C O N S T E L L A T I O N

THIS THURSDAY! A.D. Lauren-Abunassar (she/her) is a Palestinian-American writer, poet, and journalist. Her work has appeared in POETRY, Narrative, Rattle, Prairie Schooner, Boulevard, and elsewhere. Her first book, Coriolis, was winner of the 2023 Etel Adnan Poetry Prize. She is a 2025 NEA fellow in poetry. @lauren.abunassar Farheen Raparthi (she/her) is a writer and artist based in Virginia. She holds an MFA in fiction from George Mason University, where she was awarded a Thesis Fellowship. Her writing has received support from Ragdale and has been published in The Georgia Review. ⁠ Susan Nguyen (she/her) is the author of Dear Diaspora, which won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Association of Asian American Studies, a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and was a finalist for the Julie Suk Award. She is currently the Senior Editor of Hayden's Ferry Review. Her poems have been nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize and have appeared or are forthcoming numerous publications. Her work has also received support from arts organizations, residencies, arts commissions and more. She’s received multiple fellowships, including one that enabled her to conduct an oral history project centered on the Vietnamese diaspora, in addition to teaching at ASU and the National University of Singapore. Her hobbies, beyond reading and writing, include photography, zinemaking, hiking, and otherwise being outdoors. @r -u-ok-suzan Image ID Flyer for the 35th event in the Constellation Reading Series. Thurs, May 14, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Featured writers: A.D. Lauren-Abunassar, Farheen Raparthi, Susan Nguyen. At McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde. 2601 NW Thurman, Portland OR.

Susan Nguyen (she/her) is the author of Dear Diaspora, which won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Association of Asian American Studies, a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and was a finalist for the Julie Suk Award. She is currently the Senior Editor of Hayden's Ferry Review. Her poems have been nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize and have appeared or are forthcoming numerous publications. Her work has also received support from arts organizations, residencies, arts commissions and more. She’s received multiple fellowships, including one that enabled her to conduct an oral history project centered on the Vietnamese diaspora, in addition to teaching at ASU and the National University of Singapore. Her hobbies, beyond reading and writing, include photography, zinemaking, hiking, and otherwise being outdoors. @r -u-ok-suzan [Image ID: Flyer advertises Event 34 of the Constellation Reading Series featuring Susan Nguyen, Thursday May 14, 2026, 7:00 -9:00 p.m. at McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde, 2601 NW Thurman. Author of Dear Diaspora; numerous awards and nominations + support from arts orgs, residencies, and more. Senior Editor of Hayden's Ferry Review. Reading and writing, photography, zinemaking, hiking, and being outdoors]

McCormack Writing Center Resident! Farheen Raparthi (she/her) is a writer and artist based in Virginia. She holds an MFA in fiction from George Mason University, where she was awarded a Thesis Fellowship. Her writing has received support from Ragdale and has been published in The Georgia Review. ⁠ [Image ID: Flyer advertises Event 34 of the Constellation Reading Series featuring Farheen Raparthy, Thursday May 14, 2026, 7:00 -9:00 p.m. at McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde, 2601 NW Thurman. Writer and artist based in Virginia; MFA in fiction from George Mason University. Her writing has received support from Ragdale and has been published in The Georgia Review.]

McCormack Writing Center Resident! A.D. Lauren-Abunassar (she/her) is a Palestinian-American writer, poet, and journalist. Her work has appeared in POETRY, Narrative, Rattle, Prairie Schooner, Boulevard, and elsewhere. Her first book, Coriolis, was winner of the 2023 Etel Adnan Poetry Prize. She is a 2025 NEA fellow in poetry. @lauren.abunassar [Image ID: Flyer advertises Event 34 of the Constellation Reading Series featuring Lauren-Abunassari, Thursday May 14, 2026, 7:00 -9:00 p.m. at McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde, 2601 NW Thurman. Palestinian-American writer, poet & journalist. NEA fellow. Author of Coriolis, winner of Etel Adnan Poetry Prize. Work in POETRY, Narrative, Prairie Schooner, and more]

