ALAMOSA – Society Hall, 400 Ross Ave., Alamosa, is thrilled to welcome renowned San Luis Valley poet Aaron Abeyta to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 22. 

Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the performance beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available online at www.societyhall.org or in Alamosa at The Green Spot, 711 State Ave. The concert will also stream live on the Society Hall Facebook page and You-Tube channel. 

Abeyta is a Colorado native, Professor of English and the former Mayor of Antonito, his hometown. Abeyta is also the co-founder of The Justice and Heritage Academy. 

He is the author of five collections of poetry and one novel. For his book, “Colcha”, Abeyta received an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His most recent book, “Ancestor of Fire” is shortlisted for the Reading the West Book Award. In addition, his novel, “Rise, Do Not be Afraid”, was a finalist for the 2007 Colorado Book Award and El Premio Aztlan. 

Abeyta was awarded a Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship for poetry, and he is the former Poet Laureate of Colorado’s Western Slope, as named by the Karen Chamberlain Poetry Festival. Abeyta is also a recipient of a Governor’s Creative Leadership Award for 2017. Abeyta was a finalist for Colorado Poet Laureate, 2019. 

Society Hall board member and Alamosa musician and record producer Don Richmond remarked, “We are so excited to host Aaron at Society Hall, and to share his incredibly powerful poetry with our audience. To me, he is the true poet-laureate of our region, and everyone should experience this area we love through his words, eyes and expression.” 

Abeyta has over 100 publications including “An Introduction to Poetry”, 10th edition, “Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, & Drama”, 8th ed., “Conversations in American Literature: Language, Rhetoric, and Culture”, “The Leopold Outlook,” “Colorado Central Magazine.” “The High Country News,” and numerous other journals. 

For more information on Abeyta, visit his website at aaronabeytapoet.com.