CHAPEL HILL -- Orange County poet Jaki Shelton Green, the 2009 Piedmont Laureate, will be celebrating Arts & Humanities Month by offering a poetry Word Tasting to the patrons of three Triangle restaurants on Oct. 8.

Green will read selections of her poetry and visit with restaurant patrons at Mama Dip's at 408 W. Rosemary St. for dinner, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. For the 8 to 9 a.m. breakfast hour, she will be at Starbucks at 609 W. Peace St., Raleigh, and for lunch, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., she will be at the Piedmont restaurant at 401 Foster St. in Durham.

To attend the Word Tasting, customers simply need to plan to have a meal at one of the participating restaurants during the scheduled appearance time. There is no additional charge.

The Piedmont Laureate Program is sponsored by the Orange County Arts Commission, City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County.

"This program highlights the talented writers in our area," said Martha Shannon, coordinator of the Orange County Arts Commission. "Mixing writers with our area's talented chefs is a fabulous way to kick off Arts and Humanities Month in October."

The Piedmont Laureate program is dedicated to "building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing, enriching the lives of all our citizens." The Laureate Program, in 2010, will expand to five counties: Alamance, Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake -- and will be selecting an area novelist for the focus of the program in the coming year. For more information visit www.piedmontlaureate.com.

For more information about the Piedmont Laureate Word Tasting at Mama Dip's, call Shannon at (919) 245-2335.