Inspired by Kooser's Valentine's Day poems, Laureate Lovefest was held on Sunday, February 14, 2021 at Saint Martin's University, Lacey, Washington. The Lovefest was a "processional of poets laureate from across the United States with special guests from Canada and Ireland," and included special video performances by former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and current US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. The event was hosted by Olympia Poetry Network, Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry, and Saint Martin's University, and sponsored by Humanities Washington, WA State Arts Commission, and Browsers Bookshop, Olympia, Washington. Saint Martin's Professor Nathalie Kuriowa-Lewis, an OPN member, was one of the hosts.

"For Valentine's Day 1986, Ted Kooser wrote "Pocket Poem" and sent the tender, thoughtful composition to fifty women friends, starting an annual tradition that would persist for the next twenty-one years. Printed on postcards, the poems were mailed to a list of recipients that eventually grew to more than 2,500 women all over the United States. Valentines collects Kooser's twenty-two years of Valentine's Day Poems. Complemented with illustrations by Robert Hanna and a new poem appearing for the first time."--Jacket.

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