on poetry
March 31, 2017
“If society abolishes poetry it commits spiritual suicide.”
Octavio Paz
(March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998)
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Fear and Loathing in Bellingham
March 30, 2017
Take a trip with the Chuckanut Writers Conference at a special screening of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at the Pickford Film Center on Thursday, April 20, 2017.
The reception starts at 6:30pm, so bust out your aviators and Hawaiian shirts and join CWC for a night of special Hunter S. Thompson-themed writing prompts, activities, and refreshments, and escape into the wild world of this cult classic. Make sure to sign up for the raffle for your chance to win a special Fear and Loathing gift pack!
Admission is $10.75 general, $7.50 for Pickford members, and $8.00 for students.
Because We Come from Everything
March 29, 2017
Back in December, we introduced the Poetry Coalition, 25 nonprofit poetry organizations working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.
Beginning this month, the inaugural effort of the Poetry Coalition is Because We Come from Everything: Poetry & Migration. “For this collaborative effort, each organization in the Poetry Coalition will bring its unique mission to the task of presenting programs and projects on the theme of migration.” The projects are inclusive, original, wide-ranging, relevant and engaging.
You can see how each of the organizations describes its projects on the Academy of American Poets Because We Come from Everything page and you can also see many images from the project on Twitter #WeComeFromEverything.
could you stand some good news?
March 28, 2017
According to an uplifting article in The Guardian, poetry is thriving in Britain. Using the R-word (renaissance), the article states, “Poetry book sales have gone up by more than 50% in four years, while there are now more than 30 annual events devoted to celebrating spoken and written verse.” Read all about it.
around the corner
March 26, 2017
National Poetry Month and National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) begin on Saturday, April 1, 2017. You can anticipate an extra serving of readings, book signings and other poetic events. Here are a few other items of interest:
- Get daily prompts at NaPoWriMo.
- Two Sylvias Press invites you to celebrate National Poetry month with 30 prompts delivered directly to your inbox each day, PLUS you can also have one of your 30 poems critiqued by the editors of Two Sylvias Press, Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy.
- April is also National Letterwriting Month. Check out the event lineup at Write_On.
- At Writers Digest, Robert Lee Brewer once again offers up the Poem-A-Day Challenge.
- Thirty Thirty Poetry posts a prompt a day for the month of April.
- The Academy of American Poets has a nice list of 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month.
In addition to the usual weekly events… poetrynight, Poetry Laboratory, Easy Speak Seattle (2nd and 4th Monday), Vancouver Poetry Slam, Seattle Poetry Slam, Write Time Poetry, Rain City Slam, Broken Mic, Watermark Writers’ Workshop, Everett Poetry Night, Olympia People’s Mic, The Salem Poetry Project, Planet Earth Poetry, Portland Poetry Slam (every other Sunday)
…and the many scheduled appearances of Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall and Oregon Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody
…here are a few of the National Poetry Month events that are showing up on Cascadia calendars (Washington state unless otherwise indicated):
1 and 2 – Manzanita, OR – PoetryFest 2017 – at the Hoffman Center for the Arts
1 – Port Townsend – Poetry reading with Gary Lilley and Matthew Nienow – 7pm – at Writers’ Workshoppe and Imprint Books
1 – Seattle – Reading with Tom Aslin and Michael Spence – 7:00pm – at Open Books
3 – Auburn – Striped Water Poets presents featured poet plus open mic the first Monday of the month – 7:00pm – at the Rainbow Café
3 – Portland, OR – Free Range Poetry presents open mic plus featured readers – 6:30pm – at Multnomah County Library, Northwest Reading Room
4 – Seattle – Reading with Jenny Johnson and JM Miller – 7:00pm – at Open Books
4 – Springfield, OR – Springfield Library Foundation presents a reading by poets Elizabeth Woody, Joe Wilkins, and A. Molotkov – 7:00pm – at Springfield Public Library
5 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group II, 10:15am – at Village Books
5 – Bellingham – Mary Pneuman reads from her collection of poems, Nature of Things – 7:00pm – at Village Books
5 – Duvall – Duvall Poetry presents Jenessa Hope, Ginna Luck, and Kara Simon – 7:00pm – at Duvall Library
