Please join Special Collections and Archives for a book talk and poetry reading with Sam Jordan ’97, Kim Stafford, and Carolyn Supinka Thursday, April 16th, at 4pm in the Watzek Library Classroom 245.
Before the event: POEMS IN THE EAR FOREST Come take a walk in the EAR Forest 12pm - 4pm and listen to audio recordings of nature poems by Kim Stafford and William Stafford from the archives. Located in the forest canopy behind the Fields Art Building, the EAR Forest is an outdoor laboratory for exploring sonic, spatial, and ecological relationships.
What the Water Knows: River Poems by William Stafford brings together 29 poems by internationally celebrated poet William Stafford on the theme of rivers, including 10 previously unpublished poems from the William Stafford Archives, held at Lewis & Clark. Featuring linocut art by artist Kristin Vantrease, this chapbook was lovingly designed and hand sewn by Sam Jordan ’97. All profit from sales will be donated to Rogue Riverkeeper. You can view a short documentary about the book here.
Sam Jordan is an educator and traveler who grew up along the Rogue River in Southern, Oregon, and currently lives on Dena’ina Ełnena/Ahtna Nenn’ land in Palmer, Alaska. He is a 1997 graduate of Lewis & Clark College and worked as a volunteer in the initial days of the William Stafford Archives from 1997-1998. What the Water Knows: River Poems by William Stafford (published in 2025) is his first book.
Kim Stafford is Emeritus Professor at Lewis & Clark College. He writes, teaches, and travels to raise the human spirit through poetry. In 1986, he founded the Northwest Writing Institute, and he has published a dozen books of poetry and prose, including The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer’s Craft and 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared. His most recent book is the poetry collection As the Sky Begins to Change (Red Hen Press, 2024). He has taught writing in dozens of schools and community centers, and in Scotland, Italy, Mexico, and Bhutan. In 2018 he was named Oregon’s 9th Poet Laureate for a two-year term. The Kim Stafford’s archive is also held at Lewis & Clark.
Carolyn Supinka (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and writer based in Portland, primarily working in poetry and comics that synthesize language, print, and sound. Her practice layers text and images, drawing on deep time, geology, climate change, and identity. She has participated in residencies and workshops, including the 2025-2026 Outer Voice Alliance, Tin House Writing Workshop, Sou’wester Arts Week, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, and is the recipient of a Fulbright Research Grant. She received her MFA from Oregon State University and BA from Carnegie Mellon University. Her poetry comics have appeared in Gigantic Sequins, Ecotone, HAD and Redivider. Her poetry has appeared in DIAGRAM, The Boiler, Sixth Finch, and Passages North. Her first full-length book of poetry and poetry comics, Metamorphic Door, is out now from Buckman Publishing.
Free