Featured Poets 2026
January 5, 2026
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EvPN regular who writes short impactful poems. ​
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January 12, 2026
Ginger Zyskowski
Ginger Zyskowski is a Kansas native who, at the early age of two, was enrolled in
tap dancing lessons which eventually led to a long career as a percussionist, a
performer and music educator. Ginger graduated high school from the
Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI, and completed a Bachelor’s degree
and a Master’s degree in music from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Ginger’s main focus was music, but as an elementary student, she also discovered
a love for the rhythms and melodies of poetry. She has had poems published in
several anthologies, newsletters, and was chosen 1 of 20 winners for ‘Out on a
Limb: poetry in the trees’ - celebrating 60 years for the Evergreen Arboretum and
Gardens in Everett, WA. Ginger published her first chapbook, ‘Love and Lovers’, in
2021 and her second chapbook, ‘Another Think Coming! Poems and Stuff’ in 2022.
Ginger’s book of poetry and prose, ‘In a Word’, was published in 2023, has
beautiful illustrations, and offers a unique look at the alphabet that adults as well as children can enjoy.
Her most recent project was the publication and release of her memoir,
‘Shattered-One Woman’s True Story of Trauma, Coercive Control and Survival.’
“The life of a 32-year-old professional musician, university instructor and mother of 3,
is thrown into chaos when her young children are abducted and she is viciously kidnapped.
The author shares her harrowing true story here for the first time.”
Available on Amazon – Hard Copy and Kindle
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January 19, 2026
Victoria Buritsch​
Victoria “Moueska” Buritsch (41) is a journalist, a writer of short stories, a novelist, poet, a papercut artist, as well as an artist of other mediums. She is a member of Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the Guild of American Paper Cutters. Victoria has been writing since as long as she can remember. There was a story creation video game that she used to play when she was little that taught her the basics of how to create characters and make actions into the flow of a story. Her mother taught her to be an avid reader, and her father taught her to love theater and the spoken word. Victoria was first published in St Louis, Missouri, in 8th grade as an editorial for the St Louis Post-Dispatch. Since then she has been published in The Everett Herald Business Journal, The Prompt magazine, the Vial of Bones Zine, and will hopefully be involved in a few anthologies between now and when she performs at poetry night. She writes about once a month on her blog, about twice a week on threads with a poem or two every week or so, she has a once monthly substack, and a few recurring characters and settings. Although she had a long history of customer service she has moved into writing and art as her preferred career move. She has a 16 year old son and co-parents with his dad. Come for the poetry, stay for the art.
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January 26, 2026
Eugene Marckx​
Eugene Marckx studied at the University of Washington under Theodore Roethke, in the last year of the poet’s life, He spent his employed years working on the floor of a large bakery and raising five children in a slowly failing marriage. His writing comes from hard questions he confronts in a local men’s group in Snohomish County, A Gathering of Men, where he is the storyteller. His poems have appeared in terrain.org, Cathexis Northwest, and recently in the anthology, I Sing the Salmon Home, Empty Bowl Press (2023) edited by Rena Priest, which won the Washington State Poetry prize in 2024. For 26 years he has lived in the foothills of the North Cascades, near the Pilchuck and Stillaguamish Rivers. Along with Susanne, the love of his life, fellow poets and friends — this clear-cut terrain, long inhabited by indigenous peoples, holds a subtle influence on him.
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February 2, 2026
Josie Emmons Turner
I am a poet, educator, traveler, art lover. My career has been divided between all of these fields for over 30 years.
In 2011 – 2013 I was honored to serve as Tacoma Poet Laureate and my poetry has been published in High Shelf Press, California Quarterly, Floating Bridge Review, Creative Colloquy, and other journals and anthologies. In addition to writing poetry, I have also written fiction and non-fiction prose.
I am a National Board Certified Teacher and have taught AP Literature, Senior English, and Writing at the secondary level, introductory writing classes at the post-secondary level, as well as poetry workshops and seminars.
I hold a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. My BA is in Humanities (Music and Journalism) from Seattle University.
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Josie Emmons Turner released her new book, More Blue, in May 2025.
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"In More Blue, Josie Emmons Turner brings us the life of her husband, Northwest painter William Turner, in his own words, weaving his story as artist, Navy sailor, traveler with hers as poet, lover, wife. In his sailor voice, we range from the China Sea to the Mekong Delta, and in his traveler’s voice, from the Serengeti to Khartoum, his artist’s eye informing his words, his language alternately sailor coarse and lyrical. Framing his words with hers, the poet explores art, love, and loss, weaving a colorful tapestry, a moving affirmation of their lives together, the power of love, and a testimony to the power of art to overcome loss."
