Currently all Poet Laureate events are online only.
All events listed here are free, unless otherwise noted. (See the Events archive here.)
April 2021
Passing of the Laurel
April 14, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
You are invited to a celebration of Rena Priest’s appointment by Governor Jay Inslee as Washington State’s 6th Poet Laureate. This very special event is organized and hosted by the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation, Humanities Washington, ArtsWA (the WA State Arts Commission), and the Washington Center for the Book. Past Laureates Claudia Castro Luna, Tod Marshall, Elizabeth Austen, Kathleen Flenniken, and Sam Green (in absentia) will be honored guests as we gather to pass the laurel in an evening of poetry, speech, and song. Produced by Children of the Setting Sun Productions. Register to attend here.
2021 Artsmith / Darvill’s Bookstore Salon Series
April 15, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 pm
Featuring: Keetje Kuipers, Rena Priest, Jasmine An, Quinn Bailey, and Jory Mickelson.
Hugo House: Find Your Feet: The Metrical Foot in Poetry
April 17, 1:10 p.m. – 4:10 pm
All Levels | “Meter has been called the heartbeat of poetry,” Paul Kiparsky wrote. “But like language itself, and music and dance, it pulsates more intricately than anything in the biological or physical world.” Controlling meter allows you to build tension to ecstatic release, deep dive into sober solemnity, or gently lay an epiphany on the brow of your reader. In this class, we’ll examine stress, pitch, length, and other features of speech to see how they affect the feel and sound of particular works.
SpeakEasy Poetry Series
April 24, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
SpeakEasy poetry reading series has been invited to locally showcase the new Washington State Poet Laureate in a Zoom event on Saturday, April 24th at 7 pm.
Skagit River Poetry Foundation Virtual Reading
April 25, 3:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Skagit River Poetry Foundation will host a virtual reading on April 25, 3-4:45 PM. Poets Gail Davern, Jessica Gigot, Rena Priest and Nikki Wallschlaeger will each read for 20 minutes with some time for Q & A from the host and the audience. We are also planning to highlight your life as it has shaped your poetry.
November 2019
November 19th, Hugo House 7 p.m.
November 9th Writing Workshop at the Toppenish Library, Yakama Nation, 1-3 p.m.
November 7 and 8th Visit to Mattawa schools
October 2019
Saturday, October 26th
9:00- 10:00 Meet for coffee at CAFE (The Community for the Advancement of Family Education) 766 S. Mission Street
12:30-1:30 Workshop and poetry session with community at Community Center
2:30-3:30 Worksop and poetry session with local artists
Friday, October 25th
Visit and writing with Wenatchee High School students
Reading and book singing from 6:30 to 7:30 PM at Leavenworth Library with Derek Sheffield organized by A Book for All Seasons
Thursday October 24th
Classroom visits at Wenatchee Valley College
5-6pm – Workshop in room 1519 in the Music and Arts Center
7-8:30pm – Reading with Derek Sheffield and WVC students in The Grove Recital Hall in the Music and Arts Center
Sunday, October 20, 10-noon, workshop at Methow Arts, 204 N. Glover St, Twisp, WA –
Saturday, October 19, 1-3pm – workshop and 4-6pm public reading at the Pateros Fire Hall
Friday, October 18 Visit and writing with students at Okanogan High School
Thursday, October 17, Visit and writing with students at Brewster High School
Friday, October 11, Bedtime Stories Fundraiser for Humanities Washington
Saurday, October 5th, Onalaska Apple Festival reading 6 p.m. at The Mason Jar, (637 Leonard Road)
September 2019
September 27-28-29 LitFuse – Poetry Conference -Tieton – Fee required
September 21 Olympia Laureate Fest – Five Poets Laureate of WA State – St Martin’s University – Lacey Panel Discussion 1 -3 p.m. Readings 7 – 9 pm
September 14 Kettle Falls Library free writing workshop 10-2 pm
September 13 Kettle Falls Library reading with Poet Lynn Rigney Shott- 6 p.m.
September 13 Kettle Falls High School
September 11 Poetry in Translation – Northwest Film Forum, Seattle – 6:30 p.m
September 8 Town Hall Seattle – 4:00 p.m. – Fee required
June 2019
June 29th Taller de Poesia – Vancouver Community Library – Vancouver, 10 – 12 a.m.
June 28 With Clark County Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Morgan at Magenta Theater Vancouver 7 p.m.
June 20 – 22 Chuckanut Writer’s Conference – Bellingham
June 19 Words West Final Reading – C&P Cafe West Seattle 7:00 p.m.
June 15 Poetry With Gary Copeland Lilley – Workshop and evening reading Writer’s Workshoppe and Imprint Books Port Townsend – Reading at 7 p.m.
June 13 With Jorge Pech, Fulgencio Lazo at Elliott Bay Books – Seattle 7 p.m.
June 5 Poetry in Translation 6:30 Northwest Film Archive, Seattle 6:30-7:30 p.m.
June 1 Poetry workshop Book Tree Bookstore – Kirkland 4:30-6:00 p.m.
