CALENDAR

A selection of poetry (and occasionally other literary) events going on in the Cascadia region (Washington state 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 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

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

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

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

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

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 NEW LOCATION: The Happy Place, 1215 Cornwall, across from the Leopold

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

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 – Bellingham – VB Writes Nooksack River Writing Group – 10:00am – at Village Books, Lynden

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

22 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Art Port Townsend Ekphrastic Evening – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

23 – Seattle – Jed Myers, Tina Schumann & Heidi Seaborn – 7:00pm – at The Elliott Bay Book Company

24 – Concrete – The Poetic Apothecary: Poems for Healing and Comfort – 3:00pm – at Upper Skagit Library

25 – Walla Walla – Joshua Lew McDermott and Dennis Held read their poetry – 6:30pm – at Grandma’s Kitchen

28 – BIRTHDAY – Rita Dove

29 – Portland, OR – Launch and reading for Cirque 19 – 7:00pm – at Central Lutheran Church

30 – Bellingham – Launch and reading for Holy Ghost Town by Tim Sherry and Cirque 19 – 7:00pm – at Our Savior’s Lutheran

30 – Redmond – Redmond Association of Spokenword presents Jack Straw Writers: Dianne Aprile, Josh Axelrad, and Michael Schmeltzer – 7:00pm – at Los Pajaros Studio Gallery

1 – everywhere – Clackamas Literary Review open for submissions through December 31

1 – everywhere – Willow Springs open for submissions through May 31

1 – Bellingham – Summer Sunday poetry reading at the book box featuring open mic followed by a potluck – 5:00pm – at 1507 Larrabee

1-30 – Whatcom County – Whatcom Memoir Writing Month (WhaMemWriMo)

5 – BIRTHDAY – Nicanor Parra

6-8 – La Conner – Poets on the Coast 2019

8 – Bellingham – Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor reads from her new book, Dancing Between Bamboo Poles – 4:00pm – at Village Books

9 – Portland, OR – Free Range Poetry – 6:00pm – at Multnomah County Library

10 – BIRTHDAY – Mary Oliver

11 – BIRTHDAY – Ryler Dustin

11 – Seattle – Poetry in Translation – Fiestas Patrias – 6:30pm – at Northwest Film Forum

12 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Judith Adams & Sierra Golden – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

12-15 – SeaTac – Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference – at DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport Hotel

14 – Seattle – Children of Grass: B.A. Van Sise’s Portrait of American Poetry – 7:00pm – at Hugo House

14-15 – Kalispell, MT – 29th Flathead River Writers Conference

14-15 – Salem, OR – Fall 2019 Oregon Poetry Association Conference

15 – everywhere – Bellingham Review open for submissions through December 1

15 – everywhere – Crab Creek Review Literary Journal open for submissions through November 15

15 – everywhere – CutBank, The Literary Journal of the University of Montana open for submissions through February 1

15 – everywhere – Poetry Northwest open for submissions through January 15

19 – Seattle – SAL Presents: Naomi Shihab Nye – 7:30pm – at Town Hall Seattle

19-22 – Bothell – &Now Festival of Innovative Writing – at the University of Washington, Bothell Campus

20 – Seattle – Book Launch Reading: Tina Schumann’s Praising the Paradox with Jill McCabe Johnson – 7:00pm – at Open Books

21 – Seattle – Reading with Francesca Bell & Brian Laidlaw – 7:00pm – at Open Books

21-22 – Bellingham – Bellingham SeaFeast

22-28 – Everywhere – Banned Books Week

24-29 – Vancouver, BC – Word Vancouver

25 – Portland, OR – Margaret Atwood in conversation with Omar El Akkad – 7:30pm – at Keller Auditorium

26 – Bellingham – David Guterson, Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest – 7:00pm – at Village Books

27 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents LORRAINE HEALEY & JANE ALYNN – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

27-29 – Tieton – LiTFUSE

28 – Seattle – Seattle Children’s Book Festival – 11:00am-3:00pm – at the Greenwood Elementary School

28 – Vancouver – Book Launch for Stella Jeng Guillory’s An Advancing Glacier – 6:00pm – at Angst Gallery

29 – Bellingham – John Balaban, Empires – 4:00pm – at Village Books

1 – everywhere – CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women open for submissions through December 31

2 – Seattle – Reading with James Arthur, Adèle Barclay, Keetje Kuipers & Ed Skoog – 7:00pm – at Open Books

3 – UK – National Poetry Day

3 – BIRTHDAY – Bill Porter (Red Pine)

4 – BIRTHDAY – James Bertolino, Susan J. Erickson

4-6 – Edmonds – Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference

5 – Bellingham – SpeakEasy 26: Reading Bertolino, an evening of poetry written and inspired by Jim Bertolino – 7:00pm – at Mount Baker Theatre Encore Room

7 – Portland, OR – Free Range Poetry – 6:00pm – at Multnomah County Library

8 – everywhere – Homology Lit open for submissions through November 30

10 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Cheryl Merrill – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

12 – Seattle – Washington State Book Awards celebration – 7:00pm – Central Library

