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Elizabeth Austen

Producer

About

Former Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen has been interviewing poets and producing poetry segments for KUOW since 2001.

She began as an intern while in graduate school for an MFA in poetry at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Once she discovered the joy of blending her early background as an actor and director (Book–It Repertory Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Festival) with her passion for poetry as a spoken art form, she was hooked. She's been producing poetry for radio audiences ever since.

Her collection, "Every Dress a Decision" (Blue Begonia Press, 2011), was a finalist for the 2012 Washington State Book Award in poetry, and is now in its fourth printing. She's committed to fostering a broader understanding and appreciation of the literary arts in general and poetry in particular. Visit her online at her personal site.

Stories

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    Alice Derry On Watching Salmon And "Finding The Poem"

    Many Pacific Northwest artists feel compelled to respond to the drama of the salmon fighting their way upstream to spawn. In "Finding the Poem," Port Angeles poet Alice Derry sees in the salmon's efforts a parallel with the way we learn to accommodate each other in a long marriage — and how often it is loss that teaches us, finally, how to do it."Finding the Poem" is part of Derry's fourth collection of poetry, "Tremolo" (Red Hen Press, 2012).Her third collection, "Strangers to Their Courage" (Louisiana State University Press, 2001), was a finalist for the 2002 Washington Book Award. "Stages of Twilight" (Breitenbush, 1986), was chosen by Raymond Carver for the King County Publication Award. Derry recently retired from Peninsula College in Port Angeles, where she co-directed the Foothills Writers’ Series since 1980.
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    Poet Christine Deavel On The Choice To Make Art

    Why do we make art? and Is it worth the personal cost? are two of the central questions in Christine Deavel's poetry collection "Woodnote" (Bear Star Press, 2011). Deavel is the co-owner of a poetry-only bookstore in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, and a graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop. "Woodnote" has even won the Washington State Book award for poetry. But even so, Deavel describes herself as someone who is almost constantly in crisis about why she, or anyone, writes. KUOW's Elizabeth Austen spoke with Christine Deavel about that ambivalence and how it plays out in her work.In her poem "Economy," Deavel interleaves excerpts from a relative's early 20th century diaries — brief daily entries made faithfully for 54 years — with her own obsessive questioning about how to value the art she makes. Deavel talks about what drew her to the diaries as source material, and why, after devoting her life to poetry, she still questions why she does it. Pianist Robin Holcomb improvises while Deavel reads an excerpt from "Economy," recorded at the Good Shepherd Center in October 2011.About Christine Deavel And "Woodnote"Deavel is co-owner of Open Books: a Poem Emporium, one of just three poetry-only bookstores in the United States. She is the author of the poetry chapbook "Box of Little Spruce" (LitRag Press, 2005) and the collection "Woodnote," which won the 2012 Washington State Book Award for poetry and the 2011 Dorothy Brunsman Poetry Prize. She graduated from Indiana University and the University of Iowa, and currently lives in Seattle.
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    Washington State Book Award Winner Christine Deavel Reads From 'Woodnote'

    Christine Deavel reads excerpts from the title poem of “Woodnote” (Bear Star Press, 2011). Her collection won the 2012 Washington State Book Award for poetry from the Washington Center for the Book.Deavel is co-owner of Open Books: A Poem Emporium, in Wallingford. Open Books is one of just three poetry-only bookstores in the United States. Her reading was recorded at the Open Books Open Elsewhere series at the Good Shepherd Center in October 2011. Thanks to Steve Peters for assistance with the audio recording.Links:'Economy,' By Christine Deavel In Golden Handcuffs Review  'Hometown,' By Christine Deavel In The Far FieldReview Of 'Woodnote' At Crosscut