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 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