Two best friends. Two callings. One shared belief: words matter.
Join us for a lively and thoughtful evening of words and works; where civic vision meets the power of lyrical reflection. Suzanne Gavenus, candidate for House District 85, will give remarks about the road ahead for her district. And, in a special guest appearance, a reading of new work by poet Maria Garcia Teutsch.
Come for the inspiration, stay for the conversation, and help shape what comes next.
Because democracy not only requires a commitment to public service, but also to courage and imagination.
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ABOUT SUZANNE GAVENUS
Suzanne Gavenus and her husband Gary have lived in Burnsville, NC, for more than 23 years, where they raised their three children. Before that, they lived, worked, and met in Avery County.
Suzanne is a licensed clinical social worker and currently serves as Director of Counseling and Wellness at NCSSM in Morganton.
She’s spent her career listening to families, students, and educators when systems aren’t working—and helping them find real solutions.
She’s running for the North Carolina House, because District 85 deserves a representative who shows up, listens, and fights for our mountain communities.
Suzanne believes everyone should have access to affordable healthcare and mental health services; our educators deserve respect and fair pay; working families need affordable housing, childcare and living wages; and disaster recovery should focus on long-term resilience so our communities can rebuild stronger.
She brings leadership that is grounded in service, focused on working families, and committed to long-term solutions and economic stability for Avery, McDowell, Mitchell, and Yancey Counties—and to make sure our voices are heard in Raleigh.
ABOUT MARIA GARCIA TEUTSCH
Maria Garcia Teutsch, MA, MFA, is an award-winning poet, playwright, editor, and educator. She has published over 25 books/journals of poetry as editor-in-chief of the Homestead Review (published by Hartnell College in Salinas) and Ping-Pong journal of art and literature (published by the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, CA). She teaches poetry and creative writing at Hartnell College. She is the founder of Ping-Pong Free Press, and CEO of Poet Republik.
Her most recent book What She Saw in the Lotería Cards was published by Bottlecap Press in 2025.
She directed the one act play, The Swallows of America as part of the Speech is Not Free VII festival.
In 2023 she wrote and directed two one act plays, The Revolution Will Have its Sky: a poem in one act, at Studio Apelbaum; and What She Saw in the Loteria Cards at Galerie Z22, both in Berlin, Germany.
Her cinepoem, The Revolution Will Have its Sky was a part of the 2023 official selection of the Fotogenia Festival in Mexico City; The Nature and Culture International Poetry Film Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark; and the Birmingham International Art Film Festival, England.
In 2024 the cinepoem was a finalist at the New Arts International Film Festival in London, England. The Revolution Trilogy is comprised of her award-winning poetry collection, her one act play, and her cinepoem.
The Swallows of America was published by Dancing Girl Press in the Fall of 2021. Heather McHugh chose her poetry collection, The Revolution Will Have its Sky, as the winner of the Minerva Rising chapbook competition.