Family Portraits: A Generative Poetry Workshop (A Stone Award Event)

Like a photograph, poetry has the power to suspend time—but it also allows us to go beyond portraiture and set a moment in motion, showing why it matters. Join us for this generative poetry workshop, inspired by the work of former US Poet Laureate and Stone Award recipient Natasha Trethewey, to build community and craft our own poems through a guided creative activity. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please bring with you a pen, paper, and a family photograph of the people or places that have shaped you, for writing inspiration. 

About the instructor: Lila J. Cutter (she/her) is a poet and Instructor at Oregon State University’s School of Writing, Literature, and Film, where she received her MFA. Lila’s poetry and nonfiction can be found in Watershed Review, The Louisville Review, Write Place, and Cathexis Northwest, among others. Lila has a background in equitable arts education and currently teaches community poetry workshops at the Attic Institute of Arts and Letters.

About the Stone Award: The Stone Award for Literary Achievement honors a major American author who has created a body of critically acclaimed literary work and has been—in the tradition of creative writing at OSU—a dedicated mentor to succeeding generations of young writers. Learn more here.

The 2026 Stone Award will be awarded to former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey at a public event at PRAx on Friday, May 8th at 7:00 p.m. (tickets may be purchased here). Widely regarded for her clear, lyrical voice, Trethewey is author of five collections of poetry, two memoirs, and one work of nonfiction. Trethewey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Native Guard, is often cited as a landmark in contemporary American poetry for its lyrical intimacy and deep engagement with archival history. Her body of creative work explores how private lives are shaped by public narratives, using poetry to restore voices and experiences that offer a richer accounting of US history.