The Manx Bard, Stacey Astill, will be visiting America at the end of June, for a week-long trip that will see her bringing poetry to the people – from college students to inmates in the Oregan State Penitentiary.

As part of Stacey’s itinerary, she will be guest-hosting a writers’ workshop with the Penned Thoughts writers, a long-standing group that meets weekly at the Oregan State Penitentiary.

She will also be hosting a poetry slam event at the Santiam Correctional Institution and taking part in a reading at Chemeketa College in Salem for students and members of the local community. In addition she will be swapping poetry with students in class sessions – and there will be a cocktail party too!

“The seeds of the trip were sown when I met Michele Dishong-McCormack at a prison experience conference,” says Stacey. “Michele runs a programme with college students on the inside and the outside, and she asked to use my poem ‘She’ for a class with her students. We got talking and our discussions led to us deciding to do a knowledge and culture exchange with the focus on poetry – Michele plans to visit the Isle of Man next year.”

Bridget Carter, Chairman of the Manx Bard Committee, added, “We’re delighted that our Manx Bard is going to America and believe this will be a really fruitful exchange. As well as sharing poetry with a range of audiences, Stacey will be a cultural ambassador for the Isle of Man in America.”