A selection of poetry (and occasionally other literary) events going on in the Cascadia region (Washington State and Pacific time except as noted) with links for more information. Some events may involve fees or admission charges. Information is current to the best of our knowledge; please confirm with venues for updates and featured poets.
To make a correction or add your event to the calendar, send an email to thepoetrydepartment at gmail with the following information (required): date, city, brief description, time, venue, link for more information.
Mondays in Everett – Everett Poetry Night: poetry and acoustic music at the Sister’s Restaurant – 5:00pm
Mondays in Seattle – Easy Speak Seattle hosts a featured reader and open mic the 2nd and 4th Monday
Mondays in Seattle – The Magic Hat – 7:00pm – the basement of The Rendezvous [October 2022 still on hiatus]
Mondays in Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Poetry Slam (VanSlam) feature plus open mic – 7:00pm
Wednesdays in Eugene, OR – Lane Writers Network Page 5 All Poetry Open Mic – at Alluvium – 7:00pm
Wednesdays in Seattle – Write Time Poetry, a weekly drop-in writing circle for teens at Hugo House (meets during the school year)
Wednesdays in Seattle – Open Mic Night: music, poems, dance, comedy, stories – 7:00pm – at Couth Buzzard Books
Wednesdays in Seattle – PoetryBridge LIVE! – email info@poetrybridge.net for weekly Zoom links
Wednesdays in Spokane – Broken Mic featured poet plus open mic at Neato Burrito
Thursdays in Salem, OR – The Salem Poetry Project presents a featured reader followed by open mic – 7:00pm – at IKE Box Coffee Shop
Fridays in Victoria, BC – Planet Earth Poetry featured poets plus open mic – 7:30pm – at Hillside Coffee and Tea
Confirm specific dates and featured poets with organization or venue; schedules may shift on short notice or be adjusted around holidays.
first Monday – Auburn – Striped Water Poets: featured poet(s) plus open mic – 7:00pm – at the Rainbow Café
second and fourth Mondays – Bellingham – VB Writes Prompts – 4:00pm – at Village Books, Fairhaven
third Monday – Camas – Poetry Open Mic Gathering – doors 6:15pm – at Camas Public Library
third Monday – Lake Forest Park – open mic night for Washington writers – 7:00pm – at Third Place Books
third Monday – Tacoma – Creative Colloquy presents featured readers plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Pint & Pie
last Monday – Bellingham – Open mic night – 7:00pm – in the Readings Gallery at Village Books
second Tuesday – Edmonds – free, public, EPIC Poetry Group meets monthly to express and improve poetry writing skills – 6:00-7:45pm – at the Edmonds Library
first and third Wednesdays – Bellingham – VB Writes Poetry II – 10:15am – at Village Books, Fairhaven
first Wednesday – Duvall – Duvall Poetry, open mic plus featured poet – open mic 7:00pm, feature 7:30pm – at Duvall Library
second Wednesday – Bellingham – Chuckanut Sandstone Writers Theater Open Mic – signups 6:30pm, readings 7:00pm – at The Happy Place
second Wednesday – Milwaukie, OR – The Milwaukie Poetry Series at the Community Room at the Ledding Library and streaming online – 6:00pm
third Wednesday – Bellingham – Creekside Open Mic – signups 6:00pm, readings 6:30pm – at Creekside Cafe, Sudden Valley Community Center
third Wednesday – LaGrange, OR – Art Center East Writing Project featured author plus open mic – 6:45pm
third Wednesday – Olympia – The Olympia Poetry Network monthly reading with featured poet and open mic – 6:00pm – at Traditions Fair Trade
fourth Wednesday – Tieton – FUEL: monthly feature plus open mic – 6:30pm
last Wednesday – Bellingham – Whatcom Writers and Publishers – 5:30pm – at Brandywine Kitchen
first Thursday – Pendleton Center for the Arts First Draft Writers’ Series – 7:00pm
first and third Thursdays – Bellingham – VB Writes Poetry I – 5:30pm – at Village Books, Fairhaven
second Thursday – Seattle (Ballard) – It’s About Time Writers Reading Series, featured readers, open mic, presentation on the writer’s craft – 6:00pm – at Ballard Branch of The Seattle Public Library