5 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series presents Alice Notley – 7:30pm – at McCaw Hall
6 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group, 5:30pm – at Village Books
7 – Corvallis, OR – A reading by poet and nonfiction writer Ellen Bass – 7:30pm – at Oregon State University, Valley Library Rotunda
7 – Seattle – Literary Series: Anis Mojgani, Kaitlyn Greenidge, and Rick Barot – 7:30pm – at Fred Wildlife Refuge
8 – Bellingham – SpeakEasy 19: Poems of Darkness, Poems of Light – 7:00pm – Mount Baker Theatre, Encore Room
8 – Ellensburg – Inland Poetry presents “Edna’s Second April,” a poetry prowl – all day – in downtown Ellensburg
8 – Lynden – VB Writes…Nooksack River Writing Group – 10:00am – in the lobby of the Inn at Lynden
9 – Edison – National Poetry Month Group Reading with Georgia Johnson and Jessico Gigot – 5:00pm – at i.e.gallery
9 – Portland, OR – The Studio Series: Poetry Reading and Open Mic – 7:00pm – at Stonehenge Studios
10 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Prompts – 4:00pm – at Village Books
10 – Seattle – Hugo House Ask the Oracle with Jordan Scott, Doug Nufer, & Megan Snyder-Camp – 7:30pm – at Hotel Sorrento in the Fireside Room
10 – Seattle – Easy Speak Wedgwood presents featured poet Erin Fristad plus open mic – open mic at 8 (signup prior), featured performer around 8:40 – at Wedgwood Ale House
11 – Redmond – Joannie Stangeland facilitates this month’s Poetry and Prose Circle – 6:30pm – at Redmond Regional Library
12 – Bellingham – Chuckanut Sandstone Writers Theater second-Wednesday open mic – 6:30pm – at the Colophon Cafe
12 – Milwaukie, OR – The Milwaukie Poetry Series, held second Wednesdays Sept-June, features Lois Rosen – 7:00pm – at the Pond House
12 – Tacoma – Poetry Book Club – 7:00pm – at King’s Books
13 – Bellingham – Poet Rick Hermann reads from his new collection, Nooksack: Poems and Prose – 7:00pm – at Village Books
13 – Olympia – Celebrate a New Washington Poetry Anthology: Washington 129 – 5:00pm – Washington State Capitol
13 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents An Evening with TWO SYLVIAS PRESS: Natasha Moni and Molly Tenenbaum – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center
13 – Seattle – It’s About Time Writers Reading Series (every second Thursday) with featured readers and open mic – 6:00pm – at the Ballard Branch Seattle Public Library
13 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic featuring April Bullard and Ian Frederick Caton – 7:00pm – at Angst Gallery
14 – Portland, OR – John Beer and Gabe Urza: Faculty Reading – 6:30pm – Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 294
14 – Seattle – Book Launch: Molly Tenenbaum’s Mytheria – 7:00pm – at Open Books
14 – Tacoma – Distinguished Writer Series with featured poet Rick Barot and open mic – 7:00pm – at King’s Books
15 – Kirkland – Robert Lashley – 3rd Saturday Workshop & Reading – workshop 4:30pm, reading/open mic 6:15pm – at BookTree
15 – Manzanita, OR – The Manzanita Writers’ Series presents a workshop taught by John Sibley Williams – Publishing Your Chapbook: for poetry chapbooks, books of short stories/essays – 10:00am – at the Hoffman Center for the Arts
15 – Port Townsend – Priscilla Long leads a one-day workshop, Becoming a More Effective Creator – 10:00am-4:00pm – at The Writers’ Workshoppe
15 – Seattle – Book launch for Vancouver poet, composer, musician Leanne Dunic’s new book of short prose pieces, To Love the Coming End – 3:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company
15 – Seattle – Reading by poet Gabriel Jesiolowski and C. Davida Ingram – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company
16 – Bellingham – Daniel Edward Moore reads poems from Confessions of a Pentcostal Buddhist – 4:00pm – at Village Books
17-23 – Spokane – Get Lit! Festival
18 – Eugene, OR – Poets Deborah Akers and Darlene Pagán read – 6:00pm – at Eugene Public Library
18 – Seattle – Word Works: Terrance Hayes – 7:00pm – at Washington Hall
18 – Tacoma – Commencement Bay Haiku meeting – 6:00pm – at King’s Books
19 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group II, 10:15am – at Village Books
19 – Olympia – Olympia Poetry Network third-Wednesday reading with featured poet and open mic – 6:30pm – at Traditions Fair Trade
19 – West Seattle – WordsWest Literary Series, featuring Terrance Hayes and Jane Wong – 7:00pm – at C & P Coffee Company
19 – Woodinville – PoetsWest at the Creekside, every 3rd Wednesday – 7:00pm – at The Creekside
20 – Anchorage, AK – Reading & Craft Talk Series presents Julie LeMay, An Alchemy of Words: Mystery and Clarity in a Poem – 7:00pm – at Indigo Tea Lounge
20 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Poetry Writing Group, 5:30pm – at Village Books