A.D. Lauren-Abunassar (she/her) is a Palestinian-American writer, poet, and journalist. Her work has appeared in POETRY, Narrative, Rattle, Prairie Schooner, Boulevard, and elsewhere. Her first book, Coriolis, was winner of the 2023 Etel Adnan Poetry Prize. She is a 2025 NEA fellow in poetry. @lauren.abunassar Farheen Raparthi (she/her) is a writer and artist based in Virginia. She holds an MFA in fiction from George Mason University, where she was awarded a Thesis Fellowship. Her writing has received support from Ragdale and has been published in The Georgia Review. ⁠ Susan Nguyen (she/her) is the author of Dear Diaspora, which won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Association of Asian American Studies, a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and was a finalist for the Julie Suk Award. She is currently the Senior Editor of Hayden's Ferry Review. Her poems have been nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize and have appeared or are forthcoming numerous publications. Her work has also received support from arts organizations, residencies, arts commissions and more. She’s received multiple fellowships, including one that enabled her to conduct an oral history project centered on the Vietnamese diaspora, in addition to teaching at ASU and the National University of Singapore. Her hobbies, beyond reading and writing, include photography, zinemaking, hiking, and otherwise being outdoors. @r -u-ok-suzan Image ID Flyer for the 35th event in the Constellation Reading Series. Thurs, May 14, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Featured writers: A.D. Lauren-Abunassar, Farheen Raparthi, Susan Nguyen. At McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde. 2601 NW Thurman, Portland OR.

It's hard to explain how much fun we had and how moved we were last week at April Constellation hearing beautiful and true work from @preetivangani (L, first image), Genevieve DeGuzman (next, first image), and @paul.susi (right, first image). Genevieve's exquisite animal poems, Paul's precise tales of identity restoration, and Preeti's heroic performance of "Fifty Mothers" -- unforgettable! Thank you readers, thank you assembled crowd. Thank you @mccormack_writing_center @bishopandwilde and @regionalarts for the ongoing support.

Genevieve DeGuzman (she/her) is a poet and writer with work in The Adroit, phoebe, Poetry Northwest, RHINO, and others. Her poet energy is monster ballads, lichen etched deep, radiance that needs dark. A Tin House Workshop alum and Alice James Award finalist, she has received the Oregon Literary Fellowship, the StoryBoard Fellowship from StoryStudio, as well as fellowships and support from AWP, the RACC, Poets & Writers, and Vermont Studio Center. Born in the Philippines and raised near San Diego, Genevieve lives in NE Portland with her metalhead partner and their unimpressed cat. Karaoke at the End of the World (from JackLeg Press) is her debut collection. Paul Susi (he/him) is a theater artist, writer, social services professional, educator and activist, born and raised in Portland. He has appeared onstage with Salt and Sage, NW Classical Theatre Collaborative, Shaking the Tree Studios, Island Stage Left, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Vermont Stage Company, Teatro Solo/Boom Arts, and in self-produced, original work. In 2018-2024, Paul toured “An Iliad” to over 30 prisons, community centers, places of worship, and theaters. Paul has received a Creative Heights Fellowship, grants from the RACC and the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, and a residency at Caldera Arts. In 2018, RACC honored Paul for outstanding contributions to local theater and culture. Paul is the Director of the Vendor Program at Street Roots. The proud son of Filipino immigrants, Paul never went to college. His first book, Character Work, was published in October. Preeti Vangani (she/her) is a poet & writer from Bombay based in San Francisco. She is the author of the poetry collections, Mother Tongue Apologize (2019) and Fifty Mothers, (River River Books, 2026). Her work has appeared in AGNI, The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner among other places. Her debut short story won the 2021 Pen/Dau Emerging Writers Prize.Vangani has been a resident at UCross, Djerassi and Ragdale. She has received artist grants from San Francisco Arts Commission, YBCA, and The Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. She holds an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco and teaches in the program.

Preeti Vangani (she/her) is a poet & writer from Bombay based in San Francisco. She is the author of the poetry collections, Mother Tongue Apologize (2019) and Fifty Mothers, (River River Books, 2026). Her work has appeared in AGNI, The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner among other places. Her debut short story won the 2021 Pen/Dau Emerging Writers Prize.Vangani has been a resident at UCross, Djerassi and Ragdale. She has received artist grants from San Francisco Arts Commission, YBCA, and The Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. She holds an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco and teaches in the program. [Image ID: Flyer advertises Event 34 of the Constellation Reading Series featuring Preeti Vangani, Thursday April 9, 2026, 7:00 -9:00 p.m. at McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde, 2601 NW Thurman.]

