We are very pleased to announce that Anna B. Cruz has been elected to our board of directors. Anna grew up in Jalisco, Mexico, studied dance and choreography at the University of Guadalajara. She is the director of Vancouver Ballet Folklorico, a local dance group focusing on inspiring and engaging Hispanic children to learn, appreciate and preserve the roots and traditions of the Mexican culture through dance, music, discipline and creativity. Anna has been engaged in art and culture in the Northwest since 2010. ​

Armin Tolentino is the author of the poetry collection We Meant to Bring It Home Alive (Alternating Current Press). He earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Rutgers Newark and his work has been published in

numerous literary journals including Common Knowledge, Arsenic Lobster, Hyphen Magazine, and The Raven Chronicles. Armin’s poetic artistry has been widely recognized. He was a finalist for the Red Hen Press Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award and the Kundiman Poetry Prize, and a winner of the Oregon Poetry Association Poetry Contest.

His poem Half a Sonnet Stepping Into Tomorrow is now circulating on C-Tran buses as part of Artstra’s initiative to honor diverse voices in the community through its program Poetry Moves, a collaboration with C-Tran to bring the art of poetry to public spaces.

A member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation, Priest will be the first Indigenous poet to assume the role. Priest’s literary debut, Patriarchy Blues, was honored with the 2018 American Book Award, and her most recent work is Sublime Subliminal. The Washington State Poet Laureate program is sponsored by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA). Poets laureate work to build awareness and appreciation of poetry through public readings, workshops, lectures, and presentations throughout the state.

This month's Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic is Thursday, April 8, at 7 p.m. on Zoom, featuring Vancouver poet and visual artist Eileen Davis Elliott, who just released Pobrecitos, a collaborative work illustrated by Lily Engblom-Stryker and Ava Town, students from Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. Pobrecitos (Spanish for “the poor ones”), a love story to all we meet on our path, and Elliott’s earlier books Prodigal Cowgirl, and Miles of Pies are all available through the author’s website. Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige. Email Christopher Luna by no later than 3 p.m. on April 8 to indicate your interest in participating. In the subject line, note if you are “Reading” or “Just Listening.” You will receive instructions for how to join the meeting. Open mic readers are invited to share one poem for three minutes or less.

The Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance (WACA) is soliciting proposals from qualified artists, or teams of artists, to design and create an exterior mural on the south-facing wall of the Los Dos Compadres Cantina located at 1713 E Street in Washougal. The mural should highlight the diversity of Washougal history and culture and may include images honoring Indigenous and/or Hispanic culture and history.

Proposals are due June 1.