Livestream Poetry Reading: Christopher Luna, Angelo Luna, and Laura LeHew

Annie Bloom's welcomes local poets Christopher Luna, Angelo Luna, and Laura LeHew for a livestream reading from their new collections from Portland press The Poetry Box.

Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/0yYkc8VKLd8

(Maria Vara Photography)

About Exchanging Wisdom:

This collection features poems for and about Christopher's son Angelo Luna, as well as a few pieces Angelo wrote for Christopher. The earliest poem was written when Angelo was three, and the most recent at age 21. Christopher endeavored to encourage his son to be an autonomous, freethinking individual. Angelo grew to become that and so much more. Taken as a whole, the poems in this collection track the development of Angelo's personality and the strong bond between father and son.

Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, teacher, writing coach and collage artist. He served as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Clark County from 2013-2017. Luna has an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and is the co-founder, with Toni Lumbrazo Luna, of Printed Matter Vancouver, an editing service and small press for Northwest writers. He founded the popular LGBTQ+ friendly, all ages and uncensored Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic in Vancouver, WA, in 2004. Christopher Luna’s books include Message from the Vessel in a Dream (Flowstone Press, 2018), Brutal Glints of Moonlight, and The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978.

Angelo Luna is a poet, son, and LEGO connoisseur. Originally from New York, with a migration to Washington as a young child, he grew up with a fiery bloodline and cold weather. Currently employed as a teller for Wells Fargo, he loves writing, working, and finance and is interested in what every human has to offer.

About Dear John:

This collection of poems investigate and explore the multi-facets of love by using diverse points of view to reveal romantic love, loving friendships, and love that is complicated. The namesake poem for which this book was conceived, the final poem, "Dear John—," is an epistolary poem in multiple stanzas ultimately on which the theme of this book is derived. "what happens between the notes // is the living."

Former girl scout Laura LeHew is enthralled by negative spaces. Her collections include: Buyer’s Remorse (Tiger’s Eye Press—Infinities) poems on abuse; Let Widows be Widows (Unsolicited Press—forthcoming) themed around the elegiac; Becoming (Another New Calligraphy) a non-linear discourse on alcoholism & dementia; Willingly Would I Burn, (MoonPath Press) math & science; It’s Always Night, It Always Rains (Winterhawk Press) murder/noir; and Beauty (Tiger's Eye Press) fairy tales. In her alternate life Laura has been active in the high-tech industry for over thirty-five years. Her company Deer Run Associates provides Computer Forensic investigations & Information Security consulting services working with law enforcement & commercial organizations on some of the largest and most high-profile cybercrime cases in recent years. Laura received her MFA from the California College of the Arts. She is on the steering committee for the Lane Literary Guild and facilitates the 1st & 3rd critique group. Laura held various positions for the Oregon Poetry Association. She co-hosted a reading series, Poetry for the People. Recent residencies include Hypatia-in-the-Wood & PLAYA. Laura owns/edits Uttered Chaos, a small press which publishes books of poetry.