20 – Portland, OR – Third-Thursday Comma series presents Melissa Madenski and Christine Colasurdo – 7:00pm – at Broadway Books
20 – Redmond – SoulFood Poetry Night presents readers from Two Sylvias Press: Jeannine Hall Gailey, Natasha Kochicheril Moni, Michael Schmeltzer, and Molly Tenenbaum – 7:00pm – at SoulFood Coffee House
21 – Seattle – Book Launch: Jason Whitmarsh’s The Histories – 7:00pm – at Open Books
22 – Everywhere – Earth Day
22 – Bellingham – Susan J. Erickson reads poems from Lauren Bacall Shares a Limousine – 7:00pm – at Village Books
22 – Lynden – VB Writes…Nooksack River Writing Group – 10:00am – in the lobby of the Inn at Lynden
22 – Seattle – Lena Khalaf Tuffaha celebrates publication of her first full-length collection, Water & Salt – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company
23 – Bellingham – Sandra Noel reads poems from Into the Green – 4:00pm – at Village Books
23 – Langley – Poetry Month Celebration with Matt Gano: TWO events: Poetry workshop 1:00-3:00pm, Special reading and interview 7:30pm – at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts
23 – Seattle – Reading & Conversation with Katie Ford – 6:00pm – at Open Books
24 – Bellingham – VB Writes…Prompts – 4:00pm – at Village Books
24 – Bellingham – Open Mic with Laurel Leigh, 7:00pm – at Village Books
24 – Seattle – Poetry on Buses Launch Party – 6:30pm – at Moore Theatre
27 – Everywhere – Poem in Your Pocket Day
27 – Anchorage, AK – Savor the Rising Words broadside invitational reading – 7:00pm – at Great Harvest Bread Co.
27 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Sibyl James and Judith Roche – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center
27 – Portland, OR – Verselandia! the annual citywide youth poetry slam – 7:00pm – at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
28 – Redmond – RASP: Redmond Association of Spokenword featured poet plus open mic – 7:00pm – at at VALA Eastside in Redmond Town Center
28 – Seattle – Reading with Kristiana Kahakauwila, Lauren K. Alleyne & Jamaica Baldwin – 7:00pm – at Hugo House
29 – Nationwide – Independent Bookstore Day (check your local indie store for scheduled events and author appearances)
29 – Seattle – A reading by poets Gary Lemons and Felicia Gonzalez – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company
30 – Seattle – African-American Writers’ Alliance Reading – 4:30pm – at Open Books
Check the lineup for the rest of the year on the CALENDAR page. Updated (almost) daily!
If you’d care to share your Cascadia-region National Poetry Month event (open to the public and not on this list), leave a Comment.
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Poster artwork by Maira Kalman
Whatcom countdown
March 25, 2017
Attention Whatcom County poets! The deadline for submissions to the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest is Friday, March 31, 2017, 6:00pm. Submissions emailed, delivered or postmarked after March 31 will be disqualified.
See the complete guidelines on the 2017 Contest page… and send in your winning-est poem!
poetry on vinyl
March 24, 2017
At the intersection of two passions — poetry and vinyl — Fonograf Editions is carving itself a small, bold niche. Calling itself “a vinyl record-only poetry press,” Fonograf is based out of Portland, Oregon, and is an arm of Octopus Books. (We mentioned Octopus a few months back in a post about Octopus editor Mathias Svalina’s Dream Delivery Service.)
Hoping to produce two to three albums each year, Fonograf already has a catalog of two: Conflation by Rae Armantrout and Aloha/irish trees by Eileen Myles.
For more, visit the Fonograf Editions website and Facebook page and also see the article in the Omaha World-Herald.
Reasons to go to… Los Angeles
March 23, 2017
If your travel plans between March 28 and July 30, 2017, include Southern California, you may want to visit the Getty Center to see Concrete Poetry: Words and Sounds in Graphic Space. The exhibit focuses on the visual, verbal, and sonic experiments of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, displaying material drawn principally from the Getty Research Institute’s collection.
Admission to the Getty Center and the exhibit, in Research Institute Gallery I, is free and no tickets are required. (Parking is $15.)
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image: Open (Abre), Augusto de Campos (b. 1931) and Julio Plaza (1938–2003), 1969.
on poetry
March 22, 2017
“There’s a lot of waiting around until something happens.”
Billy Collins
(b. March 22, 1941)
March 21
March 21, 2017
Look at photos of poets
in the World Poetry Day edition of Time.
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The Poetry Department . . . aka The Boynton Blog 