The Truths We Hold: The Poetry and Lessons of the Declaration of Independence

If the Constitution of the United States speaks to the head, the Declaration of Independence speaks to the heart and to the body; if the Constitution is prose, the Declaration is poetry. What does the Declaration of Independence have to offer us as twenty-first century Americans? What does it mean to have a right to pursue happiness? And how might we think about and use the Declaration to improve the state of our Republic? This is the focus of The Truths We Hold: The Poetry and Lessons of the Declaration of Independence, a free conversation with Wendy Willis on Thursday, July 2, 2015, at the Tualatin Public Library, 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave. This program is hosted by the Tualatin Public Library and sponsored by Oregon Humanities. Willis is a poet, essayist, and national leader in civic engagement and collaborative governance. She serves as executive director of the Policy Consensus Initiative, a national nonprofit organization housed at Portland State University and devoted to improving democratic governance. Her first book of poems, Blood Sisters of the Republic, was released in 2012. Through the Conversation Project, Oregon Humanities offers free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state's future. For more information about this free community discussion, please contact Julie Wickman at 503.691.3069 or jwickman@ci.tualatin.or.us.