The Right Madness: Poets Derick Burleson and Ed Skoog Read New Poems and Discuss the Legacy of Richard Hugo

Ed Skoog, a former writer-in-residence at Hugo House, returns from Washington, D.C., where he was the Jennie McKean Moore Writer-in-Residence Fellow at George Washington University. He is the author of “Mister Skylight” (Copper Canyon Press, 2009) as well as three chapbooks, “Took Kit” (1996), “L’Allegro and Il Penseroso” (2000) and “Field Recordings” (2004).

Derick Burleson, flying in from Alaska where he teaches in the MFA program at the University of Alaska—Fairbanks, is the author of “Never Night” (Marick Press, 2008). His first book, “Ejo: Poems, Rwanda 1991-94,” won the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, and he was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry in 1999.

Skoog and Burleson will read from new work and discuss the legacy of Hugo, who has been an inspiration for both poets.

The reading is free, and books from Skoog and Burleson will be available for purchase courtesy of Elliott Bay Book Company. Café Hugo will be open, serving select cocktails, beer and wine.

About the Poets
Derick Burleson’s latest book is “Never Night” (Marick Press, 2008). His first book, “Ejo: Poems, Rwanda 1991-94” won the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry. His poems have appeared in The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, The Southern Review and Poetry, among other journals. A recipient of a 1999 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, Burleson teaches in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Alaska—Fairbanks and lives in Two Rivers, Alaska.

Ed Skoog’s new collection of poems, “Mister Skylight,” was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2009. He’s published three chapbooks, “Took Kit” (1996), “L’Allegro and Il Penseroso” (2000) and “Field Recordings” (2004). His poems have been published in many magazines, including American Poetry Review, The New Republic, Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry and NO, a journal of the arts in New Orleans. In 2008-2009, Skoog was a writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House.