The Work Poetry Newsletter June 2025
The Work Poetry workshop has a new home. Beginning July 12, the workshop will take place at the Vancouver Arts Hub from 2-5 on the second Saturday of every month and 9-12 on the fourth Saturday of the month. The Arts Hub is located at 1007 E Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98663 in the former home of the Vancouver library. The cost for this workshop will be a $25 suggested donation. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
The Arts Hub is operated by The Arts Centered, under the superb leadership of Christine Richardson. I encourage everyone in the community to take advantage of all that this important organization has to offer. Learn more here: https://theartscentered.org/
According to their wesbite, “theARTScentered is a 501c3 non profit organization in Vancouver, WA, working to provide resources, space, professional expertise, and collaborative opportunities to local visual and performing artists & arts/culture groups and organizations since 2021. Why theARTScentered? It takes action to center something and active focus to keep something centered… it takes work! In all we do, we center our work around the arts and serve our community with the arts at the heart of it. We are connectors and master creative problem solvers, and we are passionate about creating opportunities for equity in cultural access.”
I will lead one more First Friday Poetry Reading on June 6 and two more drop-in poetry workshops at Birdhouse Books before bookstore owner Lucas Gubala moves his inventory to Ronald Records. My final workshops at Birdhouse Books will take place from 9-12 on May 24 and June 28. You can learn more about these workshops on the Creative Writing Workshops page of the Printed Matter Vancouver website.
I am very grateful to Lucas Gubala, Sarah Summerhill, Kirsten Hull, and all of the volunteers and customers who made Birdhouse Books a home for our poetry community. I will miss the cozy environs, the freeflowing tea, and the wonderful and generous Local Authors section. I am among the poets whose books could always be found on their shelves. Few have done more to support local writers.
Here is Lucas’s announcement regarding the move: “Birdhouse Books will be migrating! We will now share space with the incredibly groovy Ronald Records. Construction will be happening alongside the Main Street project, but you can look forward to a new space to browse books and records very soon. This does mean that our events will be put on hold after next first Friday (June 6), but stay tuned to https://birdhousebooks.store/ and @Birdhousebookstore on Instagram for announcements and call to action while we are moving. Thank you all!”
I encourage the community to continue to support Birdhouse Books as they make this transition.
There are still openings in my Monday morning poetry workshop at Multnomah Arts Center https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/portlandparks/activity/search/detail/179938
And my time travel workshop at the Plas Newydd Farm:
https://pnfarm.com/event/summer-solstice-time-travel-workshop/
You can learn more about these workshops on the Creative Writing Workshops page of the Printed Matter Vancouver website: https://printedmattervancouver.com/creative-writing-workshops/
Congratulations to Brian Rohr on the publication of The Stafford Challenge Anthology. Full details below: https://wildpoetpress.com/anthology/
I really enjoyed Mike Garofalo's collage poem featuring statements on writing and creativity, a shorter version of which he shared at Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic on May 8:
https://www.gardendigest.com/poetry/25SBottomLine.htm
Writing Prompts by 2024 Poet Laureate Fellow Arianne True
https://poets.org/text/writing-prompts-2024-poet-laureate-fellow-arianne-true
RIP Alice Notley, with whom I studied at the Kerouac School and who was one of my first publishers:
THE WORK
POETRY NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JUNE 1: Youth Uptown Poetry at Metallion Café (Vancouver, WA)
JUNE 4: Building Our Library One Story at a Time at Washougal High School Auditorium (Washougal, WA)
JUNE 6: First Friday Poetry Night! With Portland poets Douglas Spangle, Michael Shay, and M. F. McAuliffe at Birdhouse Books (Vancouver)
JUNE 7: Portland Book Week at Autumn Leaf Books featuring local poets Clark County Poet Laureate Susan Dingle and Christopher Luna (Camas, WA)