second Thursday – Seattle – African American Writers Alliance (see website for additional dates and locations) – 7:00pm – at Third Place Books, Seward Park
second Thursday (with occasional exceptions) – Haiku Northwest
second Thursday – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic with featured reader – signup 6:30pm – at Angst Gallery
third Thursday – Bellingham – Monthly poetry night hosted by Matt Eiford at Honey Moon Mead & Cider with feature plus open mic – signup 6:30pm
third Thursday – Pendleton, OR – First Draft Writers’ Series: feature plus open mic – 7:00pm
third Thursday – Redmond – SoulFood Poetry Night, with featured reader and open mic – 7:00pm – at SoulFood Coffee House
last Friday – Redmond – RASP: Redmond Association of Spokenword, open mic plus feature – signup 6:30pm, reading 7:00pm – online
first Saturday – Bellingham – Red Wheelbarrow Writers: Writers’ Happy Hour – 4:00pm – on Zoom
second and fourth Saturdays – Lynden – VB Writes Nooksack River Writing Group – 10:00am – at Village Books, Lynden
last Saturday, September through May – River Road Reading Series – 4:30pm
1-31 – Whatcom County – Submissions open for Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest
19 – Olympia – Poetry Panel with Lauren Davis, Anne Leigh Parrish, and Liz Kellebrew – 4:00pm
19 – Vashon – Poetry event features works by four island poets, plus cake – 7:00pm
20 – Seattle – Donna Spruijt-Metz with Suzanne Edison – 7:00pm
21 – Seattle – Charif Shanahan with Luther Hughes and Jane Wong – 7:00pm
22 – Bellingham – Whatcom Writers and Publishers dinner meeting – 5:30pm
23 – BIRTHDAY – Lana Hechtman Ayers
25 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Books Madrona Project Reading Series featuring Bill Porter/Red Pine and Finn Wilcox – 7:00pm
1-30 – National Poetry Month U.S., National Poetry Month Canada, and NaPoWriMo
3 – Portland, OR – 2023 Oregon Book Awards ceremony – 7:30pm
3 – Seattle and online – Chris Abani: In‑Person & Online – 7:30pm
4 – BIRTHDAY – Anita K. Boyle
5 – Seattle – Laurie Blauner, Richard Robbins, and Abigail Prout – 7:00pm
7 – everywhere – Poet in a Cupcake Day (yep, it’s a thing)
8 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Books Madrona Project Reading Series featuring Alice Derry and Kate Reavey- 7:00pm
11 – BIRTHDAY – Maria McLeod
13 – McMinnville, OR – Poetry Night @ the Library – 6:00pm
14 – BIRTHDAY – Jericho Brown
14 – Seattle – Anastacia-Reneé reads from her latest collection, Side Notes from the Archivist – 7:00pm
15 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Books Madrona Project Reading Series featuring Claudia Castro Luna, Susan Rich, and Kathleen Flenniken – 7:00pm
16 – BIRTHDAY – Tracy K. Smith
20 – Portland, OR – Portland Arts & Lectures presents Ada Limón – 7:00pm
20-23 – McAllen, TX – Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival
22 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Books Madrona Project Reading Series featuring Kevin Murphy and Randy Dills – 7:00pm
23 – BIRTHDAYS – Coleman Barks, Halldór Laxness
24 – Seattle – Reception/Reading for THIS LIGHT CALLED DARKNESS, A RAVEN CHRONICLES ANTHOLOGY – 7:00pm
25 – BIRTHDAYS – Ted Kooser, James Fenton
27 – Portland, OR – Verselandia! 2023 – 7:00pm
28 – BIRTHDAYS – Carolyn Forché, Roberto Bolaño
28 – Seattle – Hugo Lit Series | Second Chances: Danez Smith, Rachel Khong, Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, Zan Fiskum – 7:00pm
29 – BIRTHDAYS – C.P. Cavafy, Yusef Komunyakaa
29 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Books Madrona Project Reading Series featuring Michael Daley and Gary Copeland Lilley – 7:00pm
30 – Everywhere – Poem in Your Pocket Day
2 – BIRTHDAY – Rob Lewis
4 – Tacoma – Passing of the (Washington State Poet Laureate) Laurel 2023 – 7:00pm
8 – BIRTHDAYS – Nora Marks Keixwnéi Dauenhauer, Phillis Wheatley
8-10 – Poetry Out Loud National Finals
9 – BIRTHDAYS – Charles Simic, Dan Chiasson, Joy Harjo
11 – McMinnville, OR – Poetry Night @ the Library – 6:00pm
12 – BIRTHDAY – Bernadette Mayer
14 – BIRTHDAYS – Elizabeth Austen, Lea Galanter
24 – BIRTHDAYS – Tom Phillips; Lorna Crozier
27 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Books Madrona Project Reading Series featuring Jeremy Voigt and Tom Aslin – 7:00pm
