What do we lose when words fall out of use? Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston will take up that question in a poetry workshop and a public talk at the Lincoln City Cultural Center on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
In “Rewilding Words,” Waterston will guide 15 participants through exercises that explore where words come from, how they sound and what they can convey. The workshop is open to writers of poetry and prose and will consider what a shrinking vocabulary can mean for how people relate to one another and to the places they live. The workshop is free, but advance registration is required.
Waterston will take the conversation to a wider audience in “At a Loss for Words,” a public presentation followed by audience questions. No reservation is required, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Waterston lives in Bend and draws much of her inspiration from the remote reaches of southeastern Oregon. Governor Tina Kotek appointed her Oregon’s 11th poet laureate in August 2024 and reappointed her in April 2026. Her books include the poetry collections “Vía Lactéa” and “Hotel Domilocos” and the nonfiction works “Walking the High Desert” and “Where the Crooked River Rises.”
She founded the Writing Ranch, which offers retreats and workshops for writers, and the Waterston Desert Writing Prize, which recognizes a nonfiction book proposal that examines the role of deserts in human life. The High Desert Museum now administers the prize. Waterston also teaches creative writing at Oregon State University–Cascades.
Wednesday’s workshop begins at 3 pm and the public talk begins at 7 pm at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, located at 540 NE Hwy. 101. For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.