The Reader: Phyllis Silver produced a number of series for Spokane Public Radio and, for a short time, got up at 4 AM to open the Hoban Building studio to announce the news and weather during Morning Edition breaks. She is known for her one woman shows, Wacky Woman and Wacky Witch, her storytelling, and children’s shows “Chatterbox” and “Chicken Little and Other Fowl Stories.” Phyllis is currently working on a writing project.
The Poet: James J. McAuley (1936-2021) was born in Dublin where he worked as a journalist. From 1968 until his retirement in 1998 he served as the founding director of the Creative Writing Programs at Eastern Washington University. McAuley directed the EWU Summer Writing Workshops at the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin, and from 1993 – 1997 he was the director of the EWU Press. McAuley’s poetry and prose have been published in Ireland, England, Canada, and the US since 1954. McAuley is represented in a number of anthologies, including The Penguin Book of Irish Verse and The Great Book of Ireland. New & Selected Poems, published in 2005 and reissued in 2023, is his tenth collection.