Thanks for stopping by.
The more you listen to poetry, the more you
read poetry, the more inspired you will be
to write poetry.
Your attendance at readings, open mics, events, book signings and
workshops,supports writers, artists and the poetry community.
Thank you.
For the Poetry Day of the Week you’ll find the tab
in the upper right that will take you to that special page.
Below you’ll find several upcoming poetry readings, occurring
throughout the Western Washington… most are free and many
include open mics, you’ll also find info about the Poets in the
Park festival (June 20th) in Redmond, WA, Litfest information
and a few other things of interest.
I begin by listing events I am personally involved in.
JUNE 10TH!!!! 7 p.m. Kirkland, WA
Take a Poem From Your Heart Readings
@ ParkPlace Books in Kirkland
2nd Wednesdays (except July & August)
Wednesday June 10th, 2015
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. FREE
Our last reading until September!
Don’t miss what promises to be
a memorable evening with our
featured poets:
Keith Moul
and
Jeannine Hall Gailey
plus YOU (perhaps!) on the Open Mic
free program….
Keith Moul’s poems and photos appear widely. M.A.
from Western Washington (1971), PHD from U of
South Carolina (1974). He retired in 2000 from 35
years in marketing, customer service and insurance
underwriting and lives in Port Angeles. Four
previous books include: The Grammar of Mind from
Blue & Yellow Dog; Beautiful Agitation from Red
Ochre Press; and Reconsidered Light, a collection of
his poems written to accompany his photos, and To
Take and Have Not, from Broken Publications. His
latest can now be pre-ordered from Finishing Line
Press is called TheFuture as a Picnic Lunch due out
in September.
Jeannine Hall Gailey was born at Yale New Haven
Hospital in Connecticut, and grew up in Knoxville,
Tennessee. She has a B.S. in Biology and an M.A. in
English from the University of Cincinnati, as well as an
M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Pacific University. She
recently served as the second Poet Laureate of
Redmond, Washington and is the author of four books
of poetry: Becoming the Villainess, She Returns to the
Floating World, Unexplained Fevers, and her latest
The Robot Scientist’s Daughter, May 2015 . Her poems
were featured on NPR’s The Writer’s Almanac and on
Verse Daily; two were included in 2007’s The Year’s
Best Fantasy and Horror. Her poems have appeared in
The Iowa Review, The American Poetry Review, and
Prairie Schooner. Her web site is here.
FREE
Park Place Books is one of the few remaining
full sized new and used independent bookstores
on the East Side.Consider supporting their efforts
to stay in business in the near future.
They host many reading clubs and
community events.
This poetry reading series began
in 2007.
Park Place Books is located in the
Park Place Mall off 85th Street in
Kirkland at 348 Parkplace Ctr
Kirkland, WA 98033-6229
July/August No readings
back September 9 2015 with
Matthew Brouwer
Parkplace Books Website
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June 11th Ballard Library 6 pm Ballard
It’s About Time Reading Series #308
Thurs. June 11th , 2015 6 p.m.
Ballard Public Library
Carol Levin, Irfan Mirza,
Christopher J. Jarmick &
Suzanne Bottelli on the Writer’s Craft
Hosted by Series founder:
Esther Altshul Helfgot
It’s About Time Reading Series
Every Second Thursday
6:00 – 7:45 p.m.
FREE
Carol Levin has published two full volumes
of poetry “Confident Music Would Fly Us to
Paradise” MoonPath Press 2014 and
“Stunned By the Velocity” Pecan Grove Press
2012. Also chapbooks, “Red Rooms and
Others” Pecan Grove Press 2009 and “Sea
Lions Sing Scat” Finishing Line Press 2007.
Recent poems appear in The Tampa Review,
4Culture Poetry on Buses, String Poet and
Floating Bridge Review. Her work’s been
widely published in journals and anthologies,
print and online, in Russia, New Zealand and
the US. She’s an Editorial Assistant at the
journal, Crab Creek Review and teaches The
Breathing Lab / Alexander Technique, in
Seattle.
Irfan Mirza is an international award-winning
writer who spent two years crossing the front
lines during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
His writings about Bosnia are based on
first-hand personal experience and actual
stories of people affected by the war. Irfan’s
experience in Bosnia is extensive, ranging from
negotiating cease fires on the front lines to
directing humanitarian aid and supervising the
release and protection of non-combatant
prisoners and undocumented refugees.
