Poets in the Park 2015

Saturday, 20 June 2015, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm — FREE!

Anderson Park | 7802 168th Ave NE | Redmond, Washington

Enjoy poetry readings, activities, and vendors at our Café and Picnic stages, and on the King County Metro Poetry Bus, plus our poetry book fair (coordinated by Parkplace Books, with no commission taken), workshops, and more—all FREE! Bring a potluck dish for a free poetry book, and enjoy your lunch on the lawn or in our café area. Poetry putt-putt (mini-golf), chalk poetry, hula hoops, Haiku on Sticks, make your own weathergrams, RASP poetry anthology poems on sticks, and more!

See the Facebook invite. Tweet to #poetsinthepark.

See below for the schedule, individual and group participants, book fair and potluck information, and more. If you have questions, please contact Michael Dylan Welch. +

Sponsored by the Redmond Arts & Culture Commission and the Redmond Association of Spokenword, with support from 4Culture and Poets & Writers, Inc., directed by Michael Dylan Welch, Redmond poet laureate. Additional thanks to Parkplace Books, Redmond Kiwanis and Sammamish Kiwanis, and all our volunteers, especially stage managers Michael Heavener, Courtney Hudak, and Kara Simon.

Poets in the Park 2015 Photos

See event 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). Additional parking available at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, about two blocks away at 16600 NE 80th Street in Redmond.

Poetry Potluck

Bring a potluck dish to share with others! All participants receive a free poetry book. Please bring your hot or cold dish, snack, dessert, or drink by 11:30 am (preferred). We’ll supply all the plates, forks, and hungry poets, but please bring a serving utensil if needed (mark your utensils and dishes with your name). No food trucks will be at Poets in the Park this year, so bring your own lunch or a potluck dish to share.

Book Fair

Our gratitude to Rebecca Willow and Parkplace Books 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.

Poetry Bookswap

Bring a book, chapbook, or magazine of poetry and swap it for a new one. A great way to discover new poets! Coordinated by Faith Allington.

2015 Schedule

Don’t miss a moment of our many readings and performances at our Café and Picnic stages, the Fullard Cabin, and on the King Country Metro poetry bus. Come early to catch it all! Contribute a lunchtime potluck dish to receive a free poetry book. All sessions end five minutes before the next session. All events and activities are free.

Saturday, 20 June 2015, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Activities/Installations

Haiku on Sticks (view poems by Haiku Northwest members)

Poetry Putt-Putt (mini golf, sponsored by Kiwanis)

RASP on Sticks (view poems from the RASP poetry anthology, Here, There, and Everywhere)

Weathergrams (make poem strips to hang on trees and bushes, sponsored by Haiku Northwest)

Art Activities (sponsored by VALA Art Center)

Groups and Organizations

4Culture

Band of Poets

Black Heron Press

Cascadia Anthology

Cascadia College Poetry Students

City of Redmond Arts and Culture Commission

Cowboy Poets

Crab Creek Review

Egress Studio Press

Farmer Poets

Haiku Northwest

Jack Straw Writers

King County Metro

LiTFUSE

MoonPath Press

Northwest Institute of Literary Arts

Parkplace Books

Poetry Northwest

Pongo Teen Writing

Puget Sound Poetry Connection

Raising Lily Ledbetter Anthology

Raven Chronicles

Redmond Association of Spokenword

Rose Alley Press

Seattle Poets Society

Striped Water Poets

Suitcases Revisited

Two Sylvias Press

VALA Art Center

Individuals (at least 110 scheduled performers)

History

Read about Poets in the Park 2014—photos, schedule, participants, and more.

Michael Dylan Welch started the Poets in the Park conference in 2004, and the first two conferences were held at Marymoor Park’s Clise Mansion in Redmond, Washington, sponsored by the Redmond Association of Spokenword. These well-attended events took place in April of 2004 and March of 2005. The 2014 revival of this event took place at Redmond’s Anderson Park, cosponsored by the City of Redmond and the Redmond Association of Spokenword, as more of a social and poetry reading/performance event, with fewer workshops. Bring a blanket and picnic lunch to enjoy on the park lawns while listening to poetry at the next Poets in the Park!

Poets in the Park was one of Michael’s proposed duties as the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 poet laureate of the city of Redmond.

See also the 2014 Redmond Summer Poetry Walks.

See archived websites for the 2004 and 2005 Poets in the Park conferences.