Columbia Writers Series: Beth Piatote

The Clark College Creative Writers Series welcomes Beth Piatote to its campus at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way from 11 a.m. to noon Feb. 16. There is no fee to attend and the presentation is open to the public.

Piatote is a creative writer, playwright and scholar. She is the author of “The Beadworkers: Stories,” which was long-listed for the Aspen Words Literary Prize and the PEN/Bingham Prize and short-listed for the California Independent Booksellers Association “Golden Poppy” Prize for Fiction. Her play, “Antikoni,” was selected for the 2020 Festival of New Plays by Native Voices at the Autry, and has been supported by readings with New York Classical Theatre and the Indigenous Writers Collaborative at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her short play, “Tricksters, Unite!” was featured in the 2022 Native Voices Short Play Festival at the Autry and the LaJolla Playhouse.

Her short stories and poems have appeared in Poetry, Kenyon Review and Epiphany. She is an Indigenous language activist and a founding member of luk’upsíimey/North Star Collective, a group dedicated to using creative expression for Nez Perce language revitalization. She is chair of Designated Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization at Berkeley. She is an associate professor of Comparative Literature and English and the Director of the Arts Research Center.