he Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Poetry Program has teamed up with Telluride Arts to offer live poetry on Artwalk Thursdays in Telluride for the summer and fall. The first performance in the series begins June 5th at 6 p.m. at the Telluride Arts Headquarters on 135 W. Pacific St. with Scot Rasor of Placerville, Elle Metrick and Art Goodtimes of Wright’s Mesa.
Scot Rasor (aka DJ Razor Blaze) has a radio show on KOTO and has performed his poetry in Telluride.
Elle Metrick bills herself as a performance poet and “freelance word artist” with a business specializing in poetry editing and coaching. She holds an MA in Versecraft from Western Colorado University in Gunnison. A frequent participant in Western Slope poetry festivals (Talking Gourds, Sparrows, Karen Chamberlain, Gunnison Valley), she was named San Miguel County Poet Laureate from 2011-13.
Her books include Poetisattva (WaterWoman Productions, 2000) and Teasing out the Divine (Mercury HeartLink, 2012),
Poet, basketweaver, and former Green Party elected official in Colorado, Art Goodtimes served as Western Slope Poet Laureate (2011–2013) and continues as poetry editor for Fungi magazine <fungimag.com> and the online anthology Sage Green Journal <sagegreenjournal.org>. In addition, he directs the Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Poetry Program.
The Telluride Artwalk Poetry series will happens on the first Thursday of each month, continuing June through October. Featured guests will give a 15-20 min. presentation each.
A collaboration of Telluride Arts and the Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Poetry Program, Telluride Artwalk Poetry is free and open to all ages, thanks to the generosity of Telluride Arts, a Town of Telluride CCAASE grant, private donors and Talking Gourds’ Fischer and Cantor poetry contests.
Both the Fischer and Cantor contests are currently open for submissions.
For more information on poetry contests and the many Talking Gourds programs, visit the website www.tellurideinstitute.org/talking-gourds. For questions about the event, text 970-729-0220 or email Goodtimes at art@tellurideinstitute.org