JUNE 8: The Studio Series Poetry Reading & Open Mic Featuring Judith Barrington and Ingrid Wendt
At Ross Island Grocery & Café (Portland, OR)
JUNE 11: Belle Geste at Froelick Gallery (Portland)
JUNE 12: Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Featuring Brian Stephen Ellis at Art At The Cave (Vancouver)
JUNE 16: In Memory Series continues at Hawthorne Hideaway Featuring Emmett Wheatfall (Portland)
JUNE 20: Summer Solstice Celebration featuring Eric Fair-Layman, Brittany Mishra, Jennifer Pratt-Walter and Christopher Luna plus yoga, sound meditation, and crafts at the O.O. Howard House (Vancouver)
JUNE 20: Rectified Spirits Book Launch for Tommy Gaffney’s whiskey Days featuring Brittany Baldwin, Jalin Malin and your emcee Ulric Dowley and CD Release Party for Silo Gathering at Havalina (Portland)
JUNE 21: Summer Solstice Time Travel Workshop with Christopher Luna at Plas Newydd Farm (Ridgefield, WA)
JUNE 26: The Salem Poetry Project Featuring David Rutiezer at Bush Barn Annex (Salem, OR)
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST: Slamlandia Open Mic Calendar, The Stafford Challenge Anthology
Edited By Brian Rohr
JUNE 1
YOUTH UPTOWN POETRY
Where: Metallion Cafe 1906 Main St, Vancouver, WA
Who: Ages 18 and Under
When: Sunday, June 1, 2025, 5p-6:15p
Hosts: Rachel Hunter & Elmo Shade
Contact: Rachel Hunter @ 360-750-5693
Guidelines for Readers:
Family friendly means we always create a safe & inclusive platform for all readings
If your poem would upset a parent or a child attending the open mic, you should choose another poem
3 minutes / one poem per reader per round
If your poem is sensitive and you wish to have a 24 hr period absent of questions or discussion, let the co-host know before you read
JUNE 4
Building Our Library One Story at a Time
June 4 @ 6:30 pm
Washougal High School Auditorium
1201 39th St
Washougal, WA 98671
Bards and Town Criers, Druids and Scherezade: Story Tellers are part of history and a resurgent force today. The Moth, Snap Judgement, and more – are examples of the state of the story telling art in current culture. Friends of the Washougal Library are bringing the story telling art to Washougal.
In addition, there are some very exciting silent auction items available at the event. Be sure to bring some friends.
Poetry, stories and music will be presented, in support of the Washougal Library Building Fund. This is a mature audience event, appropriate for adults and teens.
See you there: Washougal High School Auditorium
TICKETS
$10 – $20
Teen Tickets: $10
Washougal High School
1201 39th Street
Washougal, WA 98671
https://washougallibraryfriends.org/event/building-our-library-one-story-at-a-time/
JUNE 6
First Friday Poetry Night!
With Portland poets Douglas Spangle, Michael Shay, and M. F. McAuliffe
Friday, June 6, 2025
7:00-8:30 PM
Birdhouse Books
1001 Main Street
Vancouver, WA, 98660
This reading is free and open to the public.
Birdhouse Books and Christopher Luna welcome Portland poets Douglas Spangle, Michael Shay, and M. F. McAuliffe to June’s First Friday Poetry Night!
First Friday Poetry Night! is a poetry series featuring an everchanging slate of talented local poets hosted by Birdhouse Books and Christopher Luna. Catch us on First Friday at 7pm in the heart of VDA’s Art Walk. Drop by early to browse the books, soak in the art, and pick up some delicious treats upstairs at Short & Sweet before the show.
Note: This will be our final reading at this location because Birdhouse Books will be relocating at the end of June. Full details in the announcement below.
Holbrook Award winner Douglas Spangle will read from his collection, A White Concrete Day.
Michael Shay will read from his collection, The Words I Own
M. F. McAuliffe will read from her chapbook, The Fires
Douglas Spangle was born in Roanoke, Virginia and raised in a Park Service family, living in various western states in childhood. In 1966 his family moved overseas and he spent the latter two of his high school years in Ankara, Turkey. He later spent four years as a stagehand at the Münchener Kammerspiele Schauspielhaus. For many years he studied and translated the poems of Peter Huchel; he is currently translating the Swiss-German poems of Clemens Umbricht and Florian Vetsch. His own poems have been widely published and are founded on his lifelong habit of precise observation: of the natural world – the actions and habits of its human and non-human inhabitants, the light in still life that becomes transcendent.
