The Cascadia Poetics Lab, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to poetry and bioregionalism, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Cascadia Poetry Festival from October 9-11, 2026. The event, held at the Rainier Beach Community Club and Kubota Garden, will bring together poets, academics, and community members to examine poetry's connection to environmental, political, historical, and sociological issues within the Cascadia bioregion. This year's festival emphasizes the importance of prioritizing natural and cultural boundaries over arbitrary political ones, a perspective that organizers argue is crucial for addressing climate change and other pressing social and political challenges.
The festival will feature a diverse lineup of prominent poets and academics, including allia abdullah-matta, Greg Bem, Amaranth Borsuk, Bill Carty, Xavier Cavazos, Zach Charles, Ching-in Chen, Stephen Collis, Gary Copeland Lilley, Tess Gallagher, Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, Geneviève Hicks, Alicia Hokanson, Nadine Maestas, Dion O'Reilly, Roxi Power, Mateo Quispe, Linda Russo, Sharon Thesen, Miriam Tobin, Rodrigo Toscano, Matt Trease, and Terri Witek. These speakers will lead workshops and panel discussions exploring topics such as bioregional poetics, poetry as politics, lyric and form, the connection between internal and external worlds, and poetry in times of crisis.
Workshops at the festival include "Startling the Poem Awake," "Flickers of the Poetic, A Watch Party," "Concerning Work and Poetry (of Course the Mundane is Generative!)," "The Green Being," and "Cascadia as a Field of Action (Poetry as Politics)." These sessions are designed to engage participants in hands-on creative and critical practice, fostering a deeper understanding of how poetry can serve as a tool for ecological and social awareness. In addition to the daytime programming, the festival will host afterparties on Friday and Saturday nights at a nearby location in Rainier Beach, providing informal opportunities for networking and community building.
The festival is supported by a range of sponsors, including 4Culture Sustained Support and 4Culture Public Free Access, Creative West, the Vogt Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, ArtsFund, La Sala, and CPL Supporters. This backing underscores the significance of the festival as a cultural and educational event in the region. Registration for gold passes, workshop packages, reading packages, and student passes is now open via the festival website. A complete schedule of events is available at this link.
The Cascadia Poetics Lab, founded in Auburn, Washington, on December 14, 1993, has a long history of promoting poetry as a means of exploring the unique character of the Cascadia bioregion. Founding Director Paul E. Nelson is available for interviews, offering insight into the festival's evolution and its mission. As the festival reaches its 10th anniversary, it stands as a testament to the enduring relevance of poetry in fostering a sense of place and responsibility toward the environment, making it a key event for poets and environmental advocates alike.
