CALENDAR

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 Bellingham – poetrynight featured poet and open mic at the Bellingham Alternative Library

Mondays in Everett – Poetry Laboratory open mic at Black Lab Art Gallery

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

Tuesdays in Seattle – Seattle Poetry Slam presents a featured poet plus open mic and slam at Re-bar

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 – Rain City Slam: all-ages spoken word open mic, featured poet and poetry slam at Jai Thai on Broadway

Wednesdays in Seattle – Open Mic Night: music, poems, dance, comedy, stories – 7:00pm – at Couth Buzzard Books

Wednesdays in Spokane – Broken Mic featured poet plus open mic at Neato Burrito

Wednesdays in Vaughn – Watermark Writers’ Workshop – on the waterfront

Thursdays in Edmonds – Every Writer’s Writing Group – 10:00am-Noon – at the Edmonds Library

Thursdays in Everett – Everett Poetry Night: poetry and acoustic music at Café Zippy

Thursdays in Olympia – Cascadia Poetry Group with featured reader and open mic – 6:00pm – at 3 Magnets

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

Saturdays in Portland, OR – Wordlights poetry hosted by Igor Brezhnev and presented by NovaPDX – signups 5:30pm, show 6:00pm – at The Rocking Frog Cafe

Confirm specific dates and featured poets with organization or venue; schedules may shift on short notice or be adjusted around holidays.

first Sunday – Eugene, OR – Poetry for the People – 4:00pm – at rye on 3rd

first Sunday (January thru May) – Portland, OR – The Voice of Empathy Sunday Salon Series – 4:00pm – at The Tiny Theater PDX

second Sunday – Bellingham – Second Sundays: Literary Open Mic – 2:30pm – at Make.Shift

second Sunday – Eugene, OR – Burnin’ Down the Barnes feature plus open mic – 3:00pm – at Barnes & Noble Bookstore

first Monday – Auburn – Striped Water Poets: featured poet(s) plus open mic – 7:00pm – at the Rainbow Café

first Monday – Portland, OR – Free Range Poetry Series – 6:00pm – at Northwest Library

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 – Tacoma – Creative Colloquy presents featured readers plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Honey at Alma Mater

fourth Monday – Tacoma – Commencement Bay Haiku – 5:00pm – at King’s Books

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

third Tuesday – Port Townsend – Poetry & Short-Shorts: An evening of 5-Minute Readings – signups 6:30pm – at Better Living Through Coffee

last Tuesday – Vancouver – Last Tuesdays poetry group with feature plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Barnes and Noble bookstore

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

first Wednesday – Seattle – Assembly Literary Open Mic – 7:30pm – at Vermillion Art Gallery and Bar

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

second Wednesday – Portland, OR – Comma Reading Series, featured poets – 7:00pm – at Broadway Books

second Wednesday – Tillamook, OR – Monthly Writers Meet-up – 6:00pm – at Art Accelerated

third Wednesday – Bellingham – Creekside Open Mic – signups 6:00pm, readings 6:30pm – at South Whatcom Library

third Wednesday – Olympia – The Olympia Poetry Network monthly reading with featured poet and open mic – 6:00pm – at Traditions Fair Trade

third Wednesday – Seattle – Word Chaser – 7:00pm – at Cafe Racer

fourth Wednesday – Chimacum – Finnriver Open Mic Spoken Word – signups 6:00pm – at Finnriver Farm & Cidery

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 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic with featured reader – signup 6:30pm – at Angst Gallery

third Thursday – Olympia – Modern Poetry Book Club – 7:00pm – at Browsers Bookshop

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

second Friday – Tacoma – Puget Sound Poetry Connection (PSPC) Distinguished Writer Series with feature plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Immanual Presbyterian

last Friday – Redmond – RASP: Redmond Association of Spokenword, open mic plus feature – signup 6:30pm, reading 7:00pm – at Los Pajaros Studio Gallery

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

second Saturday – Bellingham – Haiku Komo Kulshan (may be listed as Haiku Sudden Valley) drop-in writing group on Japanese-form poetry – 1:00-3:00pm – at South Whatcom Library

second Saturday – Ocean Shores – The Lighthouse Poetry Society of Ocean Shores – 5:00pm – at The Lighthouse

third Saturday – Kirkland – Poetry workshop and reading – at BookTree

1-31 – August Poetry Postcard Fest

10 – online – The Whiting Foundation Presents Aria Aber, Diannely Antigua, Jake Skeets & Genya Turovskaya – 4:00pm

13 – online – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic featuring Maw Shein Win – 7:00pm

16 – Oak Harbor – CANCELLED – OHPP – Oak Harbor Poetry Project presents Emily Paige Wilson – 3:00pm – at Oak Harbor Library

19 – online – Terrain.org presents Dear America Virtual Town Hall and Reading – 5:00pm

19 – on Zoom – virtual poetry reading featuring Yvonne Blomer and Sarah de Leeuw plus Jenna Butler and Tanis MacDonald – 7:30pm