Michael Shay was born in Ludwigschafen am Rein in Germany and grew up in Chicago. At the University of Iowa he studied with Louise Gluck, was chosen to attend the summer session of the Iowa graduate Poetry Workshop, & studied with Marvin Bell. He also holds a Master of Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary and Experimental Art. He is co-editor of two anthologies from the Broken Word poetry reading series at the Alberta Street Pub in Northwest Portland, 2004-2007. His work has appeared in literary journals including The South Carolina Review, Nimrod, and Rhino.
M. F. McAuliffe made her U.S. debut in Damon Knight’s The Clarion Awards. Her work has appeared in the Australian science fiction poetry anthology The Stars Like Sand, and in translation in Poezija (Zagreb), and Thraca (Athens). Her long poem “Orpheus” was staged by La Mama (Melbourne) as “Orpheus, an Australian Tragedy” at the Courthouse Theatre, Carlton, in May 2000. A long-time resident of Portland, Oregon, she is co-founder and co-editor of the Portland-based, multilingual journal Gobshite Quarterly, and also edits titles for the quarterly’s offshoot press, Reprobate/GobQ Books.
ANNOUNCEMENT from Birdhouse Books owner Lucas Gubala: Birdhouse Books will be migrating! We will now share space with the incredibly groovy Ronald Records. Construction will be happening alongside the Main Street project, but you can look forward to a new space to browse books and records very soon. This does mean that our events will be put on hold after next first Friday (June 6), but stay tuned to
https://birdhousebooks.store/
and @Birdhousebookstore on Instagram for announcements and call to action while we are moving. Thank you all!
JUNE 7
Portland Book Week at Autumn Leaf Books featuring local poets Clark County Poet Laureate Susan Dingle and Christopher Luna
Autumn Leaf Books - Local Authors *on weekends
Saturday, June 7, 2025
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
334 Northeast 4th Avenue
Camas, WA
https://autumnleafbookstore.com/
Portland Book Week June 6-15, 2025
https://www.portlandbookweek.com/
Spend a week exploring 60+ independent booksellers in the Portland and Vancouver areas.
Bookstore Crawl - Visit as many local, independent bookstores as you can. Pick up a bingo card at any one of the participating bookstores.
Literary Events - Check out the many literary events happening across town at various bookstore lcations
Rose City Book and Paper Fair - Stop by the Rose City Book and Paper Fair at the end of this year’s book week.
Raffles and Giveaways - Complete bingos for a chance to win prizes! Giveaways and discounts at select bookstores, too!
Exclusive merchandise - Pick up an exclusive PBW 2025 tote bag at participating stores!
JUNE 8
The Studio Series Poetry Reading & Open Mic
June 8, 2025 (Sunday) 7:00 PM
Ross Island Grocery & Café, 3502 S Corbett Ave., Portland 97239
Featuring Judith Barrington and Ingrid Wendt
Judith Barrington has published five collections of poetry, most recently Long Love: New and Collected Poems (Salmon Press). Previous titles include The Conversation, History and Geography, Horses and the Human Soul, and Trying to be an Honest Woman. Her work also includes two chapbooks: Postcard from the Bottom of the Sea and Lost Lands (winner of the Robin Becker Chapbook Award). Her Lifesaving: A Memoir won the 2000 Lambda Literary Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir. Her most recent book is Virginia’s Apple: Collected Memoirs (OSU Press, 2024). Other awards include The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Prize, The Clackamas Review Poetry Award, The Andres Berger Award, and, with her partner, Ruth Gundle, The Stuart Holbrook Award “in recognition of significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s literary community.” Her best-selling text, Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, is used by colleges and writing groups in the U.S., Germany, and Australia. She was a faculty member of the University of Alaska’s MFA Program and lives in Oregon. www.judithbarrington.com.
