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

1-31 – Poetry Postcard Fest

1-31 – The Sealey Challenge

8 – Portland, OR – Airlie Press presents Brittney Corrigan with Jessica Pierce at Annie Bloom’s Books – 7:00pm

11 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Caroline Holm – 7:00pm

11 – Portland, OR – Reading: Noch Ein at the Stein: A Poetic Essay on Beer, Conversation, and Hippycrits – 7:30pm

11-14 – Sechelt, BC, Canada – Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts

12 – Seattle – Kate Gale, Cai Emmons, and Ra Malika Imhotep—’The Loneliest Girl: Poems,’ ‘Sinking Islands,’ and ‘gossypiin’ – 7:00pm

13 – online – The Poetry Box LIVE – 4:00pm

13 – Portland, OR – Poetry reading by Zack Rogow and Judith Barrington – 7:00pm

15 – online – Allison Adelle Hedge Coke and Craig Santos Perez – 6:00pm

17 – Seattle – Claire Schwartz, Gabrielle Bates, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha – 7:00pm

20 – BIRTHDAY – Heather McHugh

22 – Seattle – Jack Straw Writers 2022 Group Reading Hosted by Kathleen Flenniken – 7:00pm

28 – BIRTHDAY – Rita Dove

29 – Portland, OR – Airlie Press presents A. Molotkov with Susan Leslie Moore at Annie Bloom’s Books – 7:00pm

5 – BIRTHDAY – Nicanor Parra

8 – Portland, OR – In-Store Poetry Reading: Jennifer Reimer and Connie Soper – 7:00pm

8 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic – 7:00pm

10 – BIRTHDAY – Mary Oliver

11 – BIRTHDAY – Ryler Dustin, Michael Schmeltzer

11 – online – Ellen Bass talks about the craft of poetry, her creative process, influences, and recurring themes – 1:00pm

12 – Portland, OR – In-Store Poetry Reading: Kristin Berger, Cathy Cain, John Miller – 7:00pm

18 – Bellingham – SpeakEasy 29 – 4:00pm (watch for details)

19 – Camas – Poetry reading by Brittney Corrigan plus open mic – 6:30pm

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

13 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic – 7:00pm

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

29 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Sund (November 29, 1929 – September 29, 2001)

2 – BIRTHDAY – Samuel Green

8 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic – 7:00pm

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

15-19 – Birmingham, England – VERVE Poetry Festival

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

7 – everywhere – Poet in a Cupcake Day (yep, it’s a thing)

11 – BIRTHDAY – Maria McLeod

14 – BIRTHDAY – Jericho Brown

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

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

30 – BIRTHDAY – Countee Cullen

31 – BIRTHDAY – Walt Whitman

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

2 – BIRTHDAYS – Wisława Szymborska, Carolyne Wright, Lee Maracle

9 – BIRTHDAY – Susan Rich

16 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Lashley

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 – BIRTHDAY – Wendell Berry, Ron Silliman; José Garcia Villa;