Poets in the Park 2017
Watch for news about our 2017 date!
Anderson Park | 7802 168th Ave NE | Redmond, Washington
We're working on scheduling and funding for Poets in the Park in 2017, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Redmond Association of Spokenword. Readings for 2017 will once again feature groups and organizations, with 25-minute reading slots. We also have 55-minute workshops, our book fair, vendors open-mic readings, and more—and it’s all free! If you have questions, please contact Michael Dylan Welch.
Poets in the Park 2016
Saturday, 25 June 2016, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm — FREE!
Anderson Park | 7802 168th Ave NE | Redmond, Washington
Join us for Poets in the Park! Readings this year again feature groups and organizations, but with readings shortened to 25-minute slots. We also have 55-minute workshops, our book fair, vendors open-mic readings, and more—and it’s all free! If you have questions, please contact Michael Dylan Welch. +
Enjoy poetry readings and performances on our Café and Picnic Shelter stages, workshops in our workshop cabin, and activities, installations, and vendors throughout the park, plus our poetry book fair (coordinated by Rebecca Willow, with no commission taken)—all FREE! Bring your own lunch to enjoy on the lawn or in our café area. Poetry putt-putt (mini-golf), chalk poetry, hula hoops, Haiku on Sticks, poetry walk, art/craft activities for kids and adults (sponsored by VALA Art Center and Jim Teeters), RASP poetry anthology poems on sticks, and more!
See the Facebook invite. Tweet to #poetsinthepark.
Sponsored by the Redmond Arts & Culture Commission and the Redmond Association of Spokenword, directed by Michael Dylan Welch. Additional thanks to Rebecca Willow, Sammamish Kiwanis, Redmond Kiwanis, and all our volunteers.
Read about Poets in the Park 2014 and Poets in the Park 2015—photos, schedule, participants, vendors, and more.
Poets in the Park 2016 Photos
Location/Parking
Anderson Park is located at 7802 168th Avenue NE in Redmond, Washington. You’ll find plenty of free street parking (come early to park closer to the event). You can also park in the church parking lot immediately to the east of the park (yes, this is okay). Additional parking available at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, about two blocks away at 16600 NE 80th Street in Redmond.
Book Fair
Our gratitude to Rebecca Willow for facilitating our no-commission book fair, in the Adair cabin. Just bring your poetry-related publications to sell at the book fair, fill out the book fair inventory form (view or download PDF file—please do this before Saturday if you can), and enjoy the festival! Put a price list next to your publications, or mark each one with a price. Check in at the end of the day to pick up unsold books.
2016 Schedule
Don’t miss a moment of our many readings and performances at our Café and Picnic stages, and the Fullard Cabin. Come early to catch it all! Bring your own lunch. All sessions end five minutes before the next session. All events and activities are free.
The following schedule is subject to change.
|
Time |
Café Stage |
Picnic Shelter Stage |
Fullard Workshop Cabin |
|
11:00 |
Welcome: Michael Dylan Welch Redmond Association of Spokenword: Rebecca Meredith, MC, with Pamela Denchfield, Elizabeth Carroll Hayden, Jeannine Hall Gailey, and Ken Osborne |
Vendors (all day) |
Volunteer Check-in |
|
11:30 |
Striped Water: Brendan McBreen, MC, with Robert Hassleblad, Cindy Hutchings, Ann MacKenzie, and Jim Teeters |
Vendors |
|
|
12:00 |
Poetry Lunch—Rose Alley Press: David Horowitz, MC, with Victoria Ford and Joannie Stangeland |
Vendors |
|
|
12:30 |
Redmond Poet Laureate: Shin Yu Pai |
||
|
1:00 |
Band of Poets: John Burgess, Jed Myers, Jonas Myers, and Erin Slomski-Pritz |
||
|
1:55 |
“I Am Not Cursed”—Persephone Retold: Performed by the Olympic Story Company: Laura Lee Bennett, Elizabeth Carroll Hayden, and Chi Chi Stewart |
Vendors |
David Horowitz Workshop (2:00 pm): “Improve Your Rhyming, or How to Avoid the Moon/June, True/Blue Syndrome” |
|
2:30 |
MoonPath Press: Christopher Jarmick, MC, with Joe Green, Laura LeHew, and Amy MacLennan |
Vendors |
|
|
3:00 |
World Poetry: Raul Sanchez, MC, with Nora Giron-Dolce and Faiza Sultan |
Open-Mic |
Mike Hickey Workshop: “The Red Roof: Exercises in Poetic Surrealism” (Q: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: A fish.) |
|
3:30 |
Poets Against Hate, presented by Raven Chronicles and It’s About Time Reading Series: Esther Helfgott, MC, with Larry Crist, Angelica Guillian, Mitra Lofi Shemirani, Jacqueline Ware, and two youth readers, Zalia Cook and Bridget Yule |
Vendors |
|
|
4:00 |
Elegies: Remembering, Healing, Honoring: Priscilla Long, MC, with Bethany Reid and John Wright |
Dead Poets Open-Mic Reading: Read a poem by a dead poet |
Christopher Luna Workshop: “Truth and Beauty in the Everyday” |
|
4:30 |
Noisy Water (Bellingham poetry anthology): Luther Allen, MC, with Paul Fisher, J.I. Kleinberg, Rena Priest, and Matthew Brouwer |
Vendors |
|
|
5:00 |
StringTown: Polly Buckingham, MC, with Bethany Reid and Robert McNamara |
Open-Mic |
Jeannine Hall Gailey Workshop: “When Poetry Is Not Memoir: Writing Persona Poetry” (Superhero? Evil queen? Dragon? Who are you?) |
|
5:30 |
Jack Straw Writers: EJ Koh, Robert Lashley, and Alison Stagner |
Vendors |
|
|
6:00 |
Closing Words: Michael Dylan Welch |
||
Activities/Installations
Haiku on Sticks (view poems by Haiku Northwest members)
Poetry Putt-Putt (mini golf, sponsored by Kiwanis)
Poetry on Sticks (view poems from the RASP poetry anthology, Here, There, and Everywhere)
Chalk Art (by Pamela Denchfield)
Art Activities (sponsored by VALA Art Center)
My Goldfish Stole the Moon: Poetry Fun (sponsored by Jim Teeters, with book-making craft activities for kids)
Groups and Organizations
Band of Poets
Black Heron Press
City of Redmond
4Culture
Haiku Northwest
Jack Straw Writers
LiTFUSE
MoonPath Press
PageBoy Magazine
Raven Chronicles
Redmond Association of Spokenword
Redmond Historical Society
Rose Alley Press
StringTown
Striped Water Poets
VALA Art Center
and more!
Individuals (scheduled performers)
Luther Allen | Mike Hickey | Ken Osborne |