Poets in the Park 2018
Saturday, 7 July 2018, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm — FREE!
Anderson Park | 7802 168th Ave NE | Redmond, Washington
Featuring Claudia Castro Luna (Washington State poet laureate)
and Melanie Noel (Redmond poet laureate) plus many others!
Poets in the Park in 2018 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! Scroll down to see the schedule. 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 Brick and Mortar Books, with no commission taken)—all FREE! Bring your own lunch to enjoy on the lawn or in our café area. Chalk poetry, hula hoops, Haiku on Sticks, art/craft activities for kids and adults (sponsored by VALA Art Center and Jim Teeters), RASP poetry anthology poems on sticks, and more! And great summer weather too!
See the Facebook event. Tweet to #poetsinthepark.
See below for the schedule, individual and group participants, book fair information, and more.
Sponsored by the Redmond Arts & Culture Commission, the Redmond Association of Spokenword, Humanities Washington, ArtsWA/Washington State Arts Commission, and Poets & Writers, directed by Michael Dylan Welch. Additional thanks to all our volunteers.
Poets in the Park Photos
See what Poets in the Park was like! Take a look at the photos by Michael Dylan Welch from Saturday, 25 June 2016, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. See also 2014 photos, 2015 photos, 2016 photos, and 2017 photos.
Location/Parking
Anderson Park is located at 7802 168th Avenue NE in Redmond, Washington—see map. 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 Dan Ullom of Redmond’s new Brick and Mortar 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. You can purchase publications with cash, check, or credit card.
2018 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.
Saturday, 7 July 2018, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Activities/Installations
Haiku on Sticks (view poems by Haiku Northwest members)
Poetry on Sticks (view poems from the RASP poetry anthology, Here, There, and Everywhere)
Haiku Wall (poets from around the world)
Chalk Art (by Pamela Denchfield)
Etegami Postcard Art (sponsored by VALA Art Center)
My Goldfish Stole the Moon: Poetry Fun (sponsored by Jim Teeters, with book-making craft activities for kids)
Groups, Organizations, Vendors, and Sponsors
African-American Writers’ Alliance
Black Heron Press
Brick and Mortar Books (Dan Ullom)
56 Days of August: Poetry Postcard Poets
Fisher Poets
Haiku Northwest
Ice Cream Anthology Poets
Jack Straw Musicians
Jack Straw Poets
Kitchen Sessions Poets
MoonPath Press
My Goldfish Stole the Moon: Poetry Fun (Jim Teeters)
Poets & Writers
Redmond Arts & Culture Commission
Redmond Association of Spokenword
Redmond Historical Society
Rose Alley Press
VALA Art Center
Yakima Coffeehouse Poets
Individuals (scheduled performers)
Dotty Armstrong
Kamari Bright
Linda Brown
Jalayna Carter
Kristin Chambers
Dee Dee Chapman
Risa Denenberg
Julie Deutscher
Patrick Dixon
Bryan Edenfield
Lorraine Ferra
Jeannine Hall Gailey
Rose Gamble
Sierra Golden
Janka Hobbs
Holly Hughes
Patty Kinney
Claudia Castro Luna
Vince Martinez
Brendan McBreen
Georgia S. McDade
Anne McDuffie
Natasha Moni
Rod Nelson
Paul E. Nelson
Melanie Noel
Kevin O’Connor
Ken Osborne
Dayna Paterson
Rena Priest
LeAnne Ries
James Rodgers
Ina Roy-Faderman
Kara Simon
Aaron Starkey
Jeff Stonehill
Ed Stover
Mary Ellen Talley
Ann Teplick
Joanna Thomas
Matt Trease
Jaye Ware
Brad Warren
Julene Tripp Weaver
Michael Dylan Welch
Katharine Whitcomb
Volunteers
Laura Lee Bennett (volunteer coordinator)
Julie Brown
Pamela Denchfield
Julie Deutscher
Rose Gamble
Dianne Garcia
John Gustaveson
Michael Heavener
Janka Hobbs
Kavya Jade
Marko Coady
Curtis Manley
Hank Myers
Bette Osman
Joan Pasch
Susan Rich
Bruce Robertson
Kara Simon
Jim Teeters
Dan Ullom
Michael Dylan Welch
and others!
History
Read about Poets in the Park 2014, Poets in the Park 2015, Poets in the Park 2016, and Poets in the Park 2017—photos, schedule, participants, vendors, 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 festival, 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. See Seattle Post-Intelligencer story about the 2004 conference.