The Studio Series Poetry Reading & Open Mic

Featuring Joe Wilkins and David Oates  Joe Wilkins is the author of two novels, The Entire Sky and Fall Back Down When I Die; a memoir, The Mountain and the Fathers, and five collections of poetry, including Pastoral, 1994 and When We Were Bird. His latest, Every Sky at Home: Essays on Landscape and Family, is forthcoming in the fall of 2026. Born and raised on a sheep ranch north of the Bull Mountains of eastern Montana, he lives with his family in the foothills of the Coast Range of Oregon.  David Oates has published three books of poetry: Surprise Comes Slowly (Kelson Books, 2025); The Heron Place (Swan Scythe, 2015); Peace in Exile (Oyster River, 1992), and is the recipient of the 1982 Badonnah Award from Bitterroot (New York); he was a finalist for many poetry awards, including the Iron Horse Trifecta; the Pablo Neruda Award for Long Poem, (Nimrod); Gravendyk Award (Inlandia Institute), Lascaux Prize and the Ars Poetica Prize. His work has appeared in dozens of poetry magazines, and translations of his poems appear in German and French. In addition to teaching at colleges and universities, he has published non-fiction books with university presses as well as essays, and was Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer at University of Montana (Missoula) in 2012-2013. David grew up in California where the High Sierras were an important training ground. He has lived in Portland together with his partner, the artist Horatio Law, for the last three decades. The Open Mic is open to all audience members. Participants can sign up before the start of the reading or during the break. In the interest of time, Open Mic readers are asked to limit their reading to three minutes. View clips of featured poets reading at the Studio Series on Instagram @poet_landia and on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1281329966139780/ The Ross Island Grocery and Café is a cozy space with capacity for 40 or so people. Tables are available, so people who arrive early can enjoy a light supper (i.e., a sandwich, salad or burger) while waiting for the reading to begin. If we run out of table space, folding chairs are available. A mic will enhance the readings. There is plenty of unrestricted parking on the streets around the Café.