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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The 2014 centennial of the birth of one of Oregon’s greatest poets has been declared a statewide celebration by the Oregon Heritage Commission. The poet, William Stafford, served as poet laureate of Oregon for 14 years and published more than 60 collections of poetry and prose.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">“Stafford’s poetry remains alive across the country today more than two decades after his death,” said commission coordinator Kyle Jansson. “New books of his work are being published and numerous events will take place next year as the public absorbs the words and thoughts of one of the most prolific and admired American writers of the 20<SUP>th</SUP> century.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Stafford moved to Oregon from his native Kansas in 1948 and settled with his family in Lake Oswego. He taught for more than 30 years at Lewis and Clark College which now houses his archives. Stafford won many prestigious literary awards, including the National Book Award. He was Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (a post now called the US Poet Laureate) in 1970.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">“Stafford’s plain-spoken poems – quiet yet tough-minded – gained a wide following, even among readers who did not think they liked poetry,” the commission’s declaration states.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The Oregon Library Association has selected Stafford as its featured author for the Oregon Reads program in 2014. Nearly 100 libraries have already joined the effort. They will select one or more Stafford-related books, ask everyone in their community to read them and sponsor programs that celebrate them. The Oregon Reads website is </FONT></FONT><A href="http://oregonreads2014.com/"><FONT color=#0000ff size=3 face="Times New Roman">http://oregonreads2014.com</FONT></A><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">State law authorizes the Heritage Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, to declare celebrations of statewide significance. Prior to the Stafford declaration, the most recent celebration was the 2012 centennial of woman’s suffrage in Oregon.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">For more information about William Stafford visit the Friends of William Stafford website at </FONT></FONT><A href="http://www.williamstafford.org/"><FONT color=#0000ff size=3 face="Times New Roman">www.williamstafford.org</FONT></A><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></BODY></HTML>