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 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

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

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

third Wednesday – West Seattle – WordsWest Literary Series – 7:00pm – at C & P Coffee Company

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 – 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

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 – (venue changing; check website for latest info)

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

1-30 – National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo

24 – Bellingham – Write Riot Poetry Slam – 7:00pm – at Colophon Café

25 – BIRTHDAY – Ted Kooser

25 – Bellingham – Youth Poetry Workshop: Kids for Peace Write Now – 4:00pm – at Village Books

25 – Portland, OR – eighth annual Verselandia youth poetry slam – 7:00pm – at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

25 – Seattle – SAL Poetry Series: Poems for the Planet, feat. Francisco Aragón & Kimiko Hahn – 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College—Broadway Performance Hall

25 – Seattle – Rajaa Gharbi reads from a new poetry book titled Men Aghani Aljousoor (Songs of Bridges) – 6:00pm – at Rajaa Gharbi’s Gallery

25 – Tacoma – Sarah A. Chavez & Wendy Oleson Reading – 7:00pm – at King’s Books

25 – May 5 – Vancouver, BC – Verses Festival of Words – at various venues

26 – Anacortes – Poetry reading featuring Larry Laurence and Jourdan Imani Keith – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

27 – Bellingham – Sierra Golden and Elaina Ellis read from The Slow Art and Write About an Empty Birdcage – 7:00pm – at Village Books

27-28 – Tacoma – Wayzgoose! Letterpress and Book Arts Extravaganza – 11:00am-4:00pm – at King’s Books

28 – BIRTHDAYS – Carolyn Forché, Roberto Bolaño

29 – BIRTHDAY – Yusef Komunyakaa

30 – May 1 – Washington, DC – Poetry Out Loud National Finals

1 – Seattle – Cephalopod Appreciation Society – 7:00pm – at Hugo House

3 – Bellingham – SpeakEasy 24: For Love of Orcas – 7:00pm – at Mount Baker Theatre Encore Room

6 – Portland, OR – Free Range Poetry presents Kristin Berger, Joannie Stangeland, and Carey Taylor, plus open mic – 6:00pm – at Northwest Library

9 – BIRTHDAY – Charles Simic, Dan Chiasson

9 – Bellingham – Laura Da’ reads from Instruments of the True Measure and Martha Silano reads from Gravity Assist – 7:00pm – at Village Books

9 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Lorraine Ferra & Sally Green – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

9 – Portland, OR – Poets on Mothers: Kevin Sampsell, Penelope Scambly Schott, Suzanne Sigafoos, Tim Barnes, Donna Prinzmetal, Nikki Schulak, and Leanne Grabelshare poems that celebrate, explain, criticize, illuminate and mourn their mothers – 7:00pm – at Broadway Books

9 – Vancouver – Ghost Town Poetry presents John Burgess plus open mic – 7:00pm – at Angst Gallery

9-12 – Anacortes – Cascadia Poetry Festival: A Tribute to Sam Hamill – at the Croatian Cultural Center

10 – Seattle – Kelli Russell Agodon, Mary Peelen & Susan Rich – 7:00pm – at Open Books

11 – Seattle – Reading with Michael Collier & Matt Nienow – 7:00pm – at Open Books

12 – BIRTHDAY – Bernadette Mayer

12 – Bellingham – William O’Daly reads from Book of Twilight and Yarrow & Smoke – 4:00pm – at Village Books

15 – West Seattle – Words West Literary series – 7:00pm – at C & P Coffee Co

16 – Bellingham – Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony – at Bellingham Cruise Terminal

16 – Seattle – Eat Read Hugo annual fundraising dinner and auction for Hugo House – 6:00pm – at Sodo Park

17 – Mt Vernon – Beats, Peaks, & Fishtown Poets, literacy and poetry fundraiser to support the Skagit River Poetry Foundation – 7:00pm – at Hillcrest Lodge

17-19 – Vancouver, BC – Haiku Canada Weekend – at the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus

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

21 – Seattle – SAL Poetry Series: Jericho Brown – 7:30pm – at Seattle Central Community College, Broadway Performance Hall

24 – Anacortes – Poetry reading featuring Gary Thompson and Alicia Hokanson – 7:00pm – at Pelican Bay Books

24 – Seattle – Hugo Literary Series: Domingo Martinez, Terese Marie Mailhot, Rebecca Brown, and Bryan John Appleby – 7:30pm – at Hugo House

31 – BIRTHDAY – Walt Whitman

1 – Seattle – Reading with Shankar Narayan, Doyali Islam & Azura Tyabji – 7:00pm – at Open Books

7 – BIRTHDAY – Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni

8 – Port Townsend – An Evening with Claudia Castro Luna and Gary Copeland Lilley – 7:00pm – at The Writers’ Workshoppe and Imprint Books

13-23 – Forest Grove, OR – Pacific University Residency Writers Conference

13 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Risa Denenberg & Sally Albiso – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

16 – Ireland & elsewhere – Bloomsday

21 – BIRTHDAY – Sheila Sondik

21-22 – Bellingham – Chuckanut Writers Conference – at Whatcom Community College

2 – BIRTHDAY – Wisława Szymborska

4 – everywhere – Registration opens for the 2019 August Poetry Postcard Fest

9 – BIRTHDAY – Susan Rich

14-21 – Port Townsend – The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference – at Centrum

16 – BIRTHDAY – Robert Lashley

17 – Port Townsend – Northwind Reading Series presents Writers’ Conference Faculty – 7:00pm – at Northwind Arts Center

20 – Redmond – Poets in the Park – 11am-6pm – at Anderson Park

31 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Addonizio

1-31 – August Poetry Postcard Fest

2-4 – Portland, OR – Willamette Writers Conference – at the Airport Sheraton Hotel

3 – BIRTHDAY – Diane Wakoski

5 – BIRTHDAY – Wendell Berry, Ron Silliman

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

7-11 – Winston-Salem, NC – Haiku North America – at the Hawthorne Inn

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

20 – BIRTHDAY – Heather McHugh

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

28 – BIRTHDAY – Rita Dove

5 – BIRTHDAY – Nicanor Parra

10 – BIRTHDAY – Mary Oliver

11 – BIRTHDAY – Ryler Dustin

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

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

22-28 – Everywhere – Banned Books Week

27-29 – Tieton – LiTFUSE

3 – UK – National Poetry Day

3 – BIRTHDAY – Bill Porter (Red Pine)

4 – BIRTHDAY – James Bertolino, Susan J. Erickson

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

14 – BIRTHDAY – Ocean Vuong

15 – BIRTHDAY – Kim Stafford

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

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

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

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

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 – Bruce Beasley

22 – BIRTHDAY – Luther Allen

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

12 – BIRTHDAY – Naomi Shihab Nye

18 – BIRTHDAY – Wilfred Owen

23 – BIRTHDAY – Lana Hechtman Ayers

1-30 – National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo

4 – BIRTHDAY – Anita K. Boyle

11 – BIRTHDAY – Maria McLeod

23 – BIRTHDAY – Coleman Barks

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