Vince Wixon was a close friend and colleague of William Stafford and will provide commentary and background on the Oregon poet during the event. 

The words and life of Oregon poet William Stafford will be celebrated across the U.S. in January, commemorating the life of a man whose musings delved into topics of humanity’s relationship with nature, mortality and more.

In Ashland, Friends of the Hannon Library at Southern Oregon University will honor the late poet with the 30th annual William Stafford Poetry Celebration. 

“The very fact that this event is still going strong, still gets a big roomful of people every time, even after 30 years, is a testament to William Stafford’s influence on the Oregon writing community, and also on his effect on readers who aren’t necessarily writers,” said Amy Miller, organizer and emcee for the event for the past eight years. “Every year we have many people in the audience who have been attending the event for years, but also a few new people who don’t know much about Stafford; the legacy is passed on this way.”

The event is scheduled to take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, in the Meese Room (Room 305) at SOU’s Hannon Library, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland. Light refreshments will be served.

The Stafford celebration is free to attend and will include guest speaker Vince Wixon, a poet, Stafford scholar, educator and author of poetry books “The Square Grove” and “Blue Moon,” along with featured poets providing readings of Stafford’s works. 

Those featured poets include Margaret Loken, Peter Yeager, Barry Vitcov and Dianne Oberhansly, alongside Miller as host.

Vince Wixon will provide comments on the Oregon poet, and the featured poets will read selections of Stafford’s work during the first half of the celebration. Following a brief intermission, audience members will be invited to read a favorite Stafford poem before the event draws to a close.

Those interested in the celebration but unable to attend in person can follow along through a livestream via Zoom. Virtual participants are encouraged to register ahead of time at hanlib.sou.edu/friends/lectureseries.html.

Complimentary parking for the event is available at SOU’s parking lots 21 and 22. Metered parking is available at lots 1, 12, 29, 36, 37 and 41.

Stafford, who died in 1993, was a nationally-renowned poet who served as Oregon Poet Laureate from 1975 to 1990. 

His collection, “Traveling Through the Dark,” won the 1963 National Book Award for Poetry, and in 1970, Stafford was named Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, which is known today as the U.S. Poet Laureate title. 

The poet’s writings mused about a wide range of topics, often pondering about nature and humans’ relationship with the world. 

“I’m often moved by his quirky language and subject matter,” Miller said. “He could write about waiting in line at the post office, or how trees might feel about their friends being logged, or a stretch of land not known for any battles or historic significance and could make these things sound both epic and everyday.”

Stafford’s poems covered the ordinary, proving accessible to not only knowledgeable scholars but also everyday people with little experience in poetry.

“There are lots of classics that are a good place to start. Just to name a few: ‘For the Unknown Enemy,’ ‘Traveling Through the Dark,’ ‘The Way It Is,’ ‘At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border,’” Miller said for those new to the poet’s work. 

Stafford’s influence made an impact on many, including Wixon, who founded the poetry celebration in Ashland with his late wife, Patty Wixon. 

“Vince and Patty were close friends of William Stafford, and Vince also edited several of Stafford’s books, produced videos of his appearances and had an unusually deep knowledge of his work, so he has a unique, personal perspective on Stafford and his place in literature,” Miller said. 

The event will also pay tribute to Patty Wixon, who died in July.

“Patty was also a great force in Oregon poetry; together, she and Vince were awarded the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award for their contributions to the literary life of Oregon by Literary Arts in 2014,” Miller said. “She was also just a wonderful poet and person; many of her friends are always in the audience.” 

Friends of the Hannon Library, which will host the event, started in 1974 with the goal of enriching the Hannon Library’s literary collection, as well as bringing in experienced speakers and other aid to bolster the arts in the region. 

For more information on the event, visit bit.ly/4a3FYgK.