You are cordially invited to the first Portland reading by Peter Sears newly appointed Poet Laureate of Oregon Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 7:00pm George R. White Library and Learning Center, Concordia University 2800 NE Liberty Street, Portland, Oregon Presented by Concordia University Libraries’ Art & Culture Program and Mountain Writers Series Catered reception We are also celebrating his book launch for Small Talk (Peter will sign books) This event is free and open to the public Peter Sears is the author of four full-length poetry collections: Tour, The Brink, Green Diver, and a new collection, Small Talk from Lynx House Press. His second full-length collection, The Brink, received the Gibbs-Smith poetry prize and the Western States Book Award for Poetry. He is also the author of several chapbooks and two supplementary teaching texts, Secret Writing and I’m Gonna Bake Me a Rainbow Poem (Scholastic Publishers). His poems have appeared in magazines and newspapers including Saturday Review, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, The Christian Science Monitor, and Rolling Stone, as well as such literary magazines such as Field, New Letters, Iowa Review, Poetry Northwest, Antioch Review, Ploughshares, and Black Warrior Review. Peter is the founder of the Oregon Literary Coalition and co-founder of Friends of William Stafford and Cloudbank Books. He serves on the board of advisors for Fishtrap, and splits his time between Corvallis and Portland. For more information about Peter’s publications and awards, visit his website for more information: petersears.com The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon. .