—Holly J. Hughes, author of Hold Fast (Empty Bowl Press, 2021)
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Josie Emmons Turner – Writer, Educator, Traveler
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February 9, 2026
Michael Daley
Michael Daley was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He later took vows
and prepared to become a Catholic priest. Upon leaving religious life, he was wild in the
streets, protesting wars and seeking a life of experience. He holds a B.A. from the
University of Massachusetts and an M.F.A. from the University of Washington. He was
a Harvard Summer Associate for the Epicurus/Lucretius Symposium of 1993, and
Fulbright Exchange teacher in Hungary from 2001-2002. His poems have appeared in
American Poetry Review, Hudson Review, Ploughshares, New England Review, Rhino,
North American Review, Writers Almanac, Raven Chronicles, Seattle Review,
Jeopardy, Prairie Schooner, Cirque, Alaska Quarterly Review, Cascadia Review, and
elsewhere. He is the founding editor of Empty Bowl Press, publisher of the Dalmo’ma
series of anthologies among other titles; former Poet-in-Residence for the Washington
State Arts Commission, the Skagit River Poetry Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural
Council, and a retired English Instructor for Mount Vernon High School. His reviews
and essays have appeared in Pacific Northwest Review of Books, Raven Chronicles,
Port Townsend Leader, Book/Mark Quarterly Review, and elsewhere, and collected in
his book of essays: Way Out There/Lyrical Essays (Aequitas, NYC, 2008). He has
published a translation entitled Alter Mundus (Pleasure Boat Studio, NYC, 2013) of
original poems by Italian poet Lucia Gazzino. In addition to seven chapbooks, one of
which is a translation of some of the Odes of Horace, he has published seven full-length
collections of poetry: The Straits (Empty Bowl, Port Townsend,1983), To Curve
(WordTech Communications, Cincinnati, 2007), Moonlight in the Redemptive Forest
(Pleasure Boat Studio, NYC, 2010). Of a Feather (Empty Bowl, 2016), Born With (Dos
Madres, 2020), Reinhabited: New & Selected Poems (Dos Madres, 2022) and True
Heresies (Cervena Barva, 2022). In 2022 Pleasure Boat Studio released his first novel,
Telemachus. His collection, Ground Work, will be published by Ravenna Press in
Edmonds, Washington, in 2025. He has been awarded by the Washington State Arts
Commission, Seattle Arts Commission, Artist Trust, Fulbright, and the National
Endowment of the Humanities. He is a retired teacher, and lives with his wife in
Anacortes, Washington.​
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February 16, 2026
David Rutiezer​
David Rutiezer, the grandchild of Jewish immigrants, was born on May 2, 1968, in Skokie, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, and raised in Illinois and Massachusetts. The only child of a teacher mother and a computer programmer father, he spent his childhood writing poetry and puppet shows, singing his own songs, folk dancing, and entertaining the many elders in his family, including his grandparents, great-grandparents, and great aunt and uncle. David’s parents encouraged him from a young age to express his creativity, and to learn about the various ethnic cultures in the Chicago area.
David writes poetry and articles, is a trained actor, sings and plays keyboard and ukulele and performs a one-man musical variety show, has taught International folk dancing, and is available for writing, editing, and educational projects. He holds a BA in Creative Writing and Theater Arts, and has a background in arts education, music therapy, and geriatric wellness. He enjoys working with people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. You can read more about David’s work by going to the mission page of this website.
David Rutiezer has an MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop and TESL certification. He has also volunteered for several community organizations, including the Cascade Festival of African Films, Friends of William Stafford, and the Oregon Holocaust Memorial, and has been active with Portland Community Dialogues. He has trained to offer creative writing prompts to folks with Alzheimer’s and dementia to access memories and use cognition, language, and intellectual skills. David lives in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area and is open and negotiable to the possibility of travel.
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February 23, 2026
David Johnson
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David has been writing and recording music since 2003 and performing since 2012. With material that brings light to his own experiences while leaving room for listeners to draw parallels of their own, hearing his music is a unique experience. He is set to release his next album "Waiting for Tomorrow's Light" in Fall 2025.
