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 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
Mondays in Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Poetry Slam (VanSlam) feature plus open mic at Café Deux Soleils; more on Facebook
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 Everett – Everett Poetry Night: poetry and acoustic music at Café Zippy
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
first and third Mondays – Seattle – SH*T GOLD Open Mic Performance Night – 8:00pm – at Velocity Dance Studio
second and fourth Mondays – Bellingham – VB Writes Prompts – 4:00pm – at Village Books, Fairhaven
second Monday – Seattle – African American Writers Alliance (see website for additional dates and locations) – 7:00pm – at Third Place Books, Seward Park
third Monday – Camas – Poetry Open Mic Gathering – doors 6:15pm – at Camas Public Library
third Monday – Tacoma – Creative Colloquy presents featured readers plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Honey at Alma Mater
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
third Tuesday – Eugene, OR – Windfall Reading Series – 6:00pm – at Downtown Eugene Public 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 – Whatcom Writers and Publishers – 5:45pm – at Nicki’s Bella Marina
second Wednesday – Bellingham – Chuckanut Sandstone Writers Theater Open Mic – signups 6:30pm, readings 7:00pm – at The Happy Place
third Wednesday – Bellingham – Creekside Open Mic – signups 6:00pm, readings 6:30pm – at South Whatcom Library
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
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 (with occasional exceptions) – Haiku Northwest
second Thursday – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic with featured reader – signup 6:30pm – at Angst Gallery
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
fourth Thursday – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents readings by local and guest authors, featuring both poets and prose writers (check calendar for additional events) – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center
first Friday – Portland, OR – Fridays on the Boulevard open mic – 7:00pm – at the Attic Institute
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 – at Brandywine Restaurant
first Saturday – Poulsbo – Armchair Poetry Reading – 7:00pm – at Poulsbohemian Coffeehouse
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
28 – online – Brownstone Poets: Megha Sood, Juan Pablo Mobili, Carolyne Wright – 11:00am
30 – BIRTHDAY – Countee Cullen
31 – BIRTHDAY – Walt Whitman
2 – Tacoma – Reading and Reception with Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest – Noon
2 – online – What The Universe Is: Tommye Blount and Sean Singer – 4:30pm
3 – BIRTHDAY – Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997)
3 – Seattle – Gemini Calling: A Poetry Reading by Woogee Bae – 6:00pm
3 – Seattle – Laureate Duet Featuring Claudia Castro Luna & Rena Priest (& Friends) – 7:00pm
3-5 – Orcas Island – Orcas Island Literary Festival
4 – Bellingham – Kami Westhoff reads from her new book, The Criteria – 7:00pm
5 – BIRTHDAYS – Federico García Lorca (June 5, 1898 – August 18, 1936), David Wagoner (June 5, 1926 – December 18, 2021)
5 – online – Poetry Out Loud National Finals – 4:00pm
7 – BIRTHDAYS – Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni
8 – online – The Milwaukie Poetry Series presents Jennifer Perrine – 6:30pm
9 – online – Reading with Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest – noon
9 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Guest Poet Jennifer Dorner and open mic – 7:00pm
