William Stafford
Friday, January 17, is the 100th birthday of William Stafford, Oregon’s former poet laureate. Stafford, who died in 1993 at age 79, still has many fans of his poetry and of his principled, well-disciplined life. Stafford started each day by writing a new poem and by the end of his life he had created more than 22,000 of them. Of those, about 3,000 were published.
He was a late bloomer as a published poet. His first book of poetry, West of Your City, was published in 1960, when he was 46 years old. But when he was 48 he won the National Book Award for Poetry for his collection, Traveling Through the Dark. In 1970 he was named the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Later that title was changed to Poet Laureate of the United States. In 1975 he was named the Poet Laureate of Oregon. He had lived in Oregon since 1948, when he began teaching at Lewis & Clark College. He retired from the college in 1980.
Birthday celebrations for the esteemed poet are planned throughout January in Portland, other Oregon cities and in some locations across the country and the world. To celebrate Stafford’s great contribution to literature, try writing a poem a day. Better yet, plan to attend one of January’s FREE and local events. Check below for some of this week’s events in the Portland area. For more information and more events, see the Friends of William Stafford’s centennial calendar.
Tuesday, January 14, 6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. Kenton Public Library, 8226 N. Denver. Poet Don Colburn will discuss Stafford and his work. Audience is encouraged to bring and read a favorite Stafford poem.
Wednesday, January 15, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy. Guest readers will share poetry, cake.
Thursday, January 16, 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. OPB, Channel 10. “Discovering William Stafford: An Oregon Art Beat Special.”
Friday, January 17, Noon to 1 p.m. U.S. Bank Room, Central Library, 801 S.W. 10 Ave. Live OPB broadcast of “Think Out Loud,” featuring Kim Stafford and Paulann Petersen, Oregon’s current poet laureate.
Friday, January 17, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Waverly Heights United Church of Christ, 3300 S.E. Woodward St. Poetry, reminiscences, light supper.
Saturday, January 18, 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Portland Community College – Sylvania, 12000 S.W. 49 Ave. Poetry readings, dramatization of Stafford’s WWII experience as a conscientious objector.
Saturday, January 18, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tigard Public Library, 13500 S.W. Hall Blvd. Kim Stafford will talk about his father and his poetry.
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