From October 9-11, 2026, Seattle-based nonprofit Cascadia Poetics Lab will host the 10th Anniversary Cascadia Poetry Festival at the Rainier Beach Community Club and Kubota Garden. The event will feature writing workshops, panel discussions, and readings from prominent poets and academics from the Cascadia bioregion and beyond, marking a decade of exploring poetry's connection to environmental, political, historical, and sociological pursuits within the region.
The festival's core mission is to consider how prioritizing natural and cultural boundaries over arbitrary political ones can address climate change and other pressing social and political issues. This year's lineup includes featured speakers such as 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.
Workshops will delve into bioregional poetics, poetry as politics, lyric and form, the connection between internal and external worlds, and poetry in times of crisis. Specific sessions 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).' An afterparty will be held on Friday and Saturday nights at a nearby location in Rainier Beach.
The festival is supported by sponsors including 4Culture Sustained Support and 4Culture Public Free Access, Creative West, the Vogt Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, ArtsFund, La Sala, and CPL Supporters. Registration for gold passes, workshop packages, reading packages, and student passes is available now via the festival website: https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/2026-cascadia-poetry-festival-10/. More information on the festival and Cascadia Poetics Lab's additional offerings can be found at https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/, and a complete schedule is available at https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/2026-cascadia-poetry-festival-10-schedule/.
This 10th anniversary event underscores the growing relevance of bioregional thinking in cultural and environmental discourse. By bringing together poets and scholars to examine the intersections of art and activism, the festival highlights how creative expression can contribute to addressing systemic challenges like climate change. The focus on natural and cultural boundaries offers a framework that transcends traditional geopolitical divisions, fostering a sense of shared identity and responsibility across the Cascadia region.
The festival's significance lies not only in its celebration of poetry but also in its role as a platform for dialogue on pressing issues. As communities worldwide grapple with environmental degradation and social inequities, events like this provide space for alternative perspectives and collaborative solutions. The workshops and discussions aim to equip participants with new tools for integrating ecological consciousness into their creative practices, potentially influencing broader cultural shifts.
Cascadia Poetics Lab, founded in Auburn, Washington, on December 14, 1993, has been a driving force in nurturing poetry and bioregional awareness for over three decades. Founding Director Paul E. Nelson is available for interviews, and the organization continues to expand its reach through programs like the festival. The 10th anniversary marks a milestone in the lab's mission to explore the deep connections between place, poetry, and social change.
