Date and Time

• Friday, Sep 4, 2026  6pm - 7:30pm

Location

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Details

This year, Artemis celebrates its 50th anniversary book launch featuring guest speaker U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze with special guest in attendance, cover artist Michele Oka Doner.

About Arthur Sze:
Arthur Sze is a poet, a translator, and an editor. He is the author of a dozen books of poetry, including Into the Hush (Copper Canyon Press, 2025); The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2024); Sight Lines (Copper Canyon Press, 2019); Compass Rose (Copper Canyon Press, 2014); and The Ginkgo Light (Copper Canyon Press, 2009).

Sze attended MIT before transferring to UC Berkeley, where he earned a BA in poetry in 1972. His poetry has been translated into 15 languages and published in leading journals such as The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Paris Review, and major anthologies.

Sze is professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts, former Santa Fe Poet Laureate, and, as of September 2025, the first Asian American U.S. Poet Laureate.

About Michele Oka Doner:

Michele Oka Doner is a renowned artist and author whose five-decade career draws inspiration from the natural world. Her work includes sculpture, public art, prints, drawings, functional objects, books, set and costume design, and video.

She received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, where she also earned her undergraduate and MFA degrees. Oka Doner has received grants from organizations including the Knight Foundation, New York State Council of the Arts, and Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Her best-known work is A Walk on the Beach (1995, 1999) and its extension at Miami International Airport, comprising over 9,000 bronzes in terrazzo with mother-of-pearl. At 1.25 miles, it ranks among the world’s largest artworks. Her work is in collections worldwide, including the Met, Whitney, Cooper-Hewitt, Louvre, Art Institute of Chicago, Yale Art Gallery, and Pérez Art Museum Miami.

About Artemis Journal:
Celebrating 50 years of publishing, Artemis Journal is an annual, juried publication that masterfully interlaces poetry and visual art, creating a radiant tapestry that celebrates the spirit of our region. Their mission is to uplift and showcase the creative voices that echo from the Appalachian hills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, nurturing artistic expression and weaving a strong, interconnected community.

Founded in 1976 as a writing workshop for survivors of domestic violence in the misty embrace of Southwest Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Artemis Journal began as a luminous sanctuary for voices long silenced. By transforming anguish into art, these workshops offered women not just a tool, but a lifeline: the power to write, to heal, and to reclaim their stories. Over the years, Artemis Journal has blossomed into one of the region’s most enduring and distinctive literary and arts publications, a testament to the resilience and creativity born from adversity.

Evening Schedule:
5-6 pm: Open galleries and cash bar
6-7 pm: Artemis Journal poetry reading and discussion with Arthur Sze
7-7:30 pm: Book signing with Arthur Sze
Until 9 pm: Open galleries and cash bar continue

Tickets:
Adult Members: $20
Youth/Student (Middle and High School) Members: Free
Adult General Public: $25
Youth/Student (Middle and High School) General Public: $5
Luminary Ticket – includes reserved seating, drink ticket, and signed Artemis Journal: $80

Advance registration is required for the Journal Launch.

The galleries are open and free all evening for those not attending the event.