Monmouth, Ore. —Western Oregon University and Write Place welcomed Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston for a reading and discussion of her work on Thursday, April 30 at Western Oregon University’s campus.
Community members, faculty, staff and students packed the Willamette Room on campus as Waterston delivered an insightful and engaging presentation on the importance of language and poetry. “Waterston is a wonderful writer and tireless advocate for the literacy arts in our state,” said Henry Hughes, Ph.D., professor of literature and writing and director of Write Place. “She’s also a skilled and generous teacher and my students loved her class visit–it was also wonderful to see her incorporate student poetry into her presentation.”
“Waterston’s descriptions of her life in the high desert were vivid and powerful,” commented junior psychology major, Malia Vican. “Her artistic and everyday relationship with the land is inspiring.”
State Senator Deb Patterson spoke at the event, praising the poet laureate and WOU for “Bringing communities together over heartfelt writing that explores environmental issues.”
Waterston is the author of multiple books, including Walking the High Desert: Encounters with Rural America along the Oregon Desert Trail, We Could Die Doing This: Dispatches on Ageing from Oregon’s Outback, the essay collection Where the Crooked River Rises, and the memoir Then There Was No Mountain. She is also the author of five poetry collections, most recently As Far As I Can Anthem.
In 2024, Waterston was appointed the 11th Oregon Poet Laureate. Based in Bend, she founded and manages the Writing Ranch, a generative writing program that has conducted workshops since 2000. She also oversees the Waterston Desert Writing Prize, which became a program of the High Desert Museum.
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About Western Oregon University
Western Oregon University, established in Monmouth in 1856, proudly stands as Oregon’s oldest public university. Hosting around 4,000 students, Western embodies a mid-sized, NCAA Division II institution, with approximately 80% of its students hailing from within the state. Notably, its diverse student body comprises individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, veterans, and non-traditional learners. Western stands as the preferred campus in Oregon for those pursuing an enriching education within a nurturing, student-focused environment, characterized by faculty-led instruction. Where YOU belong.