30 – BIRTHDAY – Countee Cullen
31 – BIRTHDAY – Walt Whitman
2 – Seattle – Hugo Lit Series | Conversion: Jos Charles, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Putsata Reang, Lucia Flores-Wiseman – 7:00pm
2-3 – Orcas Island – Orcas Island Lit Fest
3 – BIRTHDAY – Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997); Kat Smith (b. June 3, 1977)
5 – BIRTHDAYS – Federico García Lorca (June 5, 1898 – August 18, 1936), David Wagoner (June 5, 1926 – December 18, 2021)
7 – BIRTHDAYS – Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni
16 – Ireland & elsewhere – Bloomsday
21 – BIRTHDAY – Sheila Sondik
28 – July 2 – Cincinnati, OH – Haiku North America
2 – BIRTHDAYS – Wisława Szymborska, Carolyne Wright, Lee Maracle
9 – BIRTHDAY – Susan Rich
16 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Lashley
16-22 – Port Townsend – Port Townsend Writers Conference
19 – BIRTHDAY – Alice Dunbar Nelson
31 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Addonizio
1-31 – Poetry Postcard Fest
1-31 – The Sealey Challenge
2 – BIRTHDAY – James Baldwin
3 – BIRTHDAY – Diane Wakoski
5 – BIRTHDAYS – Wendell Berry, Ron Silliman; José Garcia Villa
20 – BIRTHDAY – Heather McHugh
28 – BIRTHDAY – Rita Dove
5 – BIRTHDAY – Nicanor Parra
10 – BIRTHDAY – Mary Oliver
11 – BIRTHDAY – Ryler Dustin, Michael Schmeltzer
3 – BIRTHDAY – Bill Porter (Red Pine)
4 – BIRTHDAY – James Bertolino, Susan J. Erickson
14 – BIRTHDAY – Ocean Vuong
15 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Stafford
18-22 – Frankfurt, Germany – 75th Annual Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse)
1-30 – everywhere – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
2 – BIRTHDAY – Samuel Green
11 – BIRTHDAY – Katharine Whitcomb
29 – BIRTHDAY – Luci N. Shaw
2 – BIRTHDAY – Jimmy Santiago Baca
3 – BIRTHDAY – Renee Sarojini Saklikar
9 – BIRTHDAY – Kelli Russell Agodon
13 – BIRTHDAY – Megan Snyder-Camp
17 – BIRTHDAY – William Stafford
20 – BIRTHDAY – Ernesto Cardenal, Edward Hirsch, Bruce Beasley
21 – BIRTHDAY – Forrest Gander
22 – BIRTHDAY – Luther Allen
25 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796)
31 – BIRTHDAY – Albert Goldbarth
1-28 – everywhere – National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo)
1 – BIRTHDAYS – Galway Kinnell, Joannie Stangeland, Reginald Dwayne Betts
2 – BIRTHDAY – James Joyce
3 – BIRTHDAYS – Gertrude Stein, Gregory Orr
4 – BIRTHDAYS – Janice Mirikitani, Agha Shahid Ali, Elizabeth Vignali
6 – BIRTHDAYS – Victor Hernández Cruz,Craig Santos Perez, Rena Priest
7 – BIRTHDAY – Rickey Laurentiis
19 – BIRTHDAY – Rick Barot
25 – BIRTHDAY – Elizabeth J. Colen
27 – BIRTHDAY – Oliver de la Paz
1-31 – Whatcom County – Submissions open for Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest
1 – BIRTHDAY – Brenda Miller
5 – BIRTHDAY – Leslie Marmon Silko
12 – BIRTHDAY – Naomi Shihab Nye
18 – BIRTHDAY – Wilfred Owen
November 7, 2013 at 6:41 pm
Hi: I’m with the Skagit River Poetry Foundation. How do we submit events to your calendar? Thanks!
November 7, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Have replied to you directly, but feel free to leave information here as comments, too. Thank you!
March 9, 2016 at 9:39 pm
Hi, I would love to submit a few events on behalf of Creative Colloquy, a literary journal based out of Tacoma, WA. Is it possible to get our Creative Colloquy call for submissions and upcoming events added?
March 12, 2016 at 10:27 am
Be delighted to include Creative Colloquy — and have in the past when I’ve happened across your events. Please check your email. I’ve sent you a note with details. Thanks!
March 25, 2019 at 3:03 pm
2nd Fridays every month in Tacoma…
Puget Sound Poetry Connection – Distinguished Writer Series.
New location, quieter, roomier, plenty of parking, easy to find.
We’re at http://www.pugetsoundpoetryconnection.org with links on the pages to Instagram, Twitter, FaceBook & driving directions. Plus we have monthly themed open mic contests with prizes!
April 12, 2019 at 3:14 pm
Thanks. This is listed on the Calendar page in the Every Month section. https://thepoetrydepartment.wordpress.com/nw-lit-events/