June 1 Noon. Book Fest Eagle Harbor Books (157 Winslow Way East) -Bainbridge Island
May 2019
May 24-25 North Olympic Library System (Clallam County)
May 23 Reading Central City College Library – Seattle 12:00
May 19 Black Dog Arts Coalition – Poetry Hike – Snoqualmie
May 17-18 Yakima Valley College
May 13 Squalicum HS – Bellingham
May 9-11 Cascadia Poetry Festival
May 5 Olympia – Evergreen College
April 2019
April 28 Cleveland HS – Seattle
April 27th Yes! Media event
April 22 -26 Get Lit! Festival, Spokane https://getlitfestival.org
April 18 – Soul Food Poetry Night reading with Alex Gallo Brown – Redmond, 7 p.m.
https://Soul Food Reading Redmond
April 16 – Reading with Seattle Youth Poet Laureate and Seattle’s Civic Poet Anastacia
Renee, Writers in the Schools 7 P.M.
April 12 – The Center Salon, Olympia, 7:30 https://www.experienceolympia.com/event/the-center-salon/4273/
April 11 – South Sound Reading Foundation, Lacey 7 a.m.
Reading at Vancouver Community Library, 7 p.m.
April 10 – Poetry in Translation – Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, 7 p.m. https://www.facebook.com/events/2515527495128128/
April 9 – Contemporary Reading Series – Mills College, Oakland, CA
April 6 – Inland Poetry Prowl – Ellensburg https://www.inlandpoetry.com
April 1 – Bellevue Children’s Academy 9 A.M.
University of Puget Sound Reading with Glenna Cook – 7 p.m. Thomas Hall,
Tahoma Room
March 2019
March 27 – 30 AWP – Portland
March 19: Interview Michael Straus .The Summit on Pike (Capitol Hill) 7:30 p.m. Seattle
March 19: Presentation – reading: Discovery School, Gig Harbor
March 8: Reading: Lower Columbia Valley College, Longview 7 p.m
March 6: Workshop. Momentia group. Camp Long. 9:30 -12:00 West Seattle
March 2: Reading -Poetry and Democracy. Mount Baker Theater, 7 p.m. Bellingham
February 2019
Unfortunately because of the weather many events scheduled for this month were cancelled.
Hopefully this one will not be:
February 27: Reading – Seattle U, Seattle 4 – 5:30 Casey Commons introducing Laura Da, Cedar Sigo and Casandra Lopez
January 2019
January 18: Reading – Peninsula College, Port Angeles 12:30
January 14: Opening of the Senate, State Capitol: Olympia 12 noon
January 12: Sedro-Woolley Library poetry workshop 1 p.m.
January 11: Puget Sound Poetry Connection – Tacoma, Immanuel Presbyterian 5th and I (eye) St 6 p.m.
January 10: Words and Writer’s SouthWest Branch of Seattle Public Library, West Seattle 5 p.m.
January 9: Poetry Bridge reading at C&P Cafe, West Seattle with Shankar Narayan, 7 p.m.
December 2018
November 8: Eatonville High School, EatonvilleNovember 7: Centralia College East Campus, Morton 12 noonNovember 6: Mossyrock Middle and High School, Mossyrock
September 2018
Sept 8: Poets on the Coast, Writing Retreat, Fee required, La Conner
Sept 15: Open Books, 7 p.m. Seattle
Sept 16: Benaroya, Writers in the Schools 2018-2019 Anthology Launch, 2 p.m. Seattle
Sept 19: Freeland Library reading, 2 p.m. Whidbey Island
Sept 19: Coupeville Library reading, 5:30 p.m. Whidbey Island
Sept 20: Margin Shift Reading, 7 p.m. Seattle
Sept 22: Poetry writing workshop in Spanish, 10: 30 a.m. Renton Library
Centro de la Raza annual gala – keynote, Fee required, 7 p.m. Seattle
Sept 24 – 28: Methow Valley -readings, workshops, school visits – Methow Arts
August 2018
Aug 2: Vashon Bookshop, Raising Our Voices for Compassion, 6 p.m. Vashon Island
Aug 4: Open Books, 7 p.m. Seattle
Aug 6: Elliott Bay Books, 7 p.m. Seattle
July 2018
Jul 31: Washington Corrections Center for women, Gig Harbor
April 2018
Apr 15: Studio Lazo, Seattle – International Children’s Day
Apr 17: Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla
Apr 17: Walla Walla Univerity
Apr 18: Walla Walla Community College
Apr 18: The Foundry Vineyards – Words and Wine with Walla Walla Public Library
Apr 22: Open Books, Seattle – Bilingual Reading
Apr 23: Federal Way Library – Workshop
Apr 25: Highline Community College
Apr 26: Lopez Island High School
Apr 26: Community Poetry Workshop, Lopez Island
Apr 26: Lopez Island Library – Reading
Apr 26: Put a Poem Your Pocket Day – List of Bookstores carrying mini broadsides of the poem “The Tree Inside Me” by Michelle Carranza
Apr 27: American Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park – Poetry Walk
Apr 28: Lopez Island – Poetry Walk
I am interested in the event in Longview, WA March 8. I am not familiar with Lower Columbia Valley College. In Longview, I know only of Lower Columbia College. Is this where the event will take place? Thank you!