New Poetry Book by Portland Author Makes National Poetry Month More Fun FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sage Cohen 503.788.5967 sage@writingthelifepoetic.com www.writingthelifepoetic.com www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com Media Kit: http://www.writingthelifepoetic.com/media.html New Poetry Book from Writer's Digest Books Makes National Poetry Month More Fun Sage Cohen, author of Writing the Life Poetic, launches speaking tour throughout Oregon to inspire, inform and get everybody writing poetry. Portland, Oregon –– March 31, 2009 –– No one needs an advanced degree in creative writing to reap the rewards of poetry. Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, a new book from Sage Cohen and Writer’s Digest Books, makes poetry accessible to—and enjoyable for––everyone. In celebration of National Poetry Month (April), author Sage Cohen will be speaking to audiences throughout Oregon about how to live and write a poetic life. “While working with writers for the past fifteen years, I have observed that even the most creative people fear that they don’t have what it takes to write or read poetry,” says Cohen. “I wrote Writing the Life Poetic to put poetry back into the hands of the people––not because they are aspiring to become the poet laureate of the United States––but because poetry is one of the great pleasures in life.” Practicing poets, aspiring poets, and teachers of writing in a variety of settings can use Writing the Life Poetic to write, read, and enjoy poems. Craft, process, and content lessons are all designed to invite readers to tune into the poetry of their lives, then get it down on the page. Filled with whimsical illustrations, ample wisdom, and plenty of sample poems from great poets everywhere, Writing the Life Poetic is a fun, user-friendly resource for poets and writers of all levels--as well as teachers of writing. Just in time for National Poetry Month, Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry is now available in bookstores everywhere. Author Sage Cohen speaks throughout Oregon about living and writing a poetic life in celebration of National Poetry Month! Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. Willamette Writers Portland Monthly Meeting The Old Church 1422 SW 11th Ave Portland, OR 97201 Thursday, April 9, 7:00 p.m. Willamette Writers Salem Monthly Meeting West Salem Roth's 1130 Wallace Rd. Salem, OR 97304 www.SalemChapter.com Wednesday, May 13, 7:00 p.m. Book Launch Reading and Celebration Barnes & Noble Lloyd Center 1317 Lloyd Center // Gift section Portland, OR 97232 Tuesday June 2, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Willamette Writers Coast Monthly Meeting Newport Public Library McEntee Room 35 NW Nye St. Newport, OR Wednesday, June 10, 7:00 p.m. Book Launch Reading and Celebration Barnes & Noble Vancouver 7700 NE 4th Plain Blvd. Vancouver, Washington (easily accessible from both major freeways) About the author: Sage Cohen is an award-winning poet with a BA from Brown University and an MA in creative writing from New York University. The author of the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World, Sage has published widely in journals and anthologies including Poetry Flash, The Oregonian, Oregon Literary Review, blueoregon.com and San Francisco Reader. She writes three monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher. Curator of a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble, Sage has taught and lectured about poetry at universities, hospitals, libraries and writing conferences as well as online. To continue the conversation about the life poetic, Sage publishes the Writing the Life Poetic blog and zine. "Instructional without being text-bookish, inspirational without being preachy, suggestive without being demanding, Writing the Life Poetic goes beyond the assemblage of quality how-to poetry books to become a work of art -- with endless rows of blank canvasses on either side for the reader's own brush strokes." – Shawn Sorensen, Oregon Writers Colony