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March 2, 2026
Melanie Reed
Melanie Reed is a writer and visual artist with a creative writing BA from the University of Washington. Publication credits include prose poetry collection “Wholehearted Half-Truths” (Hiraeth Publishing, 2023) speculative fiction/psychological suspense novella "Every Other Day" (Hiraeth Publishing, 2021), and 2018 graphic novel/epic poem/soul collage book artwork "The Scrapbook of Dreams" (University of Washington's Suzzallo Library special collections).
She lives in Seattle, Washington.
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March 9, 2026
Jeffrey Kahrs
Jeffrey Kahrs was born in the Hague, Netherlands and was raised in California not far from San Francisco. After living, writing and teaching in Istanbul, he has returned to Seattle where he lives with his wife and two cats, Ballard Bob and Suzy Lulu.
Over the last few years he has co-edited an issue of the Atlanta Review on poetry in Turkey, been published in Subtropics, and had a chapbook e-published through Gold Wake Press. In 2010 he has been published in Talisman: A Journal of Contemporary Poetry and Poetics, and most recently in Commonline.
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His book, The Far Shore, came out in December 2024.
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In The Far Shore, Jeffrey Kahrs presents a suite of poems that are exacting, poignant and lyrically rich reflections on the various meanings we instill in concepts of home, rootedness, travel, movement and belonging, among other themes. Rooted in histories of both the monumental and the quotidian, these poems situate us in an understanding of fractured time: Kahrs asks us to see ourselves from the outside and to reflect on the reflections of the reflections. I'm grateful for this powerful book. Daniel Borzutzky (Author of The Performance of Becoming Human, 2016 winner of the National Book Award)
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March 16, 2026
Kami Westhoff
Kami Westhoff is the author of the story collection The Criteria and four poetry chapbooks including Sacral, winner of Floating Bridge's John Pierce Chapbook Award. Her work has appeared in journals including Booth, Carve, Fugue, Hippocampus, Grist, Waxwing and West Branch. She teaches creative writing at Western Washington University.
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March 23, 2026
Renée L. Roman Nose
Renée Roman Nose, MAIS, citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, is an activist, artist, motivational speaker, poet, photographer and cultural anthropologist and author of Sweet Grass Talking, published by Uttered Chaos Press. Roman Nose is inspired by historical and contemporary issues. Her CD, The River of Life, is a Spoken Word CD with noted Native flute player, Peter Ali. Her second book is currently with the publisher, with an anticipated release date of Spring 2025, titled: River of Life.
Roman Nose lives and thrives in the Pacific Northwest.
You can reach her on Facebook: Renée L Roman Nose, Instagram: renee_roman_nose, on Bluesky @reneeeomannose.sky.social, www.reneeromannose.com. n Facebook: Renée
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March 30, 2026
E. Grace Dager
Evelyn Grace Dager, who goes by Grace, was born in California in 1962. She has lived in numerous states across the country, choosing the PNW as her home. In 1980 she was a scholarship recipient to the University on Miami for art and writing. She has also attended classes at the Corcoran Gallery School of Art in Washington DC. Dager received her BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in 1989.
Dager has had many 'one man' shows and has participated in many group showings. Dager does not limit expression to painting only and works in video, set design, and performance art. She has appeared and worked in film, including working with the renowned Karl Krogstad. Grace creates recycle art and loves making 'cut up' poetry. E Grace Dager was a Board Member at Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) from 2012-2015. She has worked at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and taught art to terminal cancer patients.
E Grace Dager was listed in the 2017: Who's Who in Visual Art.
Dager currently lives in Everett, Washington. She hosts Gold E Lofts Gallery. Gold ELofts has resumed showings during the Third Thursday Everett Art Walk. Dager currently presents her works at Gallery '33 Stares leading up to her Little Bo’Teek store inside Gold ELofts.
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April 6, 2026
Steve Sibra
Steve Sibra says, “when I was about 4 years old I was crawling around in
my mother’s vegetable garden, on the family farm in Montana, when I
came face to face with a rattlesnake. We both froze. I looked at the
snake. The snake looked back at me. For a moment time stood still.
Then I got up from my hands and knees and walked away. The snake
just laid there on his belly. As far as I know he may still be there. That
experience, more than any other, inspired me to write poetry.”
