Cheap Wine & Poetry
The second-to-last Cheap Wine & Poetry at the old Hugo House is going to be a doozy. Featuring the ferocious Ela Barton, smartypants Rebecca Hoogs, the wondruous Clare Johnson, and mover-and-shaker Yonnas Getahun, plus the insta-hangover Chuck Shaw.
As always, the reading is free, and an open mic follows the features. Jeanine Walker hosts.
About the Poets
Ela (Ebo) Barton is a Black and Filipino queer poet and artist living in Seattle, Washington. They are a five-time finalist of the Seattle Poetry Slam Grand Slam and competes nationally against the top slam poets in the nation. Barton has taught Creative Writing and Performance Poetry at Bent: A Queer Writing Institute. They have been featured on National Public Radio, SeattleGayScene.com, Button Poetry, EverydayFeminism.com and King 5 (Seattle) News. Their work has been featured in Adrienne: A Poetry Journal of Queer Women by Sibling Rivalry Press. They curated and directed How to Love THIS Queer Body of Color: An Unapology in partnership with Gay City Arts, founded Seattle’s only all ages poetry slam and produced the music inspired poetry series, Liner Notes.
Yonnas Gethun builds bridges between Seattle’s art and tech hubs, hosting, and entertaining creatives while immersing himself in Seattle’s rich literary, visual arts and dance culture. Most recently he co-founded and launched, Porchlit.org, SelfID.me, #CapHillPSA, curated “Touch Me: I Am Violent”, “and NW Film Forum’s “videOasis.” Yonnas brings brilliant minds together for events and collaborations that enrich the atmosphere and build community around local artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and cultural institutions. Collect, which he co-founded with other community leaders, was named Best Arts Idea of 2015 by Seattle Weekly. In fall 2015, he’ll be releasing his first book of poetry collection, “I Hung Myself on the Moon.”
Rebecca Hoogs is the author of Self-Storage (Stephen F. Austin University Press) which was a finalist for the 2013 Washington State Book Award in Poetry, and a chapbook, Grenade (GreenTower Press). Her poems have appeared in Poetry, AGNI, FIELD, Crazyhorse, Zyzzyva, The Journal, Poetry Northwest, The Florida Review, Cincinnati Review, and others. She won the 2010 Southeast Review poetry contest and is the recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Artist Trust of Washington State. She is the Associate Director for Seattle Arts & Lectures and occasionally co-directs and teaches in the summer Creative Writing in Rome program for the University of Washington.
Clare Johnson is a writer and artist. Recent publications include Jack Straw Writers Anthology, Poetry Northwest and Roses (a book pairing her art with poems by Rilke). Exhibitions include Storefronts Seattle, Hugo House, Jerwood Space and Guy’s Hospital (London), where her drawing series about childhood asthma is permanently housed. She is a Michael S. Harper Poetry Prize winner and a 2015 Jack Straw Writing Fellow. Several projects have received grants and awards: her ongoing Post-it Note Project (drawing a memory on a post-it each night), her Drawing from Literature series, and upcoming art for the play Our Town.
