Arts on Tap: John Bates

  •  August 3, 2017
     7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

 

The frogs are chorusing tonight.

The peepers chime like ten thousand sleigh bells

rung by ecstatic Salvation Army volunteers.

For thirty years John Bates has shared his knowledge of and unique insight into the wonders of the woods and waters that comprise northern Wisconsin in his nonfiction writings. But John now has something new for us. The Warehouse Arts Center invites you to an evening of poetry with Mercer writer/naturalist John Bates! Celebrate with us the publication of John’s first book of poetry, Cold to the Bone. Mingle with John and his wife Mary, whose weavings are featured throughout the book to illustrate the poems. John will read selections from his book at 7:15. In his lively style, John’s poems offer a refreshing look and listen at the nature around us in a perfect blend of science and spirituality.

John Bates is the author of eight books and a contributor to seven others, all of which focus on the natural history of the Northwoods. He’s worked as a naturalist in Wisconsin’s Northwoods for three decades, leading an array of trips designed to help people further understand the remarkable diversity and beauty of nature, and our place within it. John won the 2006 Ellis/Henderson Outdoor Writing Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers for his book Graced by the Seasons: Fall and Winter in the Northwoods. His poetry has appeared in five collaborative art and science exhibits, and has been published in various journals including Oxford Magazine, Wisconsin Academy Review, Albatross, and The Northern Review.

John and Mary live in the outskirts of Mercer in Mary’s grandparents’ home where they raised two daughters.

Arts on Tap is co-sponsored by The Olson Memorial Library and WXPR.