Steve’s poetry has appeared in dozens of literary journals over the past
several decades; likewise, his short fiction has been sprinkled across the
ultra obscure literary landscape of small press lit mags. Translations
have appeared in another language or two, live readings have occurred
in several western and midwestern states. His book of poetry, SHOES
FOR BABY, was published in 2022 by Swallow Press. He is currently
dabbling at collaboration as lyricist with a popular rock star (something
may come of it, or it may end up like the snake in the vegetable garden
– who can say?).
In any case, Steve will be thrilled to read a mixture of his most recent
and his “vintage” work. You will get 20 or so minutes of it, after which
you will go home and wonder, “what the hell just happened?” Thank
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April 13, 2026
Open Book
A Western Washington Poets Network Anthology
Open Book: A Western Washington Poets Network Anthology features forty contemporary poets from Bellingham to Vancouver, Washington. Edited by Griffith H. Williams, and printed on an antique letterpress, this handsome chapbook is bound to become an instant collector’s item. Selected from a broad range of spoken word venues, each poet adds a vibrant voice to our current state of poetry.
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This limited edition letterpress publication, edited by Griffith H. Williams, features the
work of forty-three Western Washington poets from the Canadian border to the
Columbia River. Published by East Point West Press, and printed on a 114-year-old
Chandler & Price letterpress, the book is scheduled for release, in Everett, on
September 15, 2025.
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April 20, 2026
Kathleen Mckeever
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April 27, 2026
Birdbrains:
An Anthology reading.
Editor Susan Rich
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Birdbrain is due for release during December 2025 from Raven Chronicles.
Eight to 15 poets are expected to represent the anthology. Names will be added as commitments are secured.​
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May 4, 2026
Laura E. Garrard
Laura E. Garrard is a poet and artist living in Port Angeles, Washington. She is also a CranioSacral Therapist, an outdoors recreationist, and a citizen scientist. She grew up in an adventurous family that left the South, lived on the East Coast, and then the West. They explored beloved National Parks on vacation. Garrard’s father told his two daughters tent-time stories based on the histories of these places. On these trips, Garrard wrote nature poetry. Her first poems were published in children’s anthologies and in a local California newspaper.
In college, Garrard studied advertising and public relations (Texas Christian) and news-editorial journalism (University of Tennessee). Her master’s project utilized in-depth interviews with two women, one white and one Black, who were the first in their families to earn college degrees in 1960s South. She reported as an intern for a newspaper in Knoxville before moving to Nashville, where she pursued employment in publishing. Garrard became assistant editor for a collaborative imprint between Country Music Foundation Press and Vanderbilt University Press, and managed an encyclopedia project published by Oxford University. She served as assistant editor, production manager, and a writer for The Journal of Country Music. For over ten years, Garrard worked as an independent proofreader for Rutledge Hill Press and Thomas Nelson Books.
Adventure called her West again, this time to Jackson, Wyoming. There she opened her own complimentary health practice and focused on time outdoors, writing, and painting. In addition to showing art, she contributed poetry and prose to local publications. During the pandemic, her bodywork practice was temporarily shut down. As she reopened it, Garrard sought aid for hip discomfort and received a jolting blood cancer diagnosis, a plasmacytoma. This eventually progressed into multiple myeloma. Her husband accepted a job on the Olympic Peninsula, and they moved to new mountains. Garrard found supportive writing groups, through which she developed her poetry, now published nationally and internationally.
Her health has been well-managed, yet her radiated hip has limited her mobility. Garrard has spoken against ableism and discrimination toward cancer patients through her poetry. Still, much of her work is inspired by Nature. Her first book, Paddling the Sweet Spot Between Life and Death, will be published by Finishing Line Press in late March 2026 with presales beginning on November 24, 2025.
Her poem, “Homage to My Radiated Hip,” was selected as a finalist in Bellevue Literary Review’s poetry prize, and “Hugging Alder” was awarded a Merit Prize and Pushcart Prize nomination by TulipTree Review. You may also read her work in The Madrona Project, Amethyst Review, Silver Birch, and her series “Poetry That Fits” on Penn Medicine’s OncoLink.org. Plus, Garrard writes a blog incorporating her poetry, art and nature photography: PoetryinTime.com.
Laura E. Garrard – Author & Artist
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May 11, 2026
Ann Spiers​
Ann Spiers lives on Vashon Island, across Puget Sound from Seattle, Washington. She was Vashon Island’s inaugural poet laureate, stewards Vashon Town’s Poetry Post, volunteers in the island’s beach survey looking for invasive green crabs.
