Cody Walker was elected Poet Populist for the 2007-2008 term. He received the most votes in an election that saw record participation: 16 total nominees and 48 write-in candidates, with 1845 votes cast. Cody, nominated by Seattle Arts & Lectures, will serve as Poet Populist for 2007-2008, representing as the poetic "voice of the people" on numerous occasions in person and on the page.
About Cody Walker
Cody Walker teaches English at the University of Washington and poetry through Seattle Arts and Lectures' Writers in the Schools program. He also serves as a writer-in-residence at the Richard Hugo House and the Seattle Art Museum. Cody received the 2003 James Boatwright III Prize for Poetry from Shenandoah and the 2005 Distinguished Teaching Award from the UW English Department. His work appears on buses and bookmarks, as well as in Best American Poetry, Best New Poets, Parnassus, Slate, Prairie Schooner, Subtropics, and Light. His first book, Shuffle and Breakdown, will be published in the fall of 2008 by Waywiser Press.
Nominated by Seattle Arts & Lectures
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Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) was founded in 1987 to raise the understanding, appreciation, and visibility of the literary arts in the Puget Sound region. SAL's mission is to deepen and expand our experience of the world by fostering the exploration of ideas and emotions through language. We believe that this work is essential to the development of a more thoughtful, engaged, and democratic community. SAL serves an ever-growing population that reflects Puget Sound's rich and diverse cultural heritage. SAL's programs include the Literary Lecture Series, the Poetry Series, Wednesday University, Writers in the Schools (WITS), and Teachers as Scholars.
FOUR POEMS
by Cody Walker
Iago Shoplifting at QFC
Some waxed dental floss, a packet of fennel--who will miss these things?
Iago Figuring Out His Deductions
My rottweiler, he's like a child to me.
Iago Returning a Chumbawamba CD to Tower Records a Week after Purchasing It
"This isn't the one I meant to buy. I didn't tape it. My tape player doesn't even work."
Iago Sending Personal Mail by Putting the Intended Recipient's Name in the Return Address Space and Then Not Affixing a Stamp, Thus Creating a Return-To-Sender Postal Situation
Really just as an experiment.