Poet Laureate of Lafayette Michele Battiste will be the featured guest for the Talking Gourds first Tuesday Bardic Trails virtual reading series Sept. 1st at 7 pm MDT.
“I’ve heard Michele read at several poetry festivals,” said Art Goodtimes, Talking Gourds director, “and I’ve never failed to be impressed.”
The author of four books of poetry and an oracle deck, Battiste’s collection, Waiting for the Wreck to Burn, won the Louise Bogan Award for Literary Merit and Excellence from Trio House Press. Her latest book, The Elsewhere Oracle, is a collection of poems that doubles as a divination tool (Black Lawrence Press, 2025). She is the current poet laureate of Lafayette.
Battiste’s work has appeared widely: in publications such as American Poetry Review, American Book Review, LIT, The Rumpus, Women’s Studies Quarterly. She has received awards, fellowships and residencies from AWP, the Center of the American West, The Jerome Foundation, Blue Mountain Center, and Good Hart Artist Residency, among others.
She is associate director of philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy where she works to tackle climate change and protect nature. www.michelebattiste.net
For those that like story or poem prompts, we are suggesting “Fire,” although poems on any subject are welcome. Virtual attendees are encouraged to bring a story or poem to share each month after the featured reader — their own work or someone else’s.
The Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Poetry Program hosts the free Bardic Trails virtual zoom series on the first Tuesday of each month. The Wilkinson Public Library continues as our collaboration partner, with town support from Commission for Community Assistance, Arts & Special Events. Featured reader for August 4th will be Diné poet/performer Kirbie Bennett of Durango.
Participants are encouraged to visit <https://www.tellurideinstitute.org/western-slope-calendar> to get the zoom link each month, if they aren’t already on our mailing list. Or email Art Goodtimes directly.
Thanks to the Cantor Family, the Guttman Family Foundation, CCAASE and our Fischer and Cantor contest participants for supporting our program and projects.
OTHER PROGRAMS
The Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Poetry Program is teaming up with Grand Junction’s Art Center of Western Colorado host the first Book Cliffs Poetry Festival, a one-day extravaganza “packed with poetry,” on Saturday, Sept. 26th. More information coming soon. Headliners include Wendy Videlock, Danny Rosen, David Rothman and the awarding of the Chamberlain Award for lifetime achievement in Colorado poetry to the late Andrea Gibson of Denver, as well as the awarding of the new Western Slope Poet Laureate.
Talking Gourds continues its collaboration with the Naturita Community Library usually on the second Thursday of each month at 6 pm for the West End Stories & Poems series.
Telluride’s Wilkinson Public Library and Talking Gourds host a live Stories & Poems series at the library’s Magazine Room on the third Tuesday of every month at 5:15 pm. Ruth Duffy and Michael Olschewsky will be our featured poets on Sept. 15th. In October, Elle Metrick of Norwood and Rob Schultheis of Telluride will be the featured poets. Participants are encouraged to bring a poem or story to share.
The international Fischer Prize poetry contest and the Colorado-focused Cantor Prize poetry contest are almost over for submissions. Aug. 31st is the deadline. Lesley Wheeler of Virginia will be the Fischer final judge, and Scott Nicolay of New Mexico the Cantor final judge.
For more information, visit the Telluride Institute Talking Gourds website: tellurideinstitute.org/talking-gourds
