Talking Earth--Rigamonti Root Diaz

For over 40 years Talking Earth has provided the most interesting poets and writers in Portland and elsewhere, reading and talking about their work. Founded by Walt Curtis and Barbara LaMorticella, the show is now hosted by Michael Van Kleeck and dan raphael.

Justin Rigamonti teaches writing at Portland Community College and serves as the Poetry Coordinator for Chatter PDX. His poems have been recently published or are forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Rattle, West Trade Review and The Dodge, and his poem "Failure" was selected to appear in Best New Poets

. Jenny Root is an editor and event planner with a nonprofit in criminal justice in Eugene. Her poems have appeared in such Oregon publications as basalt, Fireweed, Cloudbank, and Windfall, among other national journals and anthologies. She currently enjoys coordinating an annual writers retreat at Tipi Village Retreat in Marcola, Oregon. The recipient of residencies at PLAYA and the Spring Creek Project, she is the author of a full-length collection of poems, The Company of Sharks. . Jenny Root is an editor and event planner with a nonprofit in criminal justice in Eugene. Her poems have appeared in such Oregon publications as basalt, Fireweed, Cloudbank, and Windfall, among other national journals and anthologies. She currently enjoys coordinating an annual writers retreat at Tipi Village Retreat in Marcola, Oregon. The recipient of residencies at PLAYA and the Spring Creek Project, she is the author of a full-length collection of poems, The Company of Sharks. 

Christopher Diaz is an indigenous CHamoru from the Pacific Island of Guåhan (Guam). As a writer, performer, and photographer he’s been featured by NBC News, Poets & Writers.org, and more. He is a two-time grand slam champion, won the 2023 Bigfoot Regional Slam with his PNW team, and recently won an artist grant from the Washington State Arts Commission. He has taught poetry with “Writers in the Schools,” and offers writing and performance workshops in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. Find him at www.christopherdiazcreates.com