UKIAH — Several past local poets laureate will help present free writing workshops at LitFest, a one-day literary festival taking place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Lowery Library Building at Mendocino College, 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah.
Theresa Whitehill will present “Spontaneous and Collaborative Writing” and Armand Brint will teach a “Haiku and Ginko” workshop. Mendocino College instructors and poets Jabez (Bill) Churchill and Ricardo Stocker will lead “Poetry as a Culture,” which will be a cross-cultural poetry workshop.
Sandra Wade, a former Lake County poet laureate, will read at the round-robin poetry event that closes out the day. She said about past LitFests, “I have enjoyed presenting my poetry in each LitFest so far. In previous years, other poets laureate from Lake County have also taken part. The campus setting is lovely and the theater or library is ideal for readings. I am so happy to participate in this offering of literary adventures to people of all ages.”
Wade added, “Mendocino College is generous to offer this event free of charge and to bring writers from near and far.”
It is recommended that people who want to attend the writing workshops sign up in advance by registering online at www.mendocino.edu/litfest to ensure a space in the desired workshop. New to the event this year will be a round robin “Grand Poetry Reading” that will run from 3 to 5 p.m. as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month. Prose and publishing workshops are also part of the day. A schedule of the day”s events is on the web site for LitFest. Admission to the event activities, including workshops, is free and the public is invited. For additional information, contact John Koetzner at 468-3051 or by e-mail: Jkoetzne@mendocino.edu.
Jim Mastin is director of public information and auxiliary services for Mendocino College.
