April 8, 2021 | Poetry Café

San Miguel Poetry Café Presents “Alaska Voices”: Three Exceptional Poets from the North

By Lee Harris

The San Miguel Poetry Café will feature three poets with ties to Alaska for the last event of its season. Kate Boesser, Marie Tozier, and Ken Waldman will read via Zoom on Thursday, April 8, 2021, 5:00-6:00 PM CDT. The online event is free of charge; pre-registration is required.

Kate Boesser is an Alaskan poet, author, printer, carver, illustrator, musician, and sculptor. She wrote and illustrated the children’s book Silverbow’s Basin, published by Homestead Press, and AlphaBirds, a full-color alphabet book with woodblock and wood engraving prints accompanying rhyming lyrics. AlphaBirds depicts an alphabet of birds that come each year to the Alexander Archipelago, the island chain comprising Southeast Alaska. She also illustrated Orca: A Collection of Alaskan Poetry & Prose, Volume II. Raised in Juneau, Alaska, Kate has lived in the nearby town of Gustavus since 1977. Retired, she now enjoys her two granddaughters, volunteers at the library desk, and restores carousel horses, in addition to writing both prose and poetry.

Iñupiaq poet Marie Tozier lives in Nome, Alaska. Her poetry collection Open the Dark, published by the Boreal imprint of Red Hen Press in 2020, illuminates Iñupiaq life in the northwestern Alaska bush. Her poetry has appeared in Yellow Medicine Review, Cirque, Alaska Quarterly Review, and Catamaran Literary Reader. She has also written for the Anchorage Daily News. She teaches at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Northwest Campus. As a participant in the university’s Robert Wood Johnson Global Solutions Partnership, she studied Maori education and culture in Aotearoa, New Zealand. She earned an MFA from the low-residency program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Tozier has also led sewing, quilting, knitting, qiviut processing, and writing classes. 

Ken Waldman is known as Alaska’s fiddling poet. He combines Appalachian-style string-band music, original poetry, and storytelling for his unique performances. His 17 books include 14 full-length poetry collections, a memoir, a creative writing manual, and a children’s book. His nine CDs include two for children. He’s appeared in a wide range of venues, from the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage to the Dodge Poetry Festival to the Woodford Folk Festival (Queensland, Australia) to coffee houses and house concerts across North America. His work has appeared in such publications as Beloit Poetry Journal, Massachusetts Review, and Poets & Writers Magazine. More information at kenwaldman.com and trumpsonnets.com.

Founded in January 2016, the San Miguel Poetry Café convenes monthly, September through April, and also holds special events. The all-volunteer organization presents both established and emerging poets. To be considered for an upcoming reading, please submit sample poems and a brief bio to poetrycafe@sanmiguelliterarysala.org.