14 – BIRTHDAY – Ocean Vuong

15 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Stafford

16 – Bellingham – Oliver de la Paz reads from his latest collection – 7:00pm – at Village Books

17 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series: Richard Kenney 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College, Broadway Performance Hall

18-20 – Bellevue – Emerald City Writers’ Conference

20 – Bellingham – Victoria Doerper reads from her new collection, What If We All Bloomed? – 4:00pm – at Village Books

21-27 – Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Writers Fest – at various venues, Granville Island

23 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures: Hanif Abdurraqib – 7:30 pm – at Town Hall Seattle

24-27 – Seabeck – Seabeck Haiku Getaway with theme “attention” – at Seabeck Conference Center

25 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents TESS GALLAGHER & ALICE DERRY – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

25 – Seattle – Reading with Scott Cairns – 7:00pm – at Open Books

25-27 – Surrey, BC – Surrey International Writers’ Conference

26 – Bellingham – Sue Boynton Poetry Contest Autumn Workshops, details to come – at Mindport Exhibits

31 – Nov 3 – Port Orchard – Northwest Writers’ Weekend

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

1 – everywhere – Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Competition open for submissions through March 15

1 – everywhere – Windfall: A Journal of Poetry of Place open for submissions through February 1

1 – Seattle – Reading with Scott Cairns – 7:00pm – at Open Books

2 – Lummi Island – TLC Writing Workshop

4-10 – Kauai, HI – The Kauai Writers Conference

7 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents A Collaborative Reading with Sheila Bender, Gayle Kaune, Sharon Carter, Linda Robertson & Holly Hughes – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

9 – Portland, OR – Portland Book Festival – at the Portland Art Museum

9 – Van Zandt – Annual Poetry Cafe – 7:00pm – at Van Zandt Hall

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

21 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series: Mary Ruefle 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College, Broadway Performance Hall

29 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents Robert Sund Poets House – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

1 – everywhere – The Poeming Pigeon open for submissions for Issue 10, Pop Culture, through January 31

2 – BIRTHDAY – Samuel Green

7 – Bellingham – Sue Boynton Poetry Contest Autumn Workshops, details to come – at Mindport Exhibits

27 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents Young Skagit Poets – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

1-31 – everywhere – Psaltery & Lyre open for submissions

2 – BIRTHDAY – Jimmy Santiago Baca

9 – BIRTHDAY – Kelli Russell Agodon

9-19 – Seaside, OR – Pacific University Residency Writers Conference

13 – BIRTHDAY – Megan Snyder-Camp

17 – BIRTHDAY – William Stafford

20 – BIRTHDAY – Bruce Beasley

22 – BIRTHDAY – Luther Allen

31 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents ED HARKNESS & DONALD KRUSE – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

1-28 – everywhere – National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo)

1 – BIRTHDAY – Joannie Stangeland

4 – BIRTHDAY – Elizabeth Vignali

6 – BIRTHDAY – Rena Priest

6 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series: Paisley Rekdal 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College, Broadway Performance Hall

19 – BIRTHDAY – Rick Barot

25 – BIRTHDAY – Elizabeth J. Colen

27 – BIRTHDAY – Oliver de la Paz

28 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents Luther Allen and Judy Kleinberg – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

28 – Mar 1 – Astoria, OR – FisherPoets Gathering

1-31 – Whatcom County – Submissions open for Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest

1 – BIRTHDAY – Brenda Miller

4 – U.S. – National Grammar Day

4-7 – San Antonio, TX – AWP Conference & Bookfair 2020 – at Henry B. González Convention Center

12 – BIRTHDAY – Naomi Shihab Nye

18 – BIRTHDAY – Wilfred Owen

19 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series: Rick Barot 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College, Broadway Performance Hall

23 – BIRTHDAY – Lana Hechtman Ayers

27 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents JUDITH ROCHE & ART GOODTIMES – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

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

24 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents JIM BODEEN & JOSEPH STROUD – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

25 – BIRTHDAY – Ted Kooser, James Fenton

28 – BIRTHDAYS – Carolyn Forché, Roberto Bolaño

29 – BIRTHDAY – Yusef Komunyakaa

1-30 – National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo

1 – everywhere – Windfall: A Journal of Poetry of Place open for submissions through August 1

7 – Seattle – Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series: Natalie Diaz 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College, Broadway Performance Hall

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

12 – BIRTHDAY – Bernadette Mayer

14 – BIRTHDAY – Elizabeth Austen, Lea Galanter

24 – BIRTHDAY – Tom Phillips

29 – Anacortes – Pelican Bay Poetry Reading Series presents JIM BERTOLINO & JOHN DELANEY – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

30 – Seattle – Seattle Baroque Soloists present “For All Our Sisters” including poetry by Jennifer Bullis – 7:30pm – at Benaroya Hall

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

2 – BIRTHDAY – Wisława Szymborska

9 – BIRTHDAY – Susan Rich

16 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Lashley

31 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Addonizio

1-31 – August Poetry Postcard Fest

3 – BIRTHDAY – Diane Wakoski

5 – BIRTHDAY – Wendell Berry, Ron Silliman

20 – BIRTHDAY – Heather McHugh

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