Sept 23 Evening at Egan: An Evening with Alaska Writer Laureate Peggy Shumaker

Her Evening at the Egan presentation and discussion will feature a reading from her lyrical memoir "Just Breathe Normally," a book that grew from a life-threatening bike wreck. She'll also read from her most recent book, "Gnawed Bones." Then she'll open a conversation with the audience, talking about writing and the writing life in Alaska.

Juneau, Alaska

Date of Press Release: September 19, 2011

The Evening at Egan lecture series continues this Friday, Sept 23 at 7 pm with "Geographies of the Land and of the Heart:  An Evening with Alaska Writer Laureate Peggy Shumaker" in the Egan Lecture hall.  

Peggy Shumaker currently serves as the Alaska State Writer Laureate.  Her Evening at the Egan presentation and discussion will feature a reading from her lyrical memoir Just Breathe Normally, a book that grew from a life-threatening bike wreck. She'll also read from her most recent book, Gnawed Bones.  Then she'll open a conversation with the audience, talking about writing and the writing life in Alaska.

“What does it mean to live a creative life in this place at this moment?” asks Shumaker. “Our answers to that question take many forms--music, dance, drama, visual art.  My medium is words--luscious and infinite.  I'll read from my work and then open a lively Alaskan artistic conversation. Please come join in. Everyone is welcome.”

Peggy Shumaker will give a community writing workshop on Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-12 noon at the Juneau Public Library. To sign up, email Carol Race at carolr@juneau.lib.ak.us .

Shumaker is founding editor of Boreal Books, an imprint that publishes fine art and literature from Alaska.  She's also editor of the Alaska Literary Series at the University of Alaska Press, which will publish its first three titles in spring 2012.

Shumaker’s next work is Genesis, Quetzal, a book of poems set in Costa Rica. Professor emerita from University of Alaska Fairbanks, Shumaker was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. She has served as poet-in residence at the Stadler Center for Poetry at Bucknell and as the president of the board of directors of AWP. Shumaker teaches in the low-residency MFA Rainier Writing Workshop and at many writing conferences and festivals.

For more information about Peggy Shumaker, her publications and her role as Alaska Writer Laureate, please visit her website at http://www.peggyshumaker.com