On June 11, 2025, we will gather together at the Froelick Gallery in Portland, Oregon in a poetic acknowledgment of beauty. Let it manifest in word and in gesture, as a step forward, a fluid position, a stance, a dance, a motion, a message.
As we searched for the beautiful gesture in the history of the world, we found the French dictum Beau Geste. Lovely as it sounds, this gesture is so magnanimous and fine that it steps aside, and lets others act, win or lose.
But let us not step aside. The Belle Geste steps up. In all the political acts which can transpire, a stand for beauty is necessary.
This reading is also inspired by the return of Robin Rosemond, a poet who read here in Portland throughout the decades of the 70s, 80s and 90s. She visits in celebration of the exhibition of Lauren Mantecón at Froelick and in return, we celebrate her.
- Eva Lake
Poets of the evening: Nathan Nakonieczny, Laurence Lillvik, Richard Speer, Diana Milia, Robin Rosemond and Eva Lake.
