The Page Public Library partnered with Steven Law and his newly founded production company, House of 7 Questions, to bring authors and professional poets to Page to do readings.

“The goal is to bring more humanities and literature to Page and introduce Page residents to some writers and poets they may not have heard of,” Law said. 

The idea for the reading series came from Law, who follows his favorite authors and poets on Facebook. He noticed that when authors had a new book published and launched a book tour to promote it, many of them gave readings in Moab, Flagstaff, St. George and Cedar City, but very few visited Page. 

“The majority of author readings happen at bookstores,” Law said, “and since Page doesn’t have a bookstore, we just aren’t on the radars of the authors or their publishers.”

House of 7 Questions and Page Public Library launched the series Oct. 7. The event was held at the library with two poets from Phoenix, Austin Davis and Shawnte Orion. Law hosts and co-produces a poetry show called “Poetry Snaps” on KNAU, Flagstaff’s NPR affiliate. He was familiar with the works of Davis and Orion from having them on “Poetry Snaps.”

“They were the perfect ones to start with,” Law said. “They both write beautiful, heartfelt poems but from differing poetry genres and styles. I thought it would be a great way to introduce to the audience how diverse poetry can be.”

Law acted as the evening’s MC and read some of his own poems at the beginning of the program. The reading lasted just over an hour.

Paul Ostapuk was one of the people who attended the reading. Ostapuk said he reads very little poetry but was impressed by the poems he heard that night.

“It was more entertaining than I expected,” Ostapuk said. 

“There were several fine performances. I enjoyed the mix of styles, the way unique observations were put to words, how the various perspectives of the world were presented, the many smiles of comedic relief and numerous takeaways. It was a literary smorgasbord that provided interesting food for thought. It’s good to see this kind of live entertainment take root in Page. I look forward to seeing more share cultural experiences.”

Law has ambitious goals for the series as it matures, with plans to invite authors from a variety of literary genres and from diverse regions of the United States. He has already talked to the Page Unified School District, Coconino Community College and Glen Canyon Outdoor Academy, inviting them to join the library and House of 7 Questions as partners to help the program improve as it matures.

“As the series gets its feet under it, I want to invite some A-list authors to do readings here,” Law said. “I’m thinking about Joy Harjo, Rebecca Solnit and Robin Wall Kimmerer. But they have some pretty large reading fees. If we spread the cost among Page’s educational organizations, I think we can make it happen.”

In addition to doing an evening reading at the library, the poets and writers will also meet with students at PUSD, CCC and GCOA to do writing workshops.

The Poets and Authors Reading Series will be held quarterly. The next one is scheduled for February 6, 2024, with two poets from Phoenix and Cedar City.