Member News Digest

We love hearing about, passing on news about, and reading about our OPA members having poems published in literary journals, in zines, on web sites, and as a consequence of winning a contest. Please let us know where we can find your most recent publications, and use this page as a guide to the publications where OPA member’s poems appear!

Do you wish to find the poetry books by OPA members? List of Members’ Books.

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 OPA Member News

  • EFRAIN DIAZ-HORNA JOINS OPA BOARD

    April 13, 2022

    We are delighted to welcome the newest member of the OPA Board of Directors, Efraín Díaz-Horna. He will serve the remainder of the term of Rayn Roberts, who has resigned. That term expires in October 2023, when Efraín will be eligible to run for a full term.

    Efraín is active in Oregon’s Hispanic poetry community, writing masterful poetry in both English and Spanish.  

    He was born in Talara, Peru, the oldest of five children. He spent most of his childhood in the metropolitan city of Lima, where he attended Santa Rosa de Lima-Maryknoll grade and high schools. He was awarded a full scholarship to study at Mt. Angel College in Oregon, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He then returned to Peru, where he worked in the land reform program. Two and a half years later, Efraín returned to the United States and completed two graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin, one in Social Work and another in Public Policy and Public Administration.

    For 25 years, Efraín worked for the state of Oregon and Multnomah County. Many of those years were spent as an administrator for the Department of Aging and Disability Services. In March of 2001, Efrain took early retirement to spend more time with his family and to focus on his writing, art, and volunteering. Upon his leaving, one of his employees described Efraín as “a legend in our midst: Philosopher, teacher, artist, poet, director—a true Renaissance Man.”

    Efraín is married to Kathleen C. Díaz (Zollner) and has two sons and five grandchildren. In 2017, he and his wife celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

    At present Efraín, in addition to volunteering, gives presentations on a variety of subjects, ranging from Hispanic issues to magical realism in Latin American literature. Efraín has been drawing, painting, and writing since he was a child. He has exhibited his art in Oregon, Mexico, Russia, and Peru.

    His poetry has been published in Expreso, The Oregonian, The Hispanic News, The National Catholic Reporter, and several newsletters. He is the author of the following poetry books The Many Faces of Love (1983); Aire, agua y cenizas (2011); Cuatro poemas (2011); The Anvil of God (2011); The Life of Oceans (2014); 1ra Antología de la poesía oregoniana (2018);Relative Poetry (2018), and Cuando llegues al fondo, cava más abajo (2019)—a translation of Kim Stafford’s poetry. Efraín has been a member of the Oregon Council for the Humanities, The Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon United Nations Association, the Silverton Poetry Association, the Oregon Poetry Association, the Instituto de Cultura Oregoniana, and has chaired the Oregon Hispanic Commission.

  • OPA member Laura LeHew’s new book out from Unsolicited Press

    February 23, 2022OPA member Laura LeHew's new book out from Unsolicited Press

    Oregon Poet Releases Let Widows be Widows with Spunky PNW Publisher, Unsolicited Press

    PORTLAND, OR; March 1, 2022Let Widows be Widows is a collection of poetry in five sections. This collection is about the dead and the living. It illuminates various states of loss, hope, love and mourning from diverse points of view. It begins with denial. A door closing. Happenstance. We are unaware or under-aware of terminal illness or the shock of an unexpected sudden death. Words that we have left unsaid. Let Widows be Widows examines how we bargain with ourselves. What we tell the dying, what we tell the living. It looks at how we modify our behaviors, experiences, to try to overcome the unsolvable dilemma of death. We are witnesses, passing along the stories of our ancestors, friends, pets. It’s about those who have gone to war or faced the great unknowing, how we are each a memorial and a monument to the other.

    This book is about duality. When we are faced with peril, we roll a d20 die to see if it is going to affect us, and then we roll another die to determine how much damage is dealt. Every day we walk with the different sides of death, all the pieces converging windblown into our life. Finally, it is about the actions we take, our letting go, in order to overcome our grief.

    About Laura LeHew

    Former girl scout Laura LeHew is obsessed with the creepy, creaky underbelly of life and whatever lies beyond. Widely published her collections include: Dear John–(The Poetry Box) is a collection of poems that explore the multi-facets of love by using diverse points of view to reveal romantic love, loving friendships, and love that is complicated, Buyer’s Remorse (Tiger’s Eye Press—Infinities) poems on abuse, Becoming (Another New Calligraphy) a non-linear discourse on alcoholism and dementia, Willingly Would I Burn, (MoonPath Press) themed around math and science, It’s Always Night, It Always Rains, (Winterhawk Press) murder/noir and Beauty (Tiger’s Eye Press) fairy tales.

    Formerly Laura held various positions for the Oregon Poetry Association including President, Contest Chair and Cascadia editor, she co-hosted a reading series, Poetry for the People which ran for 4 seasons and has received residencies to Hypatia-in-the-Wood, PLAYA, the Montana Artists Refuge and Soapstone. Laura owns and edits Uttered Chaos, a small press which publishes books of poetry by NW writers. She knows nothing of gardens or gardening but is well versed in the cultivation of cats.

    Laura is the recipient of the 2021 OPA’s Patricia Ruth Banta Award which honors an individual or group that made a significant contribution to Oregon poetry and to OPA’s mission.

    About Unsolicited Press

    Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at www.unsolicitedpress.com. The publisher can be followed on Instagram and Twitter: @unsolicitedp

    Let Widows Be Widows is available on March 1, 2022 as a paperback (160 p.; 978-1-956692-06-8) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities.

    ###

    Press only, Unsolicited Press 619.354.8005

    [email protected]

    For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts:

    Laura LeHew [email protected]

  • Carey Taylor’s poem “Birthday Fires” wins 2022 Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize

    February 23, 2022Carey Taylor's poem "Birthday Fires" wins 2022 Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize

    Carey Taylor’s poem “Birthday Fires” is the winner of the 2022 Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize sponsored by the Hoffman Center for Arts in Manzanita, Oregon.  Judge Lana Hechtman Ayers had this to say about Carey’s poem:

    “Birthday Fires” is a marvel of imagery and complexity in 9 couplets.  The fires are birth, creativity, life.  The poem reminds us that even as hardships and sorrows, sap joy, we can still celebrate and make our own light, as in the final captivating image of the poem “fiery candelabras/tilted on our heads.”

    You can read Carey’s poem on the Hoffman Center for the Arts webpage.

    Carey Taylor is the author of The Lure of Impermanence (Cirque Press 2018).

  • Frank Rossini’s book reviewed by Thomas Hubbard for Raven Chronicles Press

    February 14, 2022Frank Rossini's book reviewed by Thomas Hubbard for Raven Chronicles Press

    Frank Rossini’s collection, “Last Confession” (sight | for | sight books, 03/2021), was reviewed by Thomas Hubbard for Raven Chronicles Press.
    Read the review here: https://www.ravenchronicles.org/book-reviews/hubbard-reviews-rossini-last-confession

  • David J.S. Pickering’s book reviewed by Colorado State University

    January 11, 2022David J.S. Pickering's book reviewed by Colorado State University

    David J.S. Pickering’s collection, “Jesus Comes to Me as Judy Garland” (Airlie Press, 09/2021), was reviewed at Colorado State University’s Center for Literary Publishing.
    Read the review here: https://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/reviews/jesus-comes-to-me-as-judy-garland/

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