Ingrid Wendt is the author of five full-length books of poems, the first of which, Moving the House, was chosen for BOA Editions by William Stafford, who wrote the introduction. Co-editor of the anthology In Her Own Image: Women Working in the Arts (Feminist Press) and of the Oregon Poetry Anthology, From Here We Speak (OSU Press). Ingrid has taught at all educational levels, including the Antioch Los Angeles MFA program and as a three-time Senior Fulbright professor in Germany. Honors include the Oregon Book Award, the Editions Prize, the Carolyn Kizer Award, four Pushcart nominations, and several features on Garrison Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac.”
Recent poems appear in Poetry, About Place, Calyx, American Poetry Review, Terrain, Tikkun, and River Heron Review, where she was one of four finalists in the 2024 Editors Prize. Her most recent publication, “The Unassailable Heart,” received an honorable mention in the 2025 Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize in Poetry. Trained as a classical pianist and organist and married for 48 years to the late poet and writer Ralph Salisbury, Ingrid sings with the Eugene (Oregon) Concert Choir and volunteers as an exhibit interpreter at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. For more, see https://ingridwendt.com
The Open Mic is open to all audience members. Participants can sign up before the start of the reading or during the break. In the interest of time, Open Mic readers are asked to limit their reading to three minutes.
View clips of featured poets reading at the Studio Series on Instagram @poet_landia and on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1281329966139780/
The Ross Island Grocery and Café is a cozy space with capacity for 40 or so people. Tables are available, so people who arrive early can enjoy a light supper (i.e., a sandwich, salad or burger) while waiting for the reading to begin. If we run out of table space, folding chairs are available. A mic will enhance the readings. There is plenty of unrestricted parking on the streets around the Café.
JUNE 11
On June 11, 2025, we will gather together at the Froelick Gallery in Portland, Oregon in a poetic acknowledgment of beauty. Let it manifest in word and in gesture, as a step forward, a fluid position, a stance, a dance, a motion, a message. A toast.
As we searched for the beautiful gesture in the history of the world, we found the French dictum Beau Geste. Lovely as it sounds, this gesture is so magnanimous and fine that it steps aside, and lets others act, win or lose.
But let us not step aside. The Belle Geste steps up. In all the political acts which can transpire, a stand for beauty is necessary.
This reading is also inspired by the return of Robin Rosemond, a poet who read here in Portland throughout the decades of the 70s, 80s and 90s. She visits in celebration of the exhibition of Lauren Mantecon at Froelick and in return, we celebrate her.
Poets of the evening:
Nathan Nakonieczny
Laurence Lillvik
Richard Speer
Diana Milia
Robin Rosemond
Eva Lake
Laurence
JUNE 12
Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Featuring Brian Stephen Ellis
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Morgan Paige
7 pm
Thursday, June 12
Art At The Cave
108 E Evergreen Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98660
https://artatthecave.com
ANTI-RACIST, LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, PRO-SCIENCE, ANTI-FASCIST,
PRO-CHOICE, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004
https://printedmattervancouver.com/
$5 Suggested donation
No one will be turned away for lack of funds
Donations can be made in person or through Christopher Luna’s CashApp account (ChristopherLuna9).
Brian Stephen Ellis is the author of five collections of poetry and one collection of short fiction. His most recent collection of poems, Against Common Sense, is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. He is also the recipient of the 2014 William Stafford War No More Award. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Send an email to printedmattervancouver@gmail.com or visit
to register to receive The Work, Christopher Luna's monthly newsletter featuring news and events for poets in Vancouver, WA, Portland, OR and surrounding areas.
The Ghost Town Poetry community respectfully encourages you to support Niche Wine Bar, whose owner, Leah Jackson, provided a home for the reading series from 2015-2020. Stop by their new location at 900 Washington, Suite 130 Vancouver, WA 98660: https://nichewinebar.com.
JUNE 16
JUNE 20
Culture & Heritage Series: Summer Solstice Celebration
June 20 @ 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
O.O. Howard House
750 Anderson St.
Vancouver, WA 98661
https://www.thehistorictrust.org/calendar/summer-solstice-celebration/
Join us as we welcome the longest day of the year with connection and celebration! Enjoy solstice-themed poetry and spoken word, gentle yoga, sound meditation and a fun craft activity, as we usher in the summer season. FREE event. Open to all. Bring along a mat if you plan on joining yoga.
