Alameda Island Poets invites Alameda Sun readers to their monthly free reading, from 7 to 9 p.m., next Wednesday, June 7, at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts, 1601 Paru St., 
This month’s readings feature prizewinning poets Claire J. Baker and Robert Eastwood.  Open mic follows. Light refreshments will be served.

Claire J. Baker has seen more than 4,300 of her poems printed in journals, anthologies, newspapers and online. She has written 11 books, her latest Trails of Naming, Book 2.  She has won four grand prizes at the Dancing Poetry Festival.  

Baker studied with Stanley Kunitz at Centrum and Kim Addonizio at Cal Extension. She has served the poetry community as judge, coach, editor, contest chair. 

She has served for more than 30 years on the arrangements committee for the venerable Poets Dinner, which she first attended in1957.  

Baker is a member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle, where she serves the board as Promoter of Poetry Landmarks, an idea Baker has carried forth from the first Alameda Poet Laureate, Mary Rudge.  

Robert Eastwood lives in San Ramon. He worked for 34 years in the telecommunications industry before becoming a high school English teacher and a poet. His work has appeared in a number of publications, including The Dirty Napkin, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Full of Crow, Legendary, Softblow, and Up The Staircase Quarterly, 

His chapbooks include The Welkin Gate, Over Plainsong and Night of the Moth. 

His first book, Snare, was published by Broadstone Press in 2016. His second book, Romer, will appear 2018 by Etruscan Press. 

Eastwood has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Award.