Imagine a poem that pays tribute to the Pharoah Cicada. Or, how would you pay homage to the American Sycamore? Come find out at The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, which will present Meet the Cuyahoga Valley: A Night of Nature Poetry tonight, Wednesday, July 19, at 6 p.m. at its weekly Summer Wednesdays event.

The Nature Center, with Literary Cleveland The Wick Poetry Center, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, will present 16 poems from the Poetic Inventory of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park about different species found in the region.

The Poetic Inventory follows in a growing tradition of place-based poetry collections, which also includes poems from Saguaro National Park, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and Rocky Mountain National Park. With more than 80 contributors, the Inventory captures a diverse array of nonhuman species in the park from the perspectives of amazing writers. 

Featured poets will include: 

Cathy Barber—Pharoah Cicada
Jon Conley—Poison Hemlock
Andrea Imdacha—Sassafras
Sujata Lakhe—Big Brown Bat
Michael Loderstedt—Long-eared Owl
Megan Lubey—American Sycamore
Diana Lueptow—Wood Duck
Judith Mansour—Jewelweed
Peter McWilliams—Common Dewberry
Cass Penegor—Yellow-dusted Cream Moth
Zach Savich—Masked Bees
Haylee Schwenk—Poverty Oatgrass
Ken Tomaro—Damselflies
Marina Vladova—Poison Ivy 
Brita Alaburda—Common Star-of-Bethlehem
Carrie George—American Chestnut

The free presentation of Shaker Lakes Meet the Cuyahoga Valley: A Night of Nature Poetry takes place tonight, Wednesday, July 19 at 6 p.m. the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, 2600 South Park Blvd., Shaker Heights.