A special reception to celebrate the installation of a bronze bust honoring celebrated Pacific Northwest author Ella Rhoads Higginson will be held on Friday, November 2, 2018 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The reception will take place in the Western Libraries Reading Room, (Wilson Library 4th Floor Central) and will include speakers, refreshments, and live music.

At the turn of the 20th century, Higginson was the most influential Pacific Northwest literary writer in the U.S. Among her many honors and awards, she was named the first Poet Laureate of Washington state in 1931. However, like many women writers after World War I, over time Higginson and her writings fell into obscurity.

As part of Laffrado’s work to restore recognition of Higginson as a significant voice in American Literature, she raised donations from generous faculty, staff, students, friends of Western, and friends of Pacific Northwest women writers to fund the creation of the Higginson bust. The bust will be installed near the north entrance of Wilson Library, across from the portrait of Mabel Zoe Wilson.

For more information, please contact Laura Laffrado (Laura.Laffrado@wwu.edu (360) 650-2886).

Photo of Ella Higginson courtesy of the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.