Feel free to arrive (and leave) any time during the event!
Celebration Schedule:
5:30 pm – informal gathering together; work on craft activity
6:00 pm - 6:45 pm – poetry reading featuring Eric Fair-Layman, Brittany Mishra, Jennifer Pratt-Walter and your emcee, Christopher Luna
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm- yoga on the lawn closing with a sound meditation
8:00 pm – 8:30 pm – craft activity
JUNE 20
JUNE 21
Summer Solstice Time Travel Workshop
June 21 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
$100.00
Plas Newydd Farm
33415 NW Lancaster Rd.
Ridgefield, WA 98642
https://pnfarm.com/event/summer-solstice-time-travel-workshop/
Write your way into summer with Christopher Luna!
Join poet Christopher Luna and PN Farm Arts initiator Abby Braithwaite on a guided hike featuring writing exercises related to the beginning of summer and poetry’s magical ability to stretch and/or accelerate time.
We will walk and write our way through the summer solstice. This workshop is open to writers of all levels. Writers will be given the opportunity to generate and share new writing throughout the day, as we explore the beauty of Plas Newydd Farm.
Light breakfast, coffee, tea and water will be provided. Please bring a notebook and pen, a sack lunch, water bottle and appropriate shoes and clothes to be out in the weather. At this time of year, mosquitoes can be quite active on the farm, so bring your best defense! We will have bug spray available.
Please note: If you have accessibility needs, please reach out and we will work to accommodate you. While we strive to make our workshops accessible to all, we are located in a historical home that does not have accessible restrooms at this point; our lowest entrance has two steps to enter; and this workshop is planned to be out on the land on uneven ground.
We do not require masks at most events, but we do have masks available on site, and run high quality air filters, and ask that if you are not feeling well, please stay home. Refunds or credit for a future workshop can be made available.
We do have a scholarship fund! Reach out to arts@pnfarm.com to request financial aid for this workshop, or with any accessibility questions. We’re creative folks and will make it work if we can!
About the instructor:
Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, teacher, writing coach, and artist who served as the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Clark County, WA from 2013-2017. Luna has an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. He is the co-founder, with Toni Lumbrazo Luna, of Printed Matter Vancouver, an editing service and small press for Northwest writers. He and Morgan Paige co-host the LGBTQ+ friendly, all ages and uncensored Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic in Vancouver, WA, founded by Christopher in 2004. Christopher Luna’s books include Voracity (Lightship Press, 2022), Exchanging Wisdom: A Guide for Parents of the Autonomous (The Poetry Box, 2021 with Angelo Luna), Message from the Vessel in a Dream (Flowstone Press, 2018), Brutal Glints of Moonlight, and The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978 (Big Bridge).
JUNE 26
The Salem Poetry Project Featuring David Rutiezer
7pm
June 26
Bush Barn Annex
600 Mission St SE
Salem, OR
97302
David Rutiezer, grandchild of Jewish immigrants, grew up in Illinois and Massachusetts and lives in Portland, Oregon. He has an MFA in Creative Writing and a TESL certificate, and tutors at Portland Community College and online. His debut poetry chapbook Other Dances was published in 2025, his poems have appeared in many anthologies, and he's a founding member of December First Writers. David enjoys singing and playing piano and ukulele for folks of all ages, has recorded a children's album, and volunteers at the Oregon Holocaust Memorial.
The Salem Poetry Project continues at the Bush Barn Annex, 600 Mission St SE, Salem. Parking for the Bush Barn and Bush House is located off of High Street and the Annex entrance is just to the left of the main entrance. Each week will present a featured reader followed by the Infamous Open Mic: 3 poems or five minutes whichever is first. Featured reader begins at 7:00 and the open mic will directly follow. For more information contact Marc Janssen at mrcjanssen@msn.com.
https://salemart.org/events-exhibitions/
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
From Julia Gaskill:
This is the June calendar to help y'all find poetry shows in / around Portland, OR. Below you'll find the names of readings, locations, times, and what all these events entail.
