APRIL IS THE POETRY-IST MONTH!
National Poetry Month with Big Sky Writing Workshops at This House of Books
For National Poetry Month, Big Sky Writing Workshops and This House of Books are throwing a four-week celebration of poetry. Join us on four Thursday evenings for workshops, readings, and conversations that are open, welcoming, and genuinely fun — no MFA required. Find your voice, feel the mystery of a poem that stops you cold, discover the art of the chapbook, and write something you didn’t know was in you. Each event is its own adventure, so come to one or come to all. Either way, this is your invitation to make April the most creative month of your year.
First Lines & Fresh Starts: A Poetry Workshop with Danell Jones
Thursday, April 2, 6:00 – 7:30 This House of Books
Every poem begins somewhere. Danell Jones leads our opening workshop, a joyful evening devoted to the art of beginning. Through playful prompts and plenty of encouragement, Danell will help you shake off the cobwebs, quiet that inner critic, and tap into your creativity. Whether you’ve been writing for years or you’re just now finding your voice, this night is for you. Come as you are. Leave inspired.
Cost: $15.00
Space is limited: Please register in advance through This House of Books
The Mystery of Poetry: On Being Moved, Surprised, and Undone by a Poem
Thursday, April 16 | 6:00–7:00 PM | This House of Books
What does a poem mean to you? Let’s find out together. Some poems affect us deeply, almost irrationally. We experience them in ways that escape intellectual explanation — a line catches in the throat, an image surfaces something long buried, a few words rearrange the furniture of our inner life. We don’t always know why. Join us at This House of Books for an evening of open conversation with poet Dave Caserio and writer Danell Jones, the second event in our National Poetry Month series. Dave and Danell will guide the group through a discussion of two poems. This isn’t a workshop where you have to write or perform — it’s a conversation, warm and unhurried.
Cost: FREE
Space is limited: Please register in advance through This House of Books
What’s a Chapbook? A Night of Conversation and Poetry
Thursday, April 23 | 6:00–7:30 PM | This House of Books
Join us for a lively evening with Montana poets Henrietta Goodman, Gabriel Furshong, Anne Holub, and Cara Chamberlain as they dig into poetry chapbooks. Small in size but mighty in impact, a chapbook is a slim, focused collection — intimate, artful, and perfectly suited to the intensity and compression that makes poetry sing. But what makes a chapbook a chapbook? Why do poets love them? And what happens when a collection finds exactly the right form? The evening also features Furshong reading from his new chapbook, Surrounding the Country a Chasm, winner of the 2025 Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Contest — poems drawn from his years in post-civil-war Guatemala that ask how one bears witness to others’ suffering. All are welcome. Come for the conversation, stay for the poems.
Cost: FREE
Space is limited: Please register in advance through This House of Books
Poetry Writing Workshops with Bernie Quetchenbach
Thursday, April 30 | 6:00–7:30 PM | This House of Books
Bernie’s working on a fun class for you! We’ll be in touch with more details soon.
COST: FREE but Bernie encourages participants to make a purchase at THOBs
Space is limited: Please register in advance through This House of Books