Community Poetry Workshops
Anyone can be a poet! Poetry in Public offers workshops to bring communities together through the written word.
Starting Summer 2023, Poet Planner Laura Da’ and Community Liaisons will be hosting community poetry workshops across King County. We invite you to connect with poets, find inspiration, and celebrate the written word. Workshops are free and intended to guide you on a journey toward writing a poem that may be featured on transit in 2024.
This workshop series will explore the theme “Places of Landing” with a focus on African American, Chinese, Filipino, Indigenous, Spanish-Speaking, and Youth communities. These workshops are intended for people who identify with the respective Communities of Focus. We will also hold a poetry workshop for the general public.
Check back for schedules, locations, and registration information as workshops are scheduled!
Drop In Poetry Event
The Roadhouse, Angle Lake Station 19955 28th Ave S, Seatac, WA
Oct 18 5:00–8:00 pm
Drop by the new Angle Lake Station event space and explore the theme Places of Landing, which honors the moments, places, and feelings that tell the stories of our days. We invite you to listen to poetry readings, join the open mic, and enjoy poetry activities. Everyone can be a poet!
African American Community Poetry Workshops
Douglass Truth Branch - Seattle Public Library, 2300 E Yesler Way, Seattle
Sep 20 6:00–7:30 pm
Zoom
Oct 20 6:45–8:15 pm
These workshops will recognize poetic traditions rooted in the African American community. Participants will reflect on the many uses and meanings of the word “Land.” They will recall and express pivotal experiences through poetry.
African American Community Liaison Miz Floes will lead the facilitation of these workshops in English. Miz Floes is an ever-evolving artist; an author, playwright, theater producer, director, actress, spoken word artist, and vocalist.
Chinese Community Poetry Workshops
These workshops will recognize poetic traditions rooted in the Chinese community.
Chinese Community Liaison Karia Wong will lead the facilitation of these workshops, primarily in Chinese, on behalf of the Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC). CISC helps immigrants throughout King County achieve success in their new community by providing information, referral, advocacy, social, and support services.
Filipino Community Poetry Workshops
Filipino Community Center - 5740 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118
Sep 30 3:00–5:00 pm
Columbia City Library - 4721 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
Oct 14 4:00–5:00 pm
These workshops aim to encourage participants to write poetry, share personal migration stories, and connect each other’s migration histories to the larger pattern of Filipino migration and reasons for leaving the Philippines. Writing prompts will invite participants to reflect on where they or their family came from in the Philippines and landed after leaving the archipelago.
Filipino Community Liaison Troy Osaki will lead the facilitation of these workshops primarily in English. Troy Osaki is a poet, organizer, and attorney.
Indigenous Community Poetry Workshops
Zoom
Sep 12 6:00–8:00 pm | Sep 26 6:00–8:00 pm
These workshops will recognize poetic traditions rooted in the Indigenous community. Participants will explore how landforms—in nature and in memory—shape the work of contemporary Indigenous writers. They will also map their own landforms and memory fragments to produce new work that conceptualizes Poetry in Public’s 2023-2025 theme: Places of Landing.
Poetry in Public Poet Planner Laura Da’ and Indigenous Community Liaison D.A. Navoti will lead the facilitation of these workshops, primarily in English. D.A. Navoti is a multidisciplinary storyteller, composer, and writer.
Spanish-Speaking Community Poetry Workshops
Loft #2, Seattle Center Armory Food + Event Hall 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109
Sep 16 3:00–4:30 pm
Zoom
Oct 26 6:00–7:30 pm
Seattle Center Armory Room 301, 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109
Oct 28 11:00 am–12:30 pm
Spanish-speaking Community Liaison José Luis Montero will lead the facilitation of these workshops primarily in Spanish. José Luis Montero is a bilingual writer who is passionate about storytelling regardless of the medium.
Youth Community Poetry Workshops
Old Fire House Teen Center, 16510 NE 79th St, Redmond, WA 98052
Sep 21 5:30–7:00 pm | Oct 5 5:30–7:00 pm
White Center Teen Program, Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Park 1321 SW 102nd St, Seattle, WA 98146
Sep 29 5:00–6:30 pm
Trail Youth Coffee Home 226 E North Bend Way, North Bend, WA 98045
Oct 26 3:00–4:30 pm
These workshops foster a youth friendly environment. Participants will engage in age-appropriate activities that inspire creativity. Please see workshop description for more information.
Poetry in Public Poet Planner Laura Da’ and Youth Community Liaison Sierra Nelson will lead the facilitation of these workshops in English. Sierra Nelson is a poet, multimedia performance and installation artist, and teacher, bringing her extensive collaboration experience and love of marine sciences to her artistic and teaching practices.