11 – Tacoma – Poetry Picnic: A Celebration of Poetry and Community – 11:00am-3:00pm
12 – online – Event with the Washington State Poet Laureate – 10:30am
12 – online – Reading with Jeffrey Bean, Chapbook Contest Winner selected and hosted by hosted by Naomi Shihab Nye – 1:00pm
16 – Ireland & elsewhere – Bloomsday
16 – Portland, OR – Broadway Books presents Brittney Corrigan, Paulann Petersen, and John Sibley Williams – 6:30pm
16 – Seattle – Margin Shift presents Lorna Dee Cervantes, Christopher Siders, and Paul E. Nelson – 7:00pm
21 – BIRTHDAY – Sheila Sondik
25 – wherever you are – The Poetry Marathon 2022
25 – Portland, OR – Poetry reading by Lynn Xu, Joshua Edwards, and Stacey Tran – 7:00pm
2 – BIRTHDAYS – Wisława Szymborska, Carolyne Wright, Lee Maracle
9 – BIRTHDAY – Susan Rich
13 – online – The Milwaukie Poetry Series presents Ann Staley – 6:30pm
14 – Portland, OR – Poetry reading by John Sibley Williams, Emmett Wheatfall, and Kelli Russell Agodon – 7:00pm
16 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Lashley
17-23 – Port Townsend and online – Centrum’s Port Townsend Writers Conference 2022
31 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Addonizio
1-31 – Poetry Postcard Fest
1-31 – The Sealey Challenge
2 – BIRTHDAY – James Baldwin
3 – BIRTHDAY – Diane Wakoski
5 – BIRTHDAY – Wendell Berry, Ron Silliman
13 – Portland, OR – Poetry reading by Zack Rogow and Judith Barrington – 7:00pm
20 – BIRTHDAY – Heather McHugh
28 – BIRTHDAY – Rita Dove
5 – BIRTHDAY – Nicanor Parra
10 – BIRTHDAY – Mary Oliver
11 – BIRTHDAY – Ryler Dustin, Michael Schmeltzer
22-25 – Freeland – Hedgebrook Writers Conference 2022
23-25 – Tieton – LiTFUSE 2022
3 – BIRTHDAY – Bill Porter (Red Pine)
4 – BIRTHDAY – James Bertolino, Susan J. Erickson
6-9 – La Conner – 11th Biennial Skagit River Poetry Festival
14 – BIRTHDAY – Ocean Vuong
15 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Stafford
20-23 – Newark, NJ – Dodge Poetry Festival
1-30 – everywhere – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
5 – Portland, OR – Portland Book Festival (watch for details)
10 – Portland, OR – Poetry reading by Garrett Hongo and Richard Tillinghast – 7:00pm
2 – BIRTHDAY – Samuel Green
2 – BIRTHDAY – Jimmy Santiago Baca
9 – BIRTHDAY – Kelli Russell Agodon
13 – BIRTHDAY – Megan Snyder-Camp
17 – BIRTHDAY – William Stafford
20 – BIRTHDAY – Ernesto Cardenal, Edward Hirsch, Bruce Beasley
22 – BIRTHDAY – Luther Allen
31 – BIRTHDAY – Albert Goldbarth
1-28 – everywhere – National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo)
1 – BIRTHDAY – Joannie Stangeland
4 – BIRTHDAY – Elizabeth Vignali
6 – BIRTHDAY – Rena Priest
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
8-11 – Seattle – AWP Conference
12 – BIRTHDAY – Naomi Shihab Nye
18 – BIRTHDAY – Wilfred Owen
23 – BIRTHDAY – Lana Hechtman Ayers
1-30 – National Poetry Month U.S., National Poetry Month Canada, and NaPoWriMo
4 – BIRTHDAY – Anita K. Boyle
11 – BIRTHDAY – Maria McLeod
14 – BIRTHDAY – Jericho Brown
16 – BIRTHDAY – Tracy K. Smith
20 – Portland, OR – Portland Arts & Lectures presents Ada Limón – 7:00pm
23 – BIRTHDAYS – Coleman Barks, Halldór Laxness
25 – BIRTHDAYS – Ted Kooser, James Fenton
28 – BIRTHDAYS – Carolyn Forché, Roberto Bolaño
29 – BIRTHDAYS – C.P. Cavafy, Yusef Komunyakaa
30 – Everywhere – Poem in Your Pocket Day
2 – BIRTHDAY – Rob Lewis
8 – BIRTHDAYS – Nora Marks Keixwnéi Dauenhauer, Phillis Wheatley
9 – BIRTHDAYS – Charles Simic, Dan Chiasson, Joy Harjo
12 – BIRTHDAY – Bernadette Mayer
14 – BIRTHDAYS – Elizabeth Austen, Lea Galanter
24 – BIRTHDAYS – Tom Phillips; Lorna Crozier
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/