Poets in the Park 2019

Celebrating the Land

Saturday, 20 July 2019, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm — FREE!

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

Environmental theme this year—see schedule below

• Teachings of the First People: Native American Story and Myth with Roger Fernandes, Lower Elwah S’Klallam Tribal Storyteller

• Music by Band of Poets

• Environment-themed poetry workshops by Christianne Balk, Tara Hardy, Jeffrey Morgan, and Carolyne Wright

• Washington Poetic Routes reading, coordinated by Claudia Castro Luna, Washington state poet laureate

• Poetry readings by more than a dozen organizations

• At least 68 featured poets

• New book showcase readings

• Open-mic readings

• Art installations by Centro Cultural Mexicano / Los Pajaros Gallery and Crystal Edwards / VALA Arts, plus craft activities

• Chalk art, poetry on sticks, and other surprises, plus free ice cream!

Poets in the Park in 2019 will once again feature groups and organizations, with 25-minute reading slots, this year mostly with an environmental theme. We also have 55-minute workshops, our book fair, vendors, open-mic readings, installations, ice cream, 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 Arts), 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, and 4Culture, directed by Michael Dylan Welch. This event is supported in part by Poets & Writers. Additional thanks to all our volunteers.

Poets in the Park Photos

See what Poets in the Park is like! Check out photos, by Michael Dylan Welch, from our 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 festivals.

See 2019 photos.

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)

Chalk Art (by Pamela Denchfield)

Handmade Art (craft activity sponsored by VALA Arts)

Art Installation (sponsored by Centro Cultural Mexicano and its Los Pajaros Gallery)

Art Installation (by Crystal Edwards, sponsored by VALA Arts)

Groups, Organizations, Vendors, and Sponsors

Band of Poets

Black Heron Press

Book Arts Editions (artist books by Marilyn Stablein)

Brick and Mortar Books (Nicole Craswell)

Centro Cultural Mexicano / Los Pajaros Gallery

Floating Bridge Press

For Love of Orcas (anthology)

Greenwood Poets

Haiku Northwest

Jack Straw Writers

Pleasure Boat Studio (Lauren Grosskopf)

Poets & Writers

Printed Matter Vancouver

Puget Sound Poetry Connection

Raven Chronicles

Redmond Arts & Culture Commission

Redmond Association of Spokenword

Redmond Historical Society

Rose Alley Press

VALA Arts

Wandering Aengus Press

Individuals (67 scheduled performers)

Volunteers

Jon Albers

Laura Lee Bennett (volunteer coordinator)

Julie Brown

Nicole Craswell (Brick and Mortar Books)

Pamela Denchfield

Crystal Edwards

John Gustaveson

Elizabeth Hayden

Michael Heavener

Joan Pasch

Rose Ramm

Brooke Reedy

Susan Rich

Bruce Robertson

Vivienne Rutherford

Kara Simon

Michael Dylan Welch

and others!

History

Read about Poets in the Park 2014, Poets in the Park 2015, Poets in the Park 2016, Poets in the Park 2017, and Poets in the Park 2018—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 two-day 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.