Board of Directors
"Leave a space for the reader at the end of a poem." - Brian Turner
The OPN Board helps steer the Olympia Poetry Network's direction, MC's our monthly General Meetings and readings, invites featured readers and recruits workshop facilitators. The Board is composed of eight local poets actively producing work, introduced below.
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Terri Cohlene
At Large/Special Events Terri Cohlene grew up in Skyway, a suburb of Renton, Washington where she competed with her two brothers in polliwog-catching, berry-tossing and slug-handling. Her work is influenced by car trips to Eastern Washington and visits to her grandparents’ apple orchard in Cashmere. She is the author of nine books for children including Won’t Papa Be Surprised! Something Special and Witch’s Brew, and she wrote and assisted in the production of Clique, a stage play for young adults. Her poetry has appeared in such publications as: Godiva Speaks, Pontoon 8 & 9, Floating Bridge Review, Arnazella, Stories with Grace, Switched on Gutenberg, and the anthology, America at War. She collected and edited two adult poetry anthologies, Godiva Speaks I & II. A former art director and editor of her own award-winning imprint, Terri has taught at Richard Hugo House, Shoreline & Whatcom Community Colleges and Hypatia-in-the Woods. Currently, she serves on the board of Olympia Poetry Network, and is a freelance editor in Olympia, Washington. Terri's work may be seen at TerriCohlene.com. |
Chris Dahl
Newsletter Editor Chris Dahl's chapbook, Mrs. Dahl in the Season of Cub Scouts, was published by Still Waters Press after winning their Women's Words competition. She has been published in journals such as Poetry Northwest, Seattle Review and Cascadia Review--who nominated one of her poems for Best of the Internet. She completed her M.A. (M.F.A. equivalent) at the University of Washington. Currently, she lives in Olympia, Washington where she serves on the board of the Olympia Poetry Network and edits their newsletter. |
Cynthia Pratt
Treasurer/Membership Cynthia Pratt is a founding member of the Olympia Poetry Network’s board. Her poems have appeared in WPA’s anthology, Tattoos on Cedar (2006), Crab Creek Review, Steelhead Special, Raven Chronicles, Bellingham Review, and other publications. Her poetry appeared in the anthology, Godiva Speaks. One of her poems was accepted for display at the Seattle Salmon Strategy Summit 2005, and a couple of poems have had the honor of riding around in Tacoma and Metro buses. Her manuscript, Celestial Drift¸ was published in 2017. She is the Deputy Mayor of the City of Lacey. |
Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis
Secretary Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis is an associate professor at Saint Martin’s University and has published poetry in OccuPoetry, Social Policy, Penny Ante Feud, Dark Matter, That Literary Review and In Layman’s Terms and is submitting her first collection of poetry for consideration for publication to various presses. She is also writing a second collection and is learning the classical guitar in order to write lyrics and compose music for the guitar. Nathalie is passionate about issues related to climate change and social justice and finds inspiration in writing poems about the beauty of nature in the Pacific Northwest. Half French-Canadian, Nathalie speaks French and is an ardent traveler having lived in Quebec, Japan, and the Czech Republic. |
Tristan Beach
Social Media Tristan Beach (he/him) is the poetry editor for Pif Magazine and teaches English at Saint Martin’s University. From 2014 to 2017, Tristan taught across Northern China. Before that, he worked with a number of small presses and journals, including Conium Review, Clockhouse, Copper Canyon Press, and Coffee House Press. His poems, commentary, and reviews appear in Pif Magazine, Shantih, rawboned, Conium Review, The Writer in the World, and Pitkin Review. He received his MFAW from Goddard College in 2013.
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Paul Kameen
At-Large Paul Kameen was an English professor for 40-some years (the last 37 at the University of Pittsburgh) prior to his retirement in 2018. He is the author of two scholarly books (on teaching and poetics) and numerous poems, articles, and essays. He now roams the woods, parks and streets in and around Olympia, writing about what he sees, hears and thinks about there. All of his creative work is available for free on his website, paulkameen.com
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