Poetry Book Release Event
Sunday, April 23rd at 3 pm
Walk-ins Welcomed Today!
$10 admission
Join us for a book release event and poetry reading by Connie Soper, a part time Manzanita resident. Her first book of poetry invites readers to wander the trails and paths of Oregon’s lush and fertile forests, and along its beaches, coastal cliffs, and headlands. She explores her native terrain with a reverence for the wild and untamed, as well as smaller moments spent in solitude. A Story Interrupted opens its map of place, memory, inheritances—a map both familiar and uncharted. These poems offer glimpses, as well, of more distant traveled lands, always rooted in a keenly observed sense of place and belonging. The precise and unhurried language of this collection is accessible, straightforward, and relatable—grounded by an appreciation for the mystery of our natural world. These poems recall tender moments and conjure memories that connect us with our past, even if that past is sometimes difficult to acknowledge. Here, open-endedness is not melancholy but joy, each poem a small celebration.
To open the event, we’ll hear the winning poems of the Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize, judged this year by Lauren Mallett.
About Connie
Connie Soper is a hard-core Oregonian who finds inspiration while hiking or beachcombing. Her poems have appeared in Catamaran, The Adirondack Review, Cider Press Review, Willawaw Journal, in Hoffman Center’s Word & Image project, and elsewhere. She is also a previous winner of the Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize. Connie divides her time between Portland and Manzanita, always wishing to spend more time at the beach. Her first full-length of poetry, A Story Interrupted, was published by Airlie Press in 2022.
For her reading at the Hoffman Center, Connie will be joined by her brother Curt, a singer and songwriter who lives in Wenatchee, Washington. His musical tastes are rooted in American folk traditions, from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan. He will perform a few songs he wrote based on Connie’s poems.
Masks are optional, but encouraged.
Connie Soper reads from her book, A Story Interrupted published in 2022 by Airlie Press, as well as readings by the winners of the Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize.
