National Poetry Month Reading with Fernwood Press

Join us for a celebration of National Poetry Month with local Fernwood Press poets Ayelet Amittay, Casey Killingsworth, Emmett Wheatfall, and Sherri Levine! The poets will share pieces from their recent work and discuss their creative process, followed by audience Q&A.

Poet bios:

Ayelet Amittay is a poet and psychiatric nurse practitioner in Eugene, Oregon. Her first book, The Eating Knife, is published by Fernwood Press. Her poems appear in Gulf Coast, Michigan Quarterly Review, Pleiades, and others. She has been featured on the Brooklyn Rail and is a Best of the Net Nominee.   

Casey Killingsworth has been published in numerous journals including The American Journal of Poetry, Better Than Starbucks, The Moth, and 3rd Wednesday. He is the author of A handbook for water (Cranberry Press, 1995), A nest blew down (Kelsay Books, 2021), and a new collection, Freak show (Fernwood Press), arrived in June 2024. You can find him online at caseykillingsworth.com 

Sherri Levine is a poet, mental health advocate, teacher, and squirrel lover who lives in Portland, Oregon. She was awarded the Lois Cranston Memorial Prize and won first place in the Oregon Poetry Association contest. She has written four poetry books. Her most recent work. I Remember Not Sleeping (Fernwood Press, 2024) is an illustrated poetry book dedicated to those suffering from mental illness or those who knows someone who is. She has been presenting her book at local and national conferences. Her writing can be found in Prairie Schooner, Poet Lore, Driftwood Press, Calyx, Jewish Literary Review and others. She believes writing saves lives, as it has continued to save hers. Sher teaches creative writing classes at a neighborhood center as well as to mental health support groups. She believes in the power of writing in the community, supporting and encouraging mental health recovery. Please visit her at sherrilevine.com

Emmett Wheatfall resides in Portland, Oregon, and has been nominated twice for the position of Oregon Poet Laureate. He is the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Oregon Poetry Association Patricia Ruth Banta Award. Emmett has also served as a keynote speaker at two Annual Conferences of the Oregon Poetry Association. In 2020, Corban University produced a nine-part documentary titled A Brief History, which highlights Emmett’s life and his introduction to poetry. His poetry has been published in several books, collections, and anthologies. Notably, one of his works, As Clean as a Bone, was a finalist for both the 2019 Eric Hoffer Award and the da Vinci Eye Award. You can find him online at https://emmettwheatfall-poet.blogspot.com/