(Important notes: Moment of Truth is taking June off, and Slamlandia's third Thursday show is pushed back one week (just for June!))
++ Monday, June 2nd: The Last Stand Wildwood - Wildwood Saloon, 8:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Thursday, June 5th: Slamlandia - Guilder, 6:30pm - poetry open mic
++ Saturday, June 7th: Slam Olympics (a fundraiser for The Bigfoot Poetry Festival) - Urbanite, 7:00pm - poetry showcase + auction & raffle
++ Sunday, June 8th: The People's Poets - Akadi PDX, 1:30pm - BIPOC poetry open mic
++ Monday, June 9th - The Living Room Open Mic - Covert Cafe, 7:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Thursday, June 12th: Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic - Art At The Cave (Vancouver, WA), 7:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Thursday, June 12th: Constellation Reading Series - Bishop & Wilde, 7:00pm - showcased literary reading
++ Thursday, June 12th: No Quiet In This Room - Skyclad Emporium, 6:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Friday, June 13th: Portland Lit Mic - Rose City Book Pub, 7:00pm - literary open mic
++ Sunday, June 15th: Sundays on the Avenue - St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 4:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Monday, June 16th: In Memory Reading Series - Alberta Street Pub, 7:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Thursday, June 26th: Slamlandia - Literary Arts, 7:00pm - poetry open mic + poetry slam
++ Sunday, June 29th: Humble Poets Open Mic - The Stacks Coffeehouse, 4:00pm - poetry open mic
++ Sunday, June 29th: Poetry for Palestine - Swana Rose Cultural Center, 6:30pm - poetry open mic
#pdxart #pdxartist #pdxpoetry #pdxpoets #poetry #slam #slampoetry #poetryslam #portland #portlandpoetry #portlandoregon #slamlandia #poetrycommunity
The Stafford Challenge Anthology
Edited By Brian Rohr
Over 200 poems from an international community of poets who committed to writing a poem a day for a year. Featuring original work from acclaimed poets like Kim Stafford, Naomi Shihab Nye, CMarie Fuhrman, and more, this collection represents just a fraction of the thousands of poems written between January 17, 2024, and January 16, 2025, by the poets of The Stafford Challenge community. Inspired by the daily writing practice of William Stafford, these writers—from seasoned poets to those discovering their voices—dedicated themselves to this yearlong poetic journey, and each poem here stands as a tribute to that commitment.
This collection is a celebration of the creative spirit, dedicated to anyone who has ever felt the deep pull of language, creativity, and the desire to express something potent and true.
Poets Included in the Anthology
Mary Anne Abdo, Amber Albritton, Stacy Allen, Lesley Barker, Jessi Kim, and Pamir Kiciman, After Jackals, Linda Knowlton Appel, Ann Arbor, Samantha Arthurs, Kate Ballew, Leita Barlow, Tyler Barrett, Gretchen Bartels-Ray, Regina Beach, Christine Beauchaine, Sarah Beckett, Anita Bondi, Karen Bonnell, Patricia Brenneman, Deb Brod, Susan Brown, Jennifer Browne, Rebecca Burgener, Sarah Diamond Burroway, Kendall S. Cable, Jillian Calahan, Sam Calhoun, Necia Campbell, Nancy Capranica Carlson, Diane Carmony, C.A. Carpenter, Mary Carter, Jenn Cavanaugh, Dela Coleman-Posey, Tim Conroy, Margaret Coombs, Susan Michele Coronel, Lisa Cottrell, Cathren Cougill, Glenda Cowen-Funk, Barbara Crary, Colette Crown, Karla Daniel, Laura Daniels, Jeanice