Jeannine Hall Gailey: Redmond’s Poet Laureate Reads

Join Redmond's Poet Laureate, Jeannine Hall Gailey, for a reading from from her first book, Becoming the Villainess, a celebration of geek culture in poetry, with poems in the voices of comic book and fairy tale characters. After the reading, Jeannine will host a Q&A and discussion about the book. The talk is at the Redmond Library on Wednesday, February 20th at 7pm. Refreshments provided.

Other Books
Gailey’s other more recent notable book of poetry, She Returns to the Floating World, deals with feminine transformations in the personae of characters from Japanese folk tales, anime, and manga. Gailey's work addresses feminist issues of power in mythology and comic book cultures, turning fairy tale stepmothers into empathetic characters, and holding up a mirror to contemporary American culture's images of powerful women.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

    I’m sorry I didn’t turn out
    like you expected
    sorry the last sight you’ll see is
    the flash of silver in the sky and that
    is it
    a flurry of leaves and dust…
    I wanted to be sturdy I wanted more I wanted you
    but instead I have the transitive the shift the loss
    the goodbye
    farewell goodnight…

Gailey’s third book, Unexplained Fevers, will be published by New Binary Press in 2013. For more about her, visit her blog, Jeannine Blogs.

Lorin Catudio
Redmond Library Board, Emeritus