Irfan is the recipient of two writing awards for
his work on Microsoft’s Windows XP Support
Tools Help from the Society for Technical
Communications.
Christopher J. Jarmick is a writer/poet who
has curated/hosted regularly scheduled poetry
nights, and special events in the Northwest
since 2001. His newest collection of poetry,
Not Aloud, is due out September 2015 from
MoonPath Press. His last collection:
IGNITION: Poem Starters . . . was published in
2010. His frequently updated blog is
PoetryIsEverything (google it as one word).
& Writer’s Craft:
Suzanne Bottelli’s poems have appeared or
are forthcoming in Poetry Northwest,The
Literary Review, Fine Madness, Prairie
Schooner, West Branch and Poet Lore, among
others. She has been a finalist or semifinalist
for Black Lawrence Press, Word Works, Blue
Lynx Press and Saturnalia Books, and she has
received awards and grants from Artist Trust
and the Seattle Arts Commission. She teaches
Humanities and Writing, and helps to
coordinate an Environment program, at the
Northwest School in Seattle, WA.
Ballard Branch Seattle Public Library
5614 22nd Ave. N.W.
Seattle , WA 98107
206-684-4089
Wheelchair accessible. Free
for information or to schedule a reading
Peggy Sturdivant, Curator
Coming Soon !!!!
Thurs. July 9, 2015 #309
Euphrates Moss, Shannon P. Laws,
Diane Aprile & Joannie Stangeland
on the Writer’s Craft
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June 3 Duvall Library 7 pm. Duvall
THIS WEDNESDAY!!!
June 3rd
Duvall Poetry Night
Features: Risa Denenberg
Plus open mic
FREE
7 p.m.
Emcee: Von Thompson
Risa Denenberg lives a quiet life on the
Olympic peninsula. She has worked in the
cracks of healthcare for four decades in
HIV/AIDS care, end-of-life care, and
currently, in chronic pain management.
She is a volunteer for Compassion and
Choices, an advocacy group that assists
people who wish to use the Washington
State Death with Dignity law. Her poetry
often reveals an intimate portrait of aging,
suffering and death.
Risa is a moderator at The Gazebo, an
online poetry board; reviews poetry for the
American Journal of Nursing; and is a co-
founder of Headmistress Press, an
independent publisher of poetry by lesbians.
Risa’s poems have appeared in print and
online journals over many years. Recent
publications include three chapbooks: what
we owe each other & In My Exam Room
(The Lives You Touch Publications, 2013
and 2014); and blinded by clouds (Hyacinth
Girl Press, 2014); and a full length book,
Mean Distance from the Sun (Aldrich Press)
Duvall Library Meeting Room
15508 Main Street NE, Duvall, WA
Duvall Poetry Website here
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June 12 Distinguished Writers Tacoma
Distinguished Writer Series
Friday, June 12th 7pm
Kings Bookstore,
218 St Helens Tacoma
Distinguished Writer Series with
Michael Spence
Plus open mic
FREE
7:00 pm
Note from Chris Jarmick: Michael Spence’s
new book- The Bus Driver’s Threnody
(2014) is one of my favorites… The finely
crafted poems in this collection are
sometimes laugh out loud funny, often
poignant and worth reading many many
times. Go see Michael… and make his day
by getting his book… you’ll be glad to have
it in your collection!
This monthly event features a
Distinguished Writer followed by an Open
Mic for all poets, sign-up is at 6:45 pm.
Michael Spence drove public-transit buses for
King County Metro in the Seattle area for thirty
years, a job he retired from last Valentine’s
Day. His poems have appeared recently in The
Hudson Review, Measure, The North American
Review, The Sewanee Review, The Southern
Review, and Tampa Review. New work is
forthcoming in The New Criterion and Tar River
Poetry. His latest book, The Bus Driver’s
Threnody, was released in September 2014 by
Truman State University Press. Last May, he
was awarded a Literary Fellowship from Artist
Trust of Washington State
THE NINE-POCKET MACARENA
By Michael Spence
Onto the Pacific Highway local bus he steps,then stops
When he sees the fare box: Please pay as you enter.