Paul Susi (he/him) is a theater artist, a writer, a social services professional, an educator and an activist, born and raised in Portland, Oregon. As an actor, he has appeared onstage with Salt and Sage, NW Classical Theatre Collaborative, Shaking the Tree Studios, Island Stage Left in the San Juans, WA, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Vermont Stage Company, Teatro Solo/Boom Arts, as well as in self-produced, original work. In 2018-2024, Paul toured “An Iliad” to over 30 prisons, community centers, places of worship, and theaters throughout Oregon with cellist / composer Anna Fritz. Paul has been honored to receive a Creative Heights Fellowship from the Oregon Community Foundation, as well as several Project-Based Grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, and an Artist’s Residency at Caldera Arts. In 2018, RACC honored Paul for outstanding contributions to local theater and culture. Paul currently serves as the Director of the Vendor Program at Street Roots. The proud son of Filipino immigrants, Paul never went to college. His first book, Character Work, was published in October 2025. [Image ID: Flyer advertises Event 34 of the Constellation Reading Series featuring Paul Susi, Thursday April 9, 2026, 7:00 -9:00 p.m. at McCormack Writing Center/Bishop & Wilde, 2601 NW Thurman.]

Genevieve DeGuzman (she/her) is a poet and writer with work in The Adroit, phoebe, Poetry Northwest, RHINO, and other publications. Her poet energy is monster ballads, lichen etched deep, radiance that needs dark. A Tin House Workshop alum and Alice James Award finalist, Genevieve has received the Oregon Literary Fellowship, the StoryBoard Fellowship from StoryStudio, as well as fellowships and support from AWP, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Poets & Writers, and Vermont Studio Center. Born in the Philippines and raised near San Diego, Genevieve lives in NE Portland with her metalhead partner and their unimpressed cat. Karaoke at the End of the World (from JackLeg Press) is her debut collection. Find her on BlueSky and Substack. [image ID: flyer advertises Event 34 in the Constellation Reading Series featuring Genevieve DeGuzman on Thursday April 9, 2026 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Bishop & Wilde / McCormack Writing Center.]

Genevieve DeGuzman (she/her) is a poet and writer with work in The Adroit, phoebe, Poetry Northwest, RHINO, and other publications. Her poet energy is monster ballads, lichen etched deep, radiance that needs dark. A Tin House Workshop alum and Alice James Award finalist, Genevieve has received the Oregon Literary Fellowship, the StoryBoard Fellowship from StoryStudio, as well as fellowships and support from AWP, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Poets & Writers, and Vermont Studio Center. Born in the Philippines and raised near San Diego, Genevieve lives in NE Portland with her metalhead partner and their unimpressed cat. Karaoke at the End of the World (from JackLeg Press) is her debut collection. Find her on BlueSky and Substack. Paul Susi (he/him) is a theater artist, writer, social services professional, educator and activist, born and raised in Portland. As an actor, he has appeared onstage with Salt and Sage, NW Classical Theatre Collaborative, Shaking the Tree Studios, Island Stage Left, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Vermont Stage Company, Teatro Solo/Boom Arts, and in self-produced, original work. In 2018-2024, Paul toured “An Iliad” to over 30 prisons, community centers, places of worship, and theaters. Paul has received a Creative Heights Fellowship, grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, and a residency at Caldera Arts. In 2018, RACC honored Paul for outstanding contributions to local theater and culture. Paul is the Director of the Vendor Program at Street Roots. The proud son of Filipino immigrants, Paul never went to college. His first book, Character Work, was published in October. Preeti Vangani (she/her) Apologize (2019) and Fifty Mothers, (River River Books, 2026). Her work has appeared in AGNI, The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner among other places. Her debut short story won the 2021 Pen/Dau Emerging Writers Prize.Vangani has been a resident at UCross, Djerassi and Ragdale. She has received artist grants from San Francisco Arts Commission, YBCA, and The Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. She holds an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco and teaches in the program.