Eagan Davis, Lee Desrosiers, Tamera Neilson Dobbins, Branwen Drew, Barbara Edler, Whisper Edwards, Aaliyah El-Amin, Leslie Enzian, Karin Evans, R.G. Evans, Helena Fagan, Anna Finch, Mary Eichhorn Fletcher, Judith-Kate Friedman, Tammy Forner, CMarie Fuhrman, Kathleen Fullerton, Trina Gaynon, Pharaohs, Cathy George, Fred Gerhard, Tanya Gogo, Renata Golden, Becky Goodwin, Ali Grimshaw, Susan Haifleigh, Emilia Haley, Jonathan Hall, Katherine Hancock, MJ Hatfield, Christine Havens, Melissa Helton, Haley Hnatuk, Bob Hoeppner, Jonathan Horwitz, Robert Hughes, Marie Linde Husby, Shelli Hutchinson, Mary Imo-Stike, Cynthia Jacobi, Holly Jahangiri, Nancy Jentsch, Kim Johnson, Marilyn Johnston, Libby Falk Jones, Lisa Kagan, Gayle Kaune, Sarah Keeney, Ellen Girardeau Kempler, Pamela Kenley-Meschino, Liz Kingsley, Sabrina Kirby, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Denise Krebs, Michael Lainoff, Martha Landman, Christina Valentine Larsen, M.E. Lee, Cathy Cultice Lentes, Deanna Lernihan, Kath Lieffort, Anna Christine Linder-Skach, Susan J. Littlefield, Svetlana Litvinchuk, Kristinoel Ludwig, Emilie Lygren, M. L. Lyons, Dory Maguire, Stacie Marinelli, Dorothy P. Marshall, Catherine Lynn Martell, Karen McCaskey, Jay McCoy, Tod McCoy, Megan McDonald, Wendy McVicker, Paige Mengel, Abby Meysenburg, Kimberly A. Miller, Paula Baughman Miller, Clayton Moon, Misha Moon, Kate McCarroll Moore, Chandra Tyler Mountain, Charly Mullan, NanLeah, Bonnie Naradzay, Joseph Neely, Will Nixon, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jenny Olson, Carol Clemente O’Malley, Heather Oneal, Diane O’Neill, Kate O’Neill, Asher Packman, Donna M. Padgett, Steve Paul, Jane Pearson, Sarah Josephine Pennington, Charles A. Perrone, Shannon Perry, Crissy Anderson Peters, Mary Louise Peters, Jennifer Pratt-Walter, Vanessa Proctor, Quigley Provost-Landrum, Melissa Rankin, Cindy Redman, Amy Le Ann Richardson, Cathy Rigg, Kaci Rigney, Richard Robbins, Sheila DC Robertson, Zoé Y. Robles, Adriana Rocha, Joe Roche, Tamarah Rockwood, Shelly Rodrigue, Brian Rohr, Jennifer Rood, Michael Running, June Crawford Sanders, Leslayann Schecterson, Lisa Shahon, Ron Shapiro, Erin T. Sim, Margaret Simon, Andy Smith, Gerard Donnelly Smith, Nora Snyder, Liane Sousa, Kim Stafford, Kristina Stapleton, John Stickney, D. Yohanna Storm, Mark Strohschein, Jessica Swafford, David M. Sweet, Connie Taylor, Jo Taylor, Dawn Thompson, David Traylor, Kathryn True, Gail Hathaway Tupper, Lesley Tyson, Mary Vee, Jayne R. Vondrak, Lynn J. Walters, Cathy Warner, Seth Warren, Crystal L. White, Jennifer R. White, Brenda Wildrick, Dana Wildsmith, Tim Wiles, Jake Williams, Steve Williams, Jessica Wolf, Beth Wolfe, Gloria Wu, Diosa Xochiquetzaclcóatl, Anya Zamiar, Norma Zimmermann
About The Stafford Challenge
The Stafford Challenge is a yearlong international poetry project inspired by the daily writing practice of poet William Stafford. Launched on January 17, 2024—Stafford’s birthday—by poet and storyteller Brian Rohr, the challenge invites participants to write a poem every day for a year. In the inaugural year, over 1,150 poets from 28 countries and 49 U.S. states (plus DC) signed up to participate. Now in its second year with over 1,200 participants, this challenge is a celebration of daily creativity, community, and the belief that poetry can help us navigate and make meaning of the world around us. The project is free to join and welcomes writers of all levels. Click here to learn more.