She is a practiced presenter. She edited literary journals, produced writing festivals and reading series, judged/selected for contests and retreats, joined panels, served as a King County arts commissioner, and was awarded writing residences at UW’s Whiteley Center, Hedgebrook, and Espy Foundation.
Her poems are widely published. In 2021, Black Heron Press, Seattle, published Back Cut, and Empty Bowl published Rain Violent. Her chapbook Harpoon is from Ravenna Press. Her poetry chapbooks are What Rain Does (Egress Studio, Bellingham) and Bunker Trail (Finishing Line). Other chapbooks are The Herodotus Poems (Brooding Heron, Waldron Is.), Long Climb into Grace (FootHills, New York), and letterpress editions of Volcano Blue, Tide Turn, and A Wild Taste (May Day Press, Shelton WA). These letterpress volumes individually are included in the Cynthia Sears Collection at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Special Collections of U. of Washington, Stanford U, London’s British Library, Portland’s Multnomah County Library, U of Puget Sound, and many private collections.
She attended the University of Washington, eventually earning a MA in English Lit and Creative Writing with focus on plays and poems.
From the book cover blurb: “In the opening lines of Wild Cucumber, Ann Spiers writes, “leaving / I walk left into morning glory / no shortcuts.” In her latest full-length collection, Spiers’s poems reveal intimate human yearning, draping events with the lush and rugged backdrops she travels as girl, woman, mother, grandmother, teacher, lover, hiker, writer, outsider, insider. Interweaving distinctive imagery of natural and made landscapes with details of local, political, and women’s history, these poems explore the islands, beaches, and volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest; the canyonlands of the Southwest; and visits to Mexico and Thailand. In Wild Cucumber, Spiers invites us along on her enduring journey with no shortcuts offered or needed.”
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Ann Spiers – Ann Spiers writer and inaugural poet of Vashon Island follow on Twitter @AnnSpiers
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May 18, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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May 25, 2026
Eric R. Kosarot
Eric is an interdisciplinary artist living on Ebey Island in Snohomish County. Besides a person of letters,
paintings, and songs, Eric also farms, gardens, and is an equestrian worker.
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June 1, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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June 8, 2026
Veronica Kornberg
Veronica is a poet based in the town of Pescadero, on the Central Coast of California. She is a recipient of the Wandering Aengus Book Award in Poetry, and the Morton Marcus Poetry Prize. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net, Best New Poets and the Pushcart Prize. Veronica's poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Poet Lore, New Ohio Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, RHINO Poetry, Plume, Calyx, Salamander, Indiana Review, Rattle, and Catamaran Literary Reader. Her debut poetry collection will be published by Wandering Aengus Press in early 2026. Veronica is a Peer Reviewer for Whale Road Review, an explorer of tidepools, and a habitat gardener.
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June 15, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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June 22, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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June 29, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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July 6, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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July 13, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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July 20, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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July 27, 2026
Leah Mueller
Leah Mueller is the author of ten prose and poetry books. Her work appears in Rattle, Midway Journal, Citron Review, The Spectacle, Miracle Monocle, Outlook Springs, Atticus Review, Your Impossible Voice, etc. It has also been featured in trees, shop windows in Scotland, poetry subscription boxes, and literary dispensers throughout the world. Her flash piece, "Land of Eternal Thirst" will appear in the 2022 edition of Sonder Press' "Best Small Fictions" anthology. Visit her website at www.leahmueller.org.
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August 3, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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August 10, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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August 17, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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August 24, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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August 32, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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September 7, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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September 14, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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September 21, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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September 28, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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October 5, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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October 12, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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October 19, 2026
Featured Poet: Everyone
An All-Open Mic Evening
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October 26, 2026
Kelli Russell Agodon
Kelli Russell Agodon (she/her) is a bi/queer poet and editor whose newest poetry book is Dialogues with Rising Tides (Copper Canyon Press) was named a Finalist in the Washington State Book Awards and shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize in Poetry.
She is also the author of Demystifying the Manuscript: Essays & Interviews on Creating a Book of Poems. She is the cofounder of Two Sylvias Press where she works as an editor and book cover designer. She teaches at Pacific Lutheran University’s low-res MFA program, the Rainier Writing Workshop. Kelli is currently part of a project between local land trusts and artists to help raise awareness for the preservation of land, ecosystems, and biodiversity called Writing the Land. She also co-hosts the poetry series"Poems You Need" with Melissa Studdard.​