Poet, teacher and essayist Danusha Laméris is the author of two books of poetry: The Moons of August (Autumn House, 2014) and Bonfire Opera, (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020), for which she was awarded the North California Book Award in Poetry and was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize. In her poem “Small Kindnesses” Laméris writes, “Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other. / We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, / and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile / at them and for them to smile back.” This poem inspired Laméris to make a collaborative work featured in the New York Times drawing on over 1000 teenagers’ submissions about small acts of kindness; it beautifully illustrates Laméris’s dedication to community and human connection. The 2020 recipient of the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award, Laméris is a Poet Laureate emeritus of Santa Cruz County, California. She is on the faculty of Pacific University’s low-residency M.F.A.

Laméris will read along with the winners of the High School Prize at Leo Weinstein Auditorium in Wright Hall on Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. Livestreams will be available on BDPC Facebook and YouTube pages. 

Featured works by Danusha Laméris:

Bonfire Opera, Small Kindnesses and Omens