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 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