The Cascadia Poetics Lab is set to host the 9th Cascadia Poetry Festival from October 10-12, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. This event promises to be a significant gathering for poets, academics, and bioregionalists from the Cascadia bioregion and beyond, focusing on the intersection of poetry with environmental, political, historical, and sociological issues. The festival's aim is to demonstrate how prioritizing natural and cultural boundaries over arbitrary political ones can offer solutions to pressing global challenges such as climate change.
Featured events will take place at notable venues including the Rainier Beach Community Club, Kubota Garden, and Redwing Café. The festival will showcase a lineup of prominent poets and thinkers, including Brenda Cárdenas, Jim Dott, and Brenda Hillman, among others. Workshops will delve into various poetic practices, including ekphrasis, lyric and form, and the connection between internal and external worlds, offering attendees a unique opportunity to explore poetry's potential in times of crisis.
An afterparty hosted by Greg Bem of Carbonation Press and Cascadia 2050, the youth initiative of Cascadia Poetics Lab, will conclude the festival at Jude's in Rainier Beach. The festival is supported by several sponsors, including 4Culture, Creative West, and the National Endowment for the Arts, highlighting the event's significance in the cultural and artistic community.
Registration for the festival is now open, with various pass options available to accommodate different interests and budgets. For those interested in attending, more information can be found on the festival's website at https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/cascadia-poetry-festival-9/. Additional details about the festival and the Cascadia Poetics Lab's broader mission are available at https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/, and a complete schedule of events can be accessed at https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/2025-cascadia-poetry-festival-9-schedule/.
This festival represents a critical opportunity to engage with poetry not just as an art form but as a tool for social and environmental change. By bringing together diverse voices and perspectives, the Cascadia Poetry Festival underscores the power of poetry to inspire, challenge, and transform our understanding of the world around us.
