RASP: Redmond Association of Spokenword

Peter Ludwin is the recipient of a literary fellowship from Artist Trust, the 2016 winner of the Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award for his poem "Wolf Concerto," and the 2024 winner of the Trail to Table Editors' Award in Poetry for his new book, An Altar of Tides. The author of three previous books, two of which were nominated for other awards, he spent fourteen years as a participant in the San Miguel Poetry Week in Mexico, where he workshopped under top poets such as Mark Doty, Tony Hoagland, Joseph Stroud, and Robert Wrigley. Peter lives in Kent, and his website is https://peterludwin.com/.

MC—Pamela Denchfield

Frederick Livingston grew from the southern tip of the Salish Sea in Olympia. Sustainable agriculture and experiential education have since taken him around the world, from Peace Corps Tanzania to the University for Peace in Costa Rica and beyond. Since his sixth-grade debut on local-access television reciting "Ode to a Chair," his work has appeared in numerous literary magazines, scientific journals, and public spaces. He is the author of The Moon and Other Fruits and Trees are Bridges to the Sky, which won the Prism Prize for Climate Literature. Visit https://fredericklivingston.com/.

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Iz White is an enrolled member of the Snoqualmie Tribe in King County. He grew up homeless in Seattle, well below the poverty line, in the 1990s. His tribe was federally recognized in 1999 and it has continued to strengthen its efficiency and stability in financial development. That has given Iz both a unique perspective and breathing room to pursue his biggest obsession in life, which has been to improve his craft of writing. He is an up-and-coming poet who speaks on social issues not only for his people, but all people affected by an ever-changing demographic in and around the greater Seattle area.

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Peggy Sturdivant is founder of Ballard Writers, facilitates (since 2012) the It's About Time Writers' Series and has offered "Writing for the Moment" through Cancer Lifeline for 16 years. For ten years she wrote a weekly column, "At Large in Ballard," coauthored the nonfiction book Out of Nowhere, and coedited So, Dear Writer. In summers she offers Moving Words Writing Clinics to middle and high school students, and works with all ages throughout the year. Her takedown of The Goldfinch on Goodreads is, alas, her best-known work to date. She keeps meaning to update her eponymous website peggysturdivant.com.

MC—Michael Dylan Welch

Ricardo Ruiz, son of Mexican immigrants, is the author of We Had Our Reasons, which debuted at #1 on Amazon's Hispanic American Poetry Chart and won the 2023 Washington State Book Award for poetry. He is currently an MFA candidate at UW Bothell and teaches with the Seattle Arts and Lectures Writers in the Schools program. Passionate about amplifying marginalized voices from rural communities, Ricardo takes pride in serving as a cultural connector and advocate. Visit him at www.poetruiz.com.

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• Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/ RedmondAssociationOfSpokenword/
• Twitter: @RedmondRASP
• Contact us: contact.rasp.read@gmail.com