Other Events

Tuesday, April 2 and Friday, April 5

Hotel Spokane: Hope in the Midst of Despair

Tuesday, April 9

Ode, a play by Jonathan Johnson

  Gifts of the Crow: A Presentation by John Marzluff

Where zoology and conservation meets sociology and anthropology, you'll find John Marzluff. A professor of Wildlife Science at the University of Washington, Marzluff studies the intricate relationships between birds and humans, and the surprising ways we influence our feathered friends. He researches birds of prey, crows, ravens, and magpies. His work brings attention to these little understood birds and engages the public in new discussion on endangered species conservation.

Humans have long been fascinated by crows. They show up in our cave paintings, our language (“to eat crow,” crowbar, etc.) and our art (Nevermore, anyone?). The influence of crows on our culture is undeniable, but Marzluff argues that this influence is a two-way street. His latest book, Gifts of the Crow (Free Press, 2012) presents his fascinating theory of “cultural co-evolution.” Not only have crows made an indelible mark on our culture, but Marzluff also shows how crows seem to share particularly human behaviors such as language, delinquency, risk-taking, and more. His research is accompanied by the illustration of longtime collaborator Tony Angell. 

Marzluff is the author of over 100 scientific papers on bird behavior as well as the widely acclaimed book In the Company of Crows and Ravens (Yale University Press, 2007), also illustrated by Angell. He is the recipient of the A. Brazier Howell, Board of Directors, and H.R. Painton awards from the Cooper Ornithological Society. As a teacher, he “thrives on the intellectual challenge of keeping ahead of highly motivated students” and often uses his personal research and experiences to bring science to life in the classroom.

This event is sponsored by Dr. Elizabeth Welty and the Mobius Science Center.

Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Mobius Science Center, 811 W Main Ave
Cost: Free and open to the public

Friday, April 12

Poetry Salon

Feeling poetic? Loquacious? French? Come to the After-Hours Poetry Salon and bask in all three. Originated in 18^th century France, the salon is an informal gathering centered around discussions of literature, art, and philosophy. Six poets will read and hold an informal discussion about art and craft, moderated by EWU professor and poet Jonathan Johnson.

Gerard Beirne writes poetry “no one has ever seen before.”  In a previous life, the Irish poet studied mathematics and engineering, and his poems seek to reconcile the logic of science, the magic of art, and the unknown of the spirit. His latest collection is Games of Chance: A Gambler’s Manual.

Cecelia Hagen’s poems captures what she calls the “daily stumblings,” the mundane beauty, of our lives. Her sense of place comes from living across the United States, from Norfolk, VA to Eugene, OR. These complex landscapes make up the heart of her first full length collection, Entering.

John Hodgen believes that every poem is “a whisper against the world that might be breaking at any minute.” The poems in Heaven & Earth Holding Company, his latest collection, are precisely that beautiful and urgent. Among a wide variety of influences, he cites Shakespeare, the Bible, and Bob Dylan.

Stephanie Lenox has plenty of obsessions. The Guinness book of world records, the overheard conversations between coworkers, her toddler’s expanding appreciation for the dangerous and the pointy. Her latest, Congress of Strange People, invites you to join her in her “federation of freaks.”

Maxine Scates was raised in a working class family in Los Angeles. Now based in the Northwest, she continues to depict new and shifting facets of the American family. Her most recent book, Undone, “confront[s] everyday life with a clear and steady eye.”

Carolyne Wright’s poetic alter ego, Eulene, is unapologetic, silly, and feisty, at once hilariously knowing and hopelessly naïve. The Seattle-based poet lets her doppelganger run free in her latest collection, Mania Klepto: the Book of Eulene. She also teaches, edits, and translates poetry.

Time: 9 p.m.
Venue: The Rocket Bakery, 1325 W 1st Ave.
Cost:  Free and open to the public