Join us on a tour of the galleries with local poet and event organizer Eric M. Acosta, using Ekphrastic writing to explore the bond between language and art. The Frye's partnership with Unpoetry asks local writers to generate pieces based on current exhibitions, with the goal to inspire deeper engagement of the museum space and the artwork it holds.

This session will feature Aleyda Cervantes, Nadine Maestas, Clara Olivio, and Hannah Villanueva, who will be reading pieces inspired by Jessica Jackson Hutchins: Wrecked and Righteous, and Sky Hopinka: Subterranean Ceremonies.

About the Program

This quarterly program features a new lineup of poets for each event, providing a unique opportunity to experience the current exhibitions through their eyes, and the various ways one can approach, think, or feel through art.

About the Presenters

Eric M. Acosta is a poet living in Seattle. He runs the curated twice-monthly performance / reading / whatever series Unpoetry. His debut collection Motion Flesh (2023) is out now through Chat Room Books. His follow-up Underbelly is forthcoming through Carbonation Press. Find all of his work at www.printcopiesavailable.com. Find more info on the performance series at unpoetry.net

Aleyda Marisol Cervantes Gutierrez is a self-identified third-world woman living in occupied Coast Salish Territory. She graduated with an Interdisciplinary major titled “Solidarity Across Borders: Understanding Experiences and Imagining New Realities through Storytelling” and a minor in Education and Social Justice. She is a TEDx presenter and an advocate for immigrant communities. Her work appears in PALABRITAS, Acentos Review, and We Need a Reckoning, among others. She has been awarded residencies at BANFF Centre for Arts and Creativity and Vashon Island. She dreams of living in Coyoacan one day with at least three dogs and all of her books

Nadine Antoinette Maestas is a poet's poet and believes that the empire of the sentence is an extremely oppressive totalitarian regime. She prefers the company of poems so much that she would rather read a bad poem than a good novel, but when she is not doing poetry, Nadine loves mountain biking and trail running in dangerous and remote places in the Pacific Northwest. She holds an MFA from University of Michigan’s Hellen Zell Writer’s Program where she was awarded the Faraar award for playwriting. Her hybrid poem play “Hellen on Wheels: A Play of Rhyme and Reason” was performed at California College of the Arts. She is the co-author with Karen Weiser of Beneath the Bright Discus (Potes & Poets Press, 2000), and is a co-editor for the poetry anthology Make It True: Poetry from Cascadia. You can find her poems published in Ofrenda Magazine, Snail Trail Press, Pageboy Magazine, Lyric &, The Germ, Poor Mojo’s Almana(k), Really Serious Literature’s Disappearing Chapbook series, and the bilingual anthology Make It True Meets Medusario. Her dissertation, “Calling out the State: Postmodern American Anthropoetics” landed her a Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Her first solo book, Imperialism as Sweet as Insult, was published by Really Serious Literature Press in April 2021. She currently teaches at Cornish College of the Arts.

Clara Olivo is an AfroSalvi poet, award winning author and abolitionist. Their words have been featured in anthologies, blogs, and open mics across the land. Their debut book, The Whisper The Storm and The Light In Between, earned The Juan Felipe Herrera Award for Best Bilingual Poetry Collection by the International Latino Book Awards. They live in a quiet home on unceded Duwamish land with their partner, dog, and an ever-growing number of plants. You can follow Clara on Instagram @HijaDeMilagro and become a part of their journey.

Hannah Villanueva is a multidisciplinary creative with a love for mixed media, poetry, and the natural world. Her work has been featured in Cadence Video Poetry and 3rd Thing Press. Her work can be viewed at hannahvillanueva.com and on instagram @vianueva.