Poetry Reading @ Browsers Bookshop

The holidays are upon us! So, before everyone gets jazzed up on sugar cookies, glittery wrapping paper and tasty Christmas cocktails, I thought I’d let you know I’m kicking 2018 off with a poetry reading at Browsers Bookshop. I’m happy to say I’ll be reading alongside Olympia poet Joanne M. Clarkson, whose work I admire very much, on January 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Joanne and I will read from our respective new poetry collections, The Fates by Joanne M. Clarkson and Still Clutching Maps by Christina Butcher. We’d love for you to join us for a wintry night of poetry next January!

What: Christina Butcher & Joanne M. Clarkson Poetry Reading

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday, January 22

Where: Browsers Bookshop
(107 Capitol Way N, Olympia)

More about the Authors & Their Work: 

Christina Butcher is a freelance writer, podcaster and veteran from Chaparral, New Mexico. She has a passion for storytelling and community involvement. She’s a regular contributor to OLY ARTS, The Ranger, Weekly Volcano and Thurston County Chamber of Commerce’s VOICE Magazine. Her writing has also appeared in City Arts, Creative Colloquy and Hilltop Action Journal. Christina’s debut poetry collection, Still Clutching Maps, was published in May 2017 by Blue Cactus Press. It explores ideas of language, power, and place as they inform a person’s ever-evolving identity. Christina holds degrees in anthropology and Chinese-Mandarin language studies, as well as a certificate in storytelling and content strategy. She lives and writes in Tacoma, Washington.

Joanne M. Clarkson’s full-length poetry collection, The Fates, won Bright Hill Press’ annual contest and was published in June 2017. This year her work was featured in the WA129 Poet Laureate Anthology, Blue Heron Review, Catamaran, Edge, Modern Poetry Review, Santa Fe Literary Review, the Ice Cream Anthology from World Enough Writers and the We’Moon Datebook for 2018. She has been the recipient of a GAP Grant from Artists Trust and a NEH grant to teach poetry in rural libraries. Clarkson has Master’s Degrees in English and Library Science. She has taught and worked as a professional librarian. After caring for her mother through a long illness, she re-careered as a RN specializing in Home Health and Hospice Care. She lives in Olympia, WA, and serves on the Board of the Olympia Poetry Network.