are suitable for all ages. Participation is free, but attendees are asked to bring their own writing paper and pens, and to register at the library. For more information, call 541-265-2153 or check the library’s website.