20 – BIRTHDAY – Heather McHugh

20 – online – SoulFood Poetry Night features MFA Poets from University of Washington Bothell: Scott Bentley, Greg Buck, Annika Bunney, and Cliff Watson – 7:00pm

20 – online – Annie Bloom’s Streaming Event FEATURING Rebecca Smolen, Christopher Luna, and Joann Boswell – 7:00pm

24 – on Zoom – Easy Speak Open Mic and Theresa Whitehill – 7:30pm

28 – BIRTHDAY – Rita Dove

29 – everywhere – Independent Bookstore Day (rescheduled from April)

4-6 – Bellingham – RESCHEDULED from April Chanticleer Authors Conference 2020 – at Hotel Bellwether

4 – Seattle – Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s Mayor’s Arts Awards – at Seattle Center

5 – BIRTHDAY – Nicanor Parra

5 – everywhere – Modern and Contemporary American Poetry 2020 (ModPo) begins

10 – BIRTHDAY – Mary Oliver

10 – online – Livestream Poetry Reading: Megan Alpert, Amelia Diaz Ettinger, Jennifer Perrine – 7:00pm

11 – BIRTHDAY – Ryler Dustin

15 – everywhere – Bellingham Review is open for submissions from September 15th through December 1st

20 – Oak Harbor – OHPP – Oak Harbor Poetry Project presents Mark Simpson – 3:00pm – at Oak Harbor Library

23 – online – Terrain.org presents Dear America Virtual Town Hall and Reading – 5:00pm

25-27 – Tieton – LiTFUSE

29-Oct 2 – online – Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association 2020 virtual tradeshow

30-Oct 4 – online – Victoria Festival of Authors

1-4 – La Conner – Skagit River Poetry Festival

3 – BIRTHDAY – Bill Porter (Red Pine)

4 – BIRTHDAY – James Bertolino, Susan J. Erickson

14 – BIRTHDAY – Ocean Vuong

15 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Stafford

18 – Oak Harbor – OHPP – Oak Harbor Poetry Project featuring Tara Hardy – 3:00pm – at Oak Harbor Library

21 – online – Terrain.org presents Dear America Virtual Town Hall and Reading – 5:00pm

22 – Bellingham – (rescheduled from May) Awards ceremony: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – 7:00pm – Bellingham Cruise Terminal

29 – Nov 1 – Seabeck – Seabeck Haiku Getaway – at the Seabeck Conference Center

30 – Redmond – RESCHEDULED from March RASP presents featured poet Daniel Edward Moore plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Centro Cultural Mexicano

1-30 – everywhere – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

1 – Portland, OR – Lilla Lit reading series – 4:00pm – at Leach Botanical Garden

6-8 – Bainbridge – Poetry in the Woods (rescheduled from March) – at IslandWood

2 – BIRTHDAY – Samuel Green

2 – BIRTHDAY – Jimmy Santiago Baca

9 – BIRTHDAY – Kelli Russell Agodon

13 – BIRTHDAY – Megan Snyder-Camp

17 – BIRTHDAY – William Stafford

18-23 – online – 17th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival

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

4 – U.S. – National Grammar Day

5 – BIRTHDAY – Leslie Marmon Silko

12 – BIRTHDAY – Naomi Shihab Nye

18 – BIRTHDAY – Wilfred Owen

21 – everywhere – World Poetry Day

23 – BIRTHDAY – Lana Hechtman Ayers

31 – Seattle – Bagley Wright Lecture Series on Poetry features Douglas Kearney – details TBA

1-30 – National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo

4 – BIRTHDAY – Anita K. Boyle

11 – BIRTHDAY – Maria McLeod

14 – BIRTHDAY – Jericho Brown

16 – BIRTHDAY – Tracy K. Smith

23 – BIRTHDAY – Coleman Barks

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

30 – May 2 – San Juan Island – Cascadia Poetry Festival

9 – BIRTHDAYS – Charles Simic, Dan Chiasson, Joy Harjo

12 – BIRTHDAY – Bernadette Mayer

14 – BIRTHDAY – Elizabeth Austen, Lea Galanter

24 – BIRTHDAY – Tom Phillips; Lorna Crozier

30 – BIRTHDAY – Countee Cullen

31 – BIRTHDAY – Walt Whitman

3 – BIRTHDAY – Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997)

5 – BIRTHDAY – Federico García Lorca (June 5, 1898 – August 18, 1936)

7 – BIRTHDAY – Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni

16 – Ireland & elsewhere – Bloomsday

21 – BIRTHDAY – Sheila Sondik

25-26 – Bellingham – Chuckanut Writers Conference 2021 – at Whatcom Community College

2 – BIRTHDAY – Wisława Szymborska

9 – BIRTHDAY – Susan Rich

16 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Lashley

31 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Addonizio

1-31 – August Poetry Postcard Fest

2 – BIRTHDAY – James Baldwin

3 – BIRTHDAY – Diane Wakoski

5 – BIRTHDAY – Wendell Berry, Ron Silliman