1. Jorah LaFleur, JorahLaFleur.com.
2. Jalen Thompson, English instructor at UO College of Arts and Sciences. CAS.UOregon.edu
3. Skutch Lucika, Metal-Archive.com.
Jorah LaFleur is a spoken word poet who has been writing and performing her poems across Oregon since she was a teenager. She’s published two poetry books and has been an active member of the Eugene poetry scene for almost 20 years.
In 2020, she was among five individuals awarded the first-ever Individual Artist Grant by the Lane Arts Council.
She hosted the Eugene Poetry Slam for almost 15 years before handing it over to another community member in 2019.
As an introvert, LaFleur has had to wear many hats to facilitate spoken word open mics and readings, saying, “I will host a show any day. I will not host a dinner party.”
For the last eight years, LaFleur has worked at Wordcrafters in Eugene, a literary nonprofit geared toward helping writers of all ages publish their work. She is now working on a curriculum for adult writers to further broaden Eugene’s poetry scene. — Sam Sobel