An unassuming woman with spiky gray hair, Tess Gallagher stood in a black overcoat waiting by the elevator door on the first floor of Gerlinger Hall on Thursday evening, unnoticed by many of the students gathering around her trying to get to the reading on the third floor. As the elevator made its way down, she joked with the group assembling behind her, waving her hand in a pretend gesture of impatience.
“Open sesame,” said the nationally renowned poet and featured guest of the evening.
More than 100 people packed 302 Gerlinger Thursday, as part of an event sponsored by the University Bookstore, to listen to Gallagher read from the latest collection of her poems in her newly released book “Dear Ghosts.”
The event was delayed nearly 15 minutes as organizers and attendees scrambled to locate additional chairs for late-arriving guests.
Once introduced, Gallagher, her glasses hanging down from her neck, made her way to the front where she began by reading from her previous book of poems, “Moon Crossing Bridge,” a deeply introspective work written after the death of her husband, renowned American short-story writer Raymond Carver, in August 1988. Gallagher’s relationship with Carver, whom she met in 1976 and married shortly before his death, is one of the more famous collaborative relationships in literary history. The couple produced numerous screenplays, poems and short stories in their twelve years together. After Carver’s death, Gallagher co-wrote a screenplay with Robert Altman, “Short Cuts,” based on Carver’s short stories.
In her introduction, Professor of Creative Writing Dorianne Laux said “Dear Ghosts” is a continuation of the exploration of mortality and spirituality found in “Moon Crossing Bridge.” It contains personal reflections on Gallagher’s battle with cancer, following her 2002 diagnosis.
A native of Port Angeles, Wash. who maintains a home there by the water, Gallagher described her writing process in the seafaring terms of a port town.
“I really could see (my poems) almost like a flotilla of ships coming into harbor,” she said, “and I knew I had to be there… to welcome them.”
Gallagher said she also draws inspiration from the culture of Ireland, where she spends roughly half her time. For her, traveling abroad for months at a time does not lead to homesickness, especially in light of her feelings against war and the American involvement in Iraq.
“I’ll tell you, it’s very refreshing in these times,” she said, to the approving laughter of the audience.
Gallagher also read samples from another of her previous books, “Amplitude: New and Selected Poems.” After an hour of readings and discussion, she met the audience individually, and signed copies of her books, available in the hall outside the room.
Gallagher is an award-winning poet, whose previous awards include a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, two National Endowment of the Arts Awards and the Maxine Cushing Gray Foundation Award.
The daughter of a logger and a longshoreman, Gallagher’s influential writing contributed to the rethinking of traditional concepts of feminine identity in the 1970s.
Her books are currently available at the University Bookstore. The Bookstore is offering 20 percent off all poetry books throughout April, as part of National Poetry Month.