42 years ago Tess Gallagher and Raymond Carver held an impromptu poetry reading at the Evergreen Shopping Center in beautiful Clatskanie, Oregon. So the legend goes… While en route to their home in Port Angeles, Washington, these two writers stopped by Clatskanie to visit Raymond’s birthplace. It was there in that parking lot with the view of the town and surrounding mountains that they were inspired to have an impromptu reading. From their car’s moonroof, they read to whomever passed by. They read to the sky, they read to the hills. They read to each other.
Join us at 4pm on May 9th at the Raymond Carver Mural to commemorate Tess and Raymond’s improvised 1984 parking lot poetry recital, and help us celebrate a favorite new Clatskanie tradition. Tess will start us off by reading a selection of Carver and Gallagher poems and shared anecdotes. Then it’s your turn. Bring a poem to share (one that inspires you or one you wrote) and read to those assembled in the parking lot!
Look for the sea green Subaru near the Carver Mural at the old Clatskanie hospital building (where Carver was born). The Carver Mural is at 183-175 N. Nehalem Street, Clatskanie, OR 97016.