This seems a riddle he mightsolve with severe squinting
He swats his legs for change—the sound
of no coins clinking their little tinkly music makes him swat some more.
His frown deepens like a trumpet player’s
Blowing and going for a note that won’t be reached. Now his feet
Take up the beat: shifting foot
To foot like a sliver’s in each one, he smacks
the back pockets of his jeans, then waves
His hands around his jacket, outside
Inside, against his shirt, frisking himself for the crime of being dimeless.
His nose wrinkles as though he smells
An unseen fire scorching him, he’s slapping so hard to put it out,
A powdered bitterness like ash
The taste in his mouth, he’s about to flame up with shame when the driver
Truncates his routine: Just sit down.
Distinguished Writer reading occurs monthly the second Friday
of every month at King’s Books. Sponsored
by the Puget Sound Poetry Connection and
the Tacoma Arts Commission.
Location:
King’s Books Website
218 St Helens Ave
Tacoma, Washington 98402
Puget Sound Poetry Connection
Website here.
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Publishing a volume of verse is like
dropping a rose-petal down the
Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.
– Don Marquis
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June 12 Works Studio Bellingham
Note June 5th (6 to 9 p.m) Art Walk
and June 12th (7 to 9 p.m.) evening of
poetry, music and art!
The Transformations &
Translations Show
will be held at
The Works Studio, Gallery
and Conversations:
301 W. Holly, #U3,
Bay Street Village,
Bellingham, WA.
Stop in to see the artworks
during Bellingham’s Art Walk Night
—Friday, June 5 from 6 to 9 PM.
Friday, June 12
from 7 to 9 PM,
an evening of music, poetry and art
(with musician Allison Preisinger,
and poets Nancy Canyon,
James Bertolino and
Anita K. Boyle).
This event is an “official” pop-up
gallery show.
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We interrupt these listings for an
important update
Michael Schein’s
John Surratt: The Lincoln Assassin
Who Got Away
Is FINALLY available!
(there was an unfortunate delay in the
books planned April release causing
the cancellation of the book release
and reading at the Seattle downtown
library in April).
Don’t let any of this stop you from
getting your hands on this
wonderfully compelling very readable
book.
Some blurbs:
“John Surratt was indeed the Lincoln
assassin who got away, but, fortunately,
he will not escape history thanks to
Michael Schein. In this well-researched,
beautifully written account of John
Surratt, Schein brings historical justice
to a man that has been given a pass for
too long. It is long overdue.”
~ Edward Steers, Jr., Author (among
other works) of “Lincoln’s Assassination,”
“The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia,”
“Blood on the Moon,” “The Quotable
Lincoln,” “His Name is Still Mudd,” and
editor of “The Trial: the Assassination
of President Lincoln and the Trial of the
Conspirators.”
From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:
“In this gripping true crime thriller,
Schein makes a persuasive case that
Confederate leadership was involved
in the Lincoln assassination, though he
concedes that “at this late date that is
beyond definite proof.” . . . Open-
minded readers will find Schein’s
research and arguments thought-
provoking.”
Buy the book from
Secret Garden Bookstore HERE
Or if you must:
Amazon HERE
Or as Michael Schein writes:
“If you’d rather, please request
this book from the library.
Thanks for reading!”
We now return you to your
regularly ordered Announcements.
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June 17 Creekside 7 P.M. Woodinville
Featured Poet:
Rayn Roberts
Plus open mic
FREE
Readings are at 7:00pm on the third
Wednesday of each month at The
Creekside (A Merrill Gardens
Retirement Community, 18200
Woodinville-Snohomish Rd NE,
Woodinville, WA 98072
NOTE: NEW WEBSITE FOR THE
CREEKSIDE READINGS
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June 17 Traditions Café Olympia, WA
OLYMPIA POETRY NETWORK
June 17th 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Martha Silano will be the featured reader
for the Olympia Poetry Network’s event
on Wednesday, June 17, from 6:30-8 p.m.
at Traditions Café,
300 5th Ave SW, in downtown Olympia.
Silano has authored four books of poetry,
including The Little Office of the Immaculate
Conception. She also co-edited The Daily
Poet: Day-by-Day Prompts For Your Writing
Practice. Her poems have appeared in Paris
Review, Poetry, American Poetry Review,and
North American Review, as well as in many
anthologies, including The Best American
Poetry 2009. Silano edits Crab Creek Review
and teaches at Bellevue College.
An Open Mic will precede her reading.
The event is free. For more information,
call 360-701-2030.
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June 18 SoulFood 7 p.m. Redmond
Soulfood Poetry Night
Every 3rd Thursday at 7 p.m.
June 18 Features
Jed Myers
and
Alina Rios
Plus open Mic
FREE
Jed Myers is a Philadelphian living in Seattle.
Two of his poetry collections, The Nameless
(Finishing Line Press) and Watching the
Perseids (winner of the 2013 Sacramento
Poetry Center Book Award), are 2014
publications. He’s received Southern Indiana
Review’s Mary C. Mohr Award, the Literal
Latte Poetry Award, and a Pushcart
nomination. His poems have appeared in
Prairie Schooner, Nimrod International Journal,
JAMA, Fugue, Atlanta Review, I-70 Review,
Painted Bride Quarterly, Crab Orchard Review
, Blast Furnace, Crab Creek Review,
Temenos, and elsewhere. He works as a
psychiatrist with a therapy practice and
teaches at the University of Washington.
Alina Rios spent the first part of her life in St.
Petersburg, Russia, and now lives in Seattle
with her six-year old son and a ghost-cat. Her
poetry and fiction has appeared or is
forthcoming in Camroc Press Review, Neon,
Apex Magazine, The Colored Lens, and
other fine places. Her fiction was shortlisted
for the Speculative Literature Foundation’s
Gulliver Travel Grant. To learn more or say
hello, please visit http://www.alinarios.com.
SoulFood Coffee House in Redmond is
located at
15748 Redmond Way,
Redmond, Washington
Soulfood Poetry Night Website
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June 19, 2014– Redmond WA
Open Mic & Reading featuring
Gene Ambaum
Redmond Association of Spokenword
(RASP)
6:30-8:45 p.m.
Old Redmond Schoolhouse
Community Center
16600 NE 80th St., Redmond, WA
Room 206
Please join us! Come early to
sign up for open mic.
Gene Ambaum occasionally works
as a public librarian in the Seattle area
under his real name. He’s been writing
the comic strip Unshelved for the last
13+ years, and has also cowritten a kids
graphic novel, Poopy Claw, and a
purposely terrible first novel, Fifty
Shades of Brains (as BF Dealeo). He
loves French comics, television shows
from his childhood, librarians’ horror
stories, piña coladas, and getting caught
in the rain. See pictures of his dirty cats
and furniture in his neighborhood on
Twitter @ambaum, or visit the
Unshelved website Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unshelved.
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Saturday June 20th Redmond, WA
Poets in the Park
Saturday, June 20, 2015,
11:00am – 6:00pm
Anderson Park,
7802 168th Ave NE,
Redmond, Wa
POETS IN THE PARK
FREE day-long festival and
picnic celebrating local and
regional poets and all types of
poetry through readings,
workshops, vendors, installations,
picnic-related activities, and book
fair, including:
• Potluck picnic, bring a dish or snack
to share, and get a free poetry book
• Karen Finneyfrock, headline poet
• Group poetry readings from nearly
100 poets:
Black Heron Press, Cascade College
Poetry Students, Cowboy Poets, Crab
Creek Review, Egress Studio Press,
Farmer Poets, Haiku Northwest, Jack
Straw Writers, LitFUSE, MoonPath Press,
Northwest Institute of Literary Arts,
Poetry Northwest, Pongo Teen Writing,
Puget Sound Poetry Connection, Raven
Chronicles, Redmond Association of
Spokenword, Rose Alley Press, Seattle
Poets Society, Striped Water, Two Sylvias
Press, and more!
• Band of Poets, musical performance
• Free workshops by Jim Bertolino,
Elijah Muied, and Michael Dylan Welch
• Open-mic readings
• Book fair, facilitated by ParkPlace Books
(no commission)
• Poetry vendors, presses, journals,
and more
• 4Culture Poetry on Buses, including the
poetry bus
• Guided poetry walk
• Poetry on Sticks, chalk poetry, and other
installations
• Poetry book swap,
bring a book, take a book
• Mini golf, hula hoops, craft activities
• Surprises!
(psst- Suitcases Revisted. . .)
Website. . .
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From Karen Bonaudi:
APPLICATIONS FOR FOURTH
WASHINGTON STATE
POET LAUREATE SOUGHT
Applications are now being accepted for
Washington State’s next Poet Laureate.
The new Laureate will serve from
Feb. 1, 2016, to Jan. 31, 2018.
Current Laureate Elizabeth Austen is in
the second year of her two-year term
and is presenting poetry workshops and
readings across Washington State in her
quest to visit all 39 counties in Washington.
Former Laureates are Samuel Green and
Kathleen Flenniken.
To be considered, applicants must meet
all eligibility requirements and submit an
application online. Applications must be
submitted electronically by 5 p.m. on
Friday, July 31. The position is sponsored
by ArtsWA and Humanities Washington
with the support of Gov. Jay Inslee.
More information and applications are
available at http://www.humanities.org.
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From Raven Chronicles:
Submission deadline EXTENDED
Submissions Wanted for
Vol. 22, Fall 2015 Issue:
Submission Deadlines/Reading Period:
April 1 through July 1, 2015 (postmarked)
U.S.A. Submissions: Submit all work via
US mail.
International Submissions: Submit work
via email attachments.
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June AND beyond in Vaughn WA
From Jerry Libstaff
Words and Music
Melding Authors, Poets,
Singer/Songwriters and Artists
from around the country in an
intimate waterfront setting.
The program includes
hors d’oeuvres and beverages.
Meet and share with powerful
entertainers in a beautiful setting
surrounded by nature.
Funding supports the entertainers.
Additional donations provide for
Young Writers.
Watermark Writers is a 501(c)
3 Non Profit corporation.
Upcoming Events
6/5 Music: Ari Hest
Words/Poet : Carl Palmer
(almost sold out 6/2/15)
July – Music by Holley McCreary
Words/Poet TBA
August – Music by Rodney Branigan
Words/Poet TBA
9/19 – Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer
Words/Poet Christopher J. Jarmick
10/3 – Music: Melissa Greener
Words/Poet – TBA
Jerry Libstaff
Watermark Writers
To find out more email us at
info@watermarkwriters.com
or call 253-778-6559.
Sincerely,
Jerry Libstaff
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From Michael Schein
LITFUSE
Dear Poets,
Please consider joining us for LiTFUSE
Poets’ Workshop, September 25-27,
featuring Ellen Bass. Each year, we
gather the poet tribes from all over
Cascadia to work together on our
beloved craft of poetry and spoken word.
We meet in beautiful Tieton, in the
fruit-growing hills above Yakima.
For as little as $185 ($100 now, $85
paid by August 16), YOU can become
a LiTFUSIAN! The sooner you register,
the more class choices you’ll have
available.
What could you do at LiTFUSE?
Here’s a sampling
Tara Hardy – LiTFUSE Slam for
Page Poets!
Carol Trenga – Contemplative
Movement & Creativity
Ellen Bass – The Poem of the Moment
Sam Green – Emily’s Favorite Measure
Elizabeth Austen – Demystifying the
Line Break
Talenah Lachelle Queen – W.E.B.
DuBois
Andre Feriante – Poetry & Music
Chad Sweeney – A Bouquet of
Sparrows: Powers of the Image:
Composition, Contrast, Agility &
Dreaming
Derek Sheffield – EXTRAordinary
Sally Green – The Voice Behind the
Mask: Dramatic Monologues
David Schein – Infarcation
Please tell friends & share this message.
We’d love to see you in Tieton . . .
Poets, UNiTE!
Michael Schein
LiTFUSE Muse
michael@litfuse.us
Emily Gwinn
LiTFUSE Muse Too
emily@litfuse.us
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Worthwhile Website and Resource to
checkout is here:
It is FREE and has a ton of
useful articles and suggestions of
where to send poetry to be published!
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here (Featured Poem of the Week-Feb. 9) Congrats to all the featured ‘bus poets’
whose work appears on bus stops, on
special rapid ride buses and/or the website
throughout 2015.
POETRYisEVERYTHING 