Brian Turner, Iraq-war veteran and author of the highly acclaimed Here Bullet is the headliner of the 2nd Tacoma Poetry Festival.
Registration is now open for the two-day Festival, happening at the Tacoma Public Utilities Building on Friday evening, October 21, and all day Saturday, October 22, 2016. See the lineup of featured poets, readings and workshops on The Tacoma Poetry Festival website and watch for updates on Facebook.
Competitions have been part of two different Cascadia Poetry Festivals. (2014 and 2015). This year we did not find volunteers willing to facilitate a slam, but we were blessed with interest from the Slam community to stage a Cascadia Regional Poetry Slam as a co-sponsored event. Ben Hunter’s yet-to-be-opened venue in Hillman City, Black & Tan, turned out to be a perfect place to hold such an event and it is happening in less than a month! From the organizers Ian Martinez:
The 2016 Cascadia Regional Poetry Slam brings together eight teams from the Northwest to compete in a two-day tournament of the region’s finest poets. Each team, representing a slam venue in a different part of Cascadia, is aiming for a spot in next year’s National Poetry Slam in Denver, CO, which they can guarantee with a win. Spoken word poetry exists to promote audience participation, give voice to the marginalized, and build community; over 30 of the country’s fiercest poets will compete for the pride of representing their community and speak their truth on the national stage. Which city will capture the glory?
Friday: Prelims! Two slams of 4 teams each compete for a chance at finals. Top 2 teams from each move on.
Saturday: Finals! Top 4 teams compete to become Cascadia Poetry Slam champions!
Competing teams include Seattle Poetry Slam, Rain City Poetry Slam, Olympia People’s Mic, Vancouver Poetry Slam,Portland Poetry Slam, Spokane Poetry Slam, Boise Poetry Slam, and Slamlandia.
One of the most important poets ever to live and work in Seattle, Denise Levertov died in 1997. There is no mention of her time in Seattle outside the Seward Park house she called home for eight years, but thanks to the Rainier Valley Rotary, SPLAB is spear-heading an Indiegogo campaign to purchase and install the plaque. The campaign would also support the 4th Cascadia Poetry Festival, Nov 3-6, 2016, in Seattle at Spring Street Center, which is dedicated to the memory and will explore the legacy of Levertov in Cascadia. Specifically, funds would support the panel on Levertov’s legacy and the ritual walk to her grave on Sunday morning led by JM Miller, Brenda Hillman and Daphne Marlatt. Our thanks go to the Rotary’s Jayne DeHaan, who spearheaded the project.
Contributors to the fundraising effort are offered a plethora of festival-related premiums which can be perused here:
From PageBoy Magazine:
PageBoy 2013
PageBoy invites you to submit original work in any form on the theme “writers on writers.” Please consider writing something on your favorite author, or your least favorite author; or on an author you feel deserves more attention, or on an author you feel deserves less. Homage/essay/elegy/interview/
Please feel free to pass this on to writers who may be interested.
We look forward to reading your work,
– PageBoy Crew
