I'm reading Thursday at Hugo House for the Cheap Wine and Poetry series, from new poems written with the generous support of a King County 4 Culture Individual Artist Grant. If you are in town, come on down and "Drink Up."

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" celebrates National Poetry Month on Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House with poets Christa Bell, Matt Gano, Peter Pereira and Judith Roche.

About the Readers

Christa Bell is an award-winning feminist folk poet, performance artist and cultural activist. She is the author of three collections of poetry, two spoken word CDs and the creatrix of the one-woman phenomenon, “CoochieMagik: A SpokenWord Musical Comedy” directed by Baraka de Soleil.

Matt Gano is a nationally known poet, writer, and performance artist residing in Seattle, Washington. He is a member of the 2008 National Poetry Slam team for Seattle and finished in top position to earn the title, “Seattle Poetry Slam Grand Slam Champion”. He was a member of the National Poetry Slam team for Seattle in 2004, and again in 2005 and remains one of the top performing artists in Seattle’s poetry circuit. His published work includes: chapbooks,"Music Maker",“Welcome Home”,“I Eight the Infinite”, and “Art Barker”, a self-titled poetry LP, and a live recording entitled “A Giant’s Pulse.” More to come soon……

Peter Pereira is a family physician in Seattle, and was a founding editor of Floating Bridge Press. He plans to read tonight from new work supported by a King County 4Culture grant -- a poem series entitled “The Expedition of the Vaccine” exploring world health, imperialism, women's and children’s rights, and the fate of 22 Spanish orphan boys used as smallpox vaccine carriers in the early 1800’s.

Judith Roche is the author of three collections of poetry, the most recent of which, Wisdom of the Body, won an American Book Award, She has edited a number of poetry anthologies and has worked in collaboration with visual artists on several public art projects which are installed in the Northwest area, including an installation about salmon at the Chittenden Locks. She is Literary Arts Director Emeritus for One Reel, and teaches poetry workshops throughout the country. She was Distinguished Northwest Writer in Residence at Seattle University in 2007 and is a Fellow in the Black Earth Institute.