Rena Priest presents 'Positively Uncivilized'

Third Place Books welcomes 2021-2023 Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest to our Ravenna store for a conversation about her new essay collection, , which discusses human impacts on the environment from an Indigenous perspective and and focuses on the importance of community in resisting further damage to vulnerable beings.

This event is co-sponsored by the North Cascades Institute, a nonprofit conservation organization working to inspire environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences in nature. Learn more at ncascades.org.

Rena's presentation is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!

This event is free to attend. Registration is recommended in advance.

Please note: While RSVP helps us anticipate attendance, your RSVP may not guarantee a seat. Seating is first-come, first-served, and all events at our Ravenna neighborhood store are free and open to the public. Only standing room may be available for events with high interest.

We are happy to accommodate any accessibility concerns. Please contact us at [email protected] or call our Ravenna store at 206-525-2347.

From an Indigenous perspective, Positively Uncivilized examines the impact of human inhabitants on the planet earth. Alongside personal accounts of the deterioration of salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest and the loss of Indigenous history, the twelve essays in this collection emphasize the necessity of community to overcome the damage done by human socioeconomic and political systems designed to isolate and shame those vulnerable to those unfair systems.

Rena Priest is an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She served as the 6th Washington State Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and is the recipient of awards and fellowships, including the 2024 Washington State Book Award, the 2020 Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award, and the 2018 American Book Award. Her collection of essays, Positively Uncivilized, was selected as the inaugural winner of the 2024 Raven Chronicles Press Keepers of the Fire Award. Her poetry and non-fiction appear widely online and in print. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

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