Kalamazoo Poetry Festival

In Our Own Words, Gateway Youth Poetry Reading
2026-04-29 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Detroit) | Richland Community Library, 8951 Park St, Richland, MI, 49083, United States
Join us for an evening celebrating the poetry of young folks!
Hosted by the Richland Community Library, emcee Elizabeth Kerlikowske!

Finale Poetry Reading and Reception
2026-04-11 17:00 - 19:00 | Epic Center, 359 S Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
RSVP IS NOT REQUIRED BUT IT IS APPRECIATED! RSVP HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finale-reception-kalamazoo-poetry-festival-tickets-1981453153722?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE FACEBOOK EVENT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/share/17sdo9JWH2/

Help the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival welcome our 2026 featured poets jessica Care moore and Alen Hamza. This year, we will be hosted by the wonderful folks at the Wellspring Dance Company, in their Cori Terry Theatre. The theatre will house our Finale Reading, and then we will head downstairs to the Black Arts and Cultural Center for the catered reception.
The Finale poetry reading will be ASL interpreted, please spread the word!
Parking information has been made available in the information section of this event. Please read it carefully, yes, it is possible to park downtown! The Epic Center is conveniently located near two parking structures, and there is street parking available.
You can read more about our poets below.
jessica Care moore:
jessica Care moore is an award-winning poet, recording artist, book publisher, activist, cultural arts curator, and filmmaker who has become one of the leading voices of her generation; she is Detroit’s Poet Laureate (appointed in 2024), the Executive Producer and Founder of the 20-year-old rock & roll concert and empowerment weekend Daughters of Betty – Powered by Black WOMEN Rock!, founder of The Moore Art House 501(c)(3), and the founder of Moore Black Press, which has published poets including Saul Williams, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, asha bandele, and Danny Simmons; she has recorded her poetry with Hip Hop legends like Common, Nas, Jeezy, Talib Kweli, Karriem Riggins, Jeff Mills, The Last Poets, Jose James, and Roy Ayers, is the author of *The Words Don’t Fit in My Mouth*, *The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto*, *God is Not an American*, *Sunlight Through Bullet Holes* and *We Want Our Bodies Back*, and her poetry and voice are featured on the 4th floor of the Smithsonian’s New National Museum of African American History.
Alen Hamza:
Alen Hamza immigrated to the United States from Bosnia-Herzegovina as a refugee at the age of fifteen. He is the author of Twice There Was a Country, chosen by Brenda Hillman as the winner of the CSU Poetry Center First Book Award. His poems have appeared widely in literary journals, including AGNI, The Southern Review, Waxwing, Fence, and The Missouri Review. He has an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Utah. He has received fellowships from the Michener Center for Writers, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the University of Utah. Hamza lives in Kalamazoo, where he is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Western Michigan University.

Craft Talk 2026
2026-04-11 15:30 - 16:30 | Epic Center, 359 S Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Join KPF for the 2026 Craft Talk between jessica Care moore and Alen Hamza, moderated by Dane Hudson. Stay for a short coffee break, before the Finale Poetry Reading at 5pm.
This event takes place upstairs at the Epic Center, in the Cori Terry Theatre.
jessica Care moore:
jessica Care moore is an award-winning poet, recording artist, book publisher, activist, cultural arts curator, and filmmaker who has become one of the leading voices of her generation; she is Detroit’s Poet Laureate (appointed in 2024), the Executive Producer and Founder of the 20-year-old rock & roll concert and empowerment weekend Daughters of Betty – Powered by Black WOMEN Rock!, founder of The Moore Art House 501(c)(3), and the founder of Moore Black Press, which has published poets including Saul Williams, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, asha bandele, and Danny Simmons; she has recorded her poetry with Hip Hop legends like Common, Nas, Jeezy, Talib Kweli, Karriem Riggins, Jeff Mills, The Last Poets, Jose James, and Roy Ayers, is the author of *The Words Don’t Fit in My Mouth*, *The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto*, *God is Not an American*, *Sunlight Through Bullet Holes* and *We Want Our Bodies Back*, and her poetry and voice are featured on the 4th floor of the Smithsonian’s New National Museum of African American History.
Alen Hamza:
Alen Hamza immigrated to the United States from Bosnia-Herzegovina as a refugee at the age of fifteen. He is the author of Twice There Was a Country, chosen by Brenda Hillman as the winner of the CSU Poetry Center First Book Award. His poems have appeared widely in literary journals, including AGNI, The Southern Review, Waxwing, Fence, and The Missouri Review. He has an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Utah. He has received fellowships from the Michener Center for Writers, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the University of Utah. Hamza lives in Kalamazoo, where he is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Western Michigan University.

About Dane:
Healing, accountability, and belonging are at the heart of everything I do. As a non-binary, Black masc-identified creative and community organizer born and raised in Detroit, I’ve spent over 15 years helping organizations and individuals navigate the hard work of transformation. My experience spans nonprofit and for-profit spaces, where I specialize in facilitating training, developing curriculum, and shifting organizational cultures to center inclusion and belonging. A graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in Organizational Communication, my work emphasizes the importance of intentionality, equity, and sustainable change.
As a writer, poet, and spoken word artist, I use storytelling and creativity to build connection and inspire action. I’ve taught poetry workshops in alternative learning settings, juvenile homes, and after-school programs, and I’ve curated spaces for open expression through hosting open mic events. Grounded in my lived experiences—including overcoming homelessness and mental health challenges—I approach every aspect of my