(GOLDENDALE, Wash., March 30, 2015) Maryhill Museum of Art invites the public to celebrate National Poetry Month (April) with several programs and Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen.

On Thursday, April 23, 2015 from 2 to 4 p.m. Elizabeth Austen will lead a Poetry for All workshop at Maryhill, featuring close readings of contemporary poems and a chance to write the first draft of a poem. No experience is necessary and all are welcome. Pre-registration is required for this free workshop. To register, call 509-773-3733 ext. 25.

Elizabeth Austen performing with the Sandbox Radio Collective. Photo credit: John Ulman

Elizabeth Austen performing with the Sandbox Radio Collective.
Photo credit: John Ulman

Ms. Austen will also facilitate an evening workshop on Thursday, April 23 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Goldendale library. The Poetry Aloud workshop will explore the art of poetry on and off the page.

Finally, on Thursday, April 30, 2015 Maryhill Museum of Art will participate in national Poem in Your Pocket Day. Visitors who arrive at the museum with a “poem in their pocket” will receive free admission and are invited to take part in an informal afternoon reading. Participants will also enjoy a free coffee, tea, lemonade or ice tea in the museum’s café.

PROGRAM DETAILS:
Thursday, April 23, 2015, 2 to 4 p.m
Takes place at Maryhill Museum of Art
Poetry for All with Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen
As Washington State Poet Laureate, Elizabeth Austen is charged with building awareness and appreciation of poetry. To that end, Austen is visiting all 39 counties, celebrating Washington poets and poetry. Join Austen for a hands-on poetry workshop designed to engage participants’ imaginations, life histories and sense of empathy through language. The class includes close reading of a few contemporary poems, then using one as a model for writing a first draft. Participants are encouraged to bring a photo of a loved one. No writing experience needed, and all are welcome. The poet laureate program is sponsored by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission. Limited to 20 participants. Cost: FREE; reservations required. To register call 509-773-3733 ext. 25.

Thursday, April 23, 2015, 7:00 to 8:30pm
Poetry Aloud
Takes place at the Goldendale Library, 131 West Burgen Street, Goldendale, Washington
Every poem has two lives: its life on the page and its life aloud. In this workshop with Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen, you will learn and practice the art and pleasure of bringing poetry to life over the airwaves. Participants can bring one or two short poems (either their own or a favorite poem by another writer) and do not need to have any previous experience with poetry. The KVGD-LP sound equipment will be set up and workshop participants will recite poetry and have their efforts played back and critiqued. The program will be podcast and made available on the KVGD-LP website. The poet laureate program is sponsored by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission. Cost: FREE; minimum of 5, maximum of 20 participants. Call 509-773-4487 for info.

Thursday, April 30 2015, 1 to 3 p.m.
Poem in Your Pocket Day
Writer’s Bloc and Maryhill present Poem in Your Pocket Day at the museum. Pull a poem out of your pocket and show it to staff at the entrance desk and receive free admission. All participants are invited to read or recite their own poem or a favorite. Winners of the Poetry Writing Contest sponsored by Writer’s Bloc and KVGD-LP Radio will be presented with winners’ certificates. The program will be podcast and made available on the KVGD-LP website. Cost: FREE museum admission with a poem; show the poem in LoÏe’s and receive a free coffee, tea, lemonade or ice tea.

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ABOUT MARYHILL MUSEUM OF ART:
Housed in a glorious Beaux Arts mansion on 5,300 acres high above the Columbia River, Maryhill Museum of Art opened to the public May 13, 1940 and today remains one of the Pacific Northwest’s most enchanting cultural destinations. The museum was founded by Northwest entrepreneur and visionary Sam Hill, who purchased the property and began building the house with dreams of establishing a Quaker farming community. When that goal proved untenable, Hill was encouraged by friends Loie Fuller, Queen Marie of Romania, and Alma de Bretteville Spreckles to establish a museum.

Maryhill Museum of Art boasts a world-class permanent collection, rotating exhibitions of the highest caliber, and dynamic educational programs that provide opportunities for further exploration by visitors of all ages. On view are more than 80 works by Auguste Rodin, European and American paintings, objects d’art from the palaces of the Queen of Romania, Orthodox icons, unique chess sets, and the renowned Théâtre de la Mode, featuring small-scale mannequins attired in designer fashions of post-World War II France. Baskets of the indigenous people of North America were a collecting interest of Hill; today the museum’s American Indian collection represents nearly every tradition and style in North America, with works of art from prehistoric through contemporary.

Maryhill’s William and Catherine Dickson Sculpture Park features more than a dozen large-scale works by Northwest artists. The Maryhill Overlook is a site-specific sculpture by noted Portland architect Brad Cloepfil; nearby are Lewis and Clark interpretive panels. Four miles east of Maryhill is a life-sized replica of Stonehenge, Stonehenge Memorial, which Sam Hill built to memorialize local men who perished in World War I. Nearby, the Klickitat County War Memorial honors those who have died in the service of their country since World War I.

The museum was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 2001 the museum was listed as an official site of the National Historic Lewis and Clark Trail and in 2002 was accredited by the American Association of Museums. In 2012 the museum opened the Mary and Bruce Stevenson Wing, a 25,500 square foot expansion that is the first in the museum’s history. The new wing boasts the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Education Center, a collections storage and research suite, a new cafe and terrace, and the Cannon Power Plaza with an installation of sculpture, and sweeping views of the Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood in the distance.

VISITOR INFORMATION:
Maryhill Museum of Art is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 15 to November 15. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $3 for youth age 7-18 and free for children 6 and under. Admission to the Stonehenge Memorial is free; it is open from 7:00 a.m. to dusk daily.

Sandwiches, salads, espresso drinks, cold beverages, and freshly baked desserts and pastries, as well as a selection of local wines are available at the museum’s cafe, Loie’s, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily; the Museum Store features art and history books, jewelry, Native American crafts and other mementos.

Maryhill is located off Highway 97, 12 miles south of Goldendale, Washington. Drive times to the museum are 2 hours from Portland/Vancouver, 3.5 hours from Bend, 4 hours from Seattle, and 1.5 hours from Yakima. For further information, visit maryhillmuseum.org.