The Cascadia Poetics Lab is set to host the 9th Cascadia Poetry Festival from October 10-12, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. This event will feature a series of writing workshops, panel discussions, and readings with prominent poets and academics from the Cascadia bioregion and beyond. The festival's venues include the Rainier Beach Community Club, Kubota Garden, and Redwing Café, offering a unique blend of natural beauty and cultural richness.
At the heart of the festival is the exploration of poetry's connection to environmental, political, historical, and sociological themes within the Cascadia bioregion. The event aims to highlight how focusing on natural and cultural boundaries, rather than arbitrary political ones, can offer solutions to climate change and other urgent social and political challenges. Featured speakers such as Brenda Cárdenas, Jim Dott, and Brenda Hillman, among others, will share their insights and works, fostering a dialogue on the power of poetry in times of crisis.
Workshops at the festival will delve into various poetic practices, including ekphrasis, investigation, lyric and form, and the interplay between internal and external worlds. These sessions promise to enrich participants' understanding and appreciation of poetry's multifaceted role in society. An afterparty hosted by Greg Bem of Carbonation Press and Cascadia 2050 will provide a casual setting for further discussion and networking.
The festival is supported by a range of sponsors, including 4Culture, Creative West, and the National Endowment for the Arts, underscoring the event's significance in the cultural and environmental discourse. Registration for the festival, including gold passes, workshop packages, reading packages, and student passes, is now open. More details can be found on the festival's website at https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/cascadia-poetry-festival-9/. Additional information about the Cascadia Poetics Lab and a complete schedule of the event are also available online.
This festival represents a critical opportunity for poets, academics, and the public to engage with pressing global issues through the lens of poetry, offering a unique platform for dialogue and inspiration. By bridging the gap between art and activism, the Cascadia Poetry Festival underscores the transformative power of poetry in addressing the challenges of our time.
