June 26th 10 am: Morning of Claire Tuna's and Yetta Rose Stein's Poems
July 6th 6-8 pm: Writer’s Gymnastics—GOING OUTSIDE w/ Emily Harman
July 13th 6-8 pm: Writer’s Gymnastics—Walking, Walking Walking w/ Jory Mickelson
July 27th 6-8 pm: Writer’s Gymnastics—Collage Poesm w/ Kaitlynn Webster
IF YOU WANT TO HOST A READING, PERFORMANCE, OR STUDY GROUP AT THE LIBRARY OR BECOME A POETRY LIBRARIAN GET IN TOUCH !! email us: pleasepayattentionpls@gmail.com
This is part of a bi-weekly series of one to two hours generative writing workshops taught by rotating facilitators.
From Matsuo Basho and Baudelaire to Frank O’Hara and Ocean Vuong, walking has shaped writing. We will closely read a few poems together, take a short walk, and generate new writing based on what we experience. Bring something to write with and dress for the weather--your new poems can’t wait to meet you!
Jory Mickelson (they/them) is a writer and educator living in Xwotʼqom / Bellingham on the homelands of the Lummi and Nooksack peoples. They are the author of three books of poetry: Picturing (2025), All This Divide (2024), and Wilderness//Kingdom (2019), which won a 2020 High Plains Book Award. Usually found in the moss and mud of the Pacific Northwest, this summer they are an Open AiR MT resident at the Butte-Silver Bow Archives.
No, Thank You: poems and music w/ Jory Mickelson, Addie Palin, Aria Peters Thursday July 23rd, 6-8pm
come join us for the fourth installment of No, Thank You, a multi-media performance series @ Please, Poetry Library!
Jory Mickelson (they/them) is a writer and educator living in Xwotʼqom / Bellingham on the homelands of the Lummi and Nooksack peoples. They are the author of three books of poetry: Picturing (2025), All This Divide (2024), and Wilderness//Kingdom (2019), which won a 2020 High Plains Book Award. Usually found in the moss and mud of the Pacific Northwest, this summer they are an Open AiR MT resident at the Butte-Silver Bow Archives.
Trumpet player, composer and educator Bill Kautz has worked in a variety of creative music projects including work with Karl Blau, Michelle Boulé, Jen Gilleran, Cole Bronson, Jessica Catron, Jeremy Drake, Simon Henneman, LAKE, Michael Musick, Tricia Opstad, Naomi Siegel, Neil Welch, and as a leader/composer for his ensembles crosstalk and Golden Mean. Bill is the DJ and producer of Something Else, a weekly radio program featuring creative, improvised and modern classical music and in depth artist interviews on KBGA since 2017. Bill is a recipient of a 2023 and 2024 Montana Arts Council Strategic Investment Grant as well as a 2023 City of Missoula Public Art Committee Performance Grant.
Violinist Aria Peters grew up in Montana, studying with string educators in Great Falls and Billings. She received her Bachelor's degree in Music and History from St. Olaf College and a Master's in Teaching from Seattle University. She has performed with various groups in Seattle, WA including the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra and the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra. Aria is currently active with the String Orchestra of the Rockies and Golden Mean in Missoula and the New Music Quartet in Northfield, MN. In addition to music, Aria teaches in Missoula County Public Schools as the High School English Language teacher, teaching English to newly arrived refugee and immigrant students.
She and Bill Kautz host a monthly composers workshop at Free Cycles called “New works, Reworks, Reimaginings” that is focused on elevating new music in the community and providing opportunities for artists to collaborate.
Their laurels:
Claire Tuna is a poet, gardener, and teaching artist in Northeast Los Angeles. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Ecotone, The Southern Review, Tupelo Quarterly, and The Brooklyn Review. She holds an MFA from the University of Montana and a royal blue ribbon from the Western Montana State Fair.
Yetta Rose Stein reads and writes in Livingston, Montana. Her work has appeared in POETRY, HAD, and elsewhere. She’s received support from Bread Loaf Writing Conference and holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s a graduate of Hellgate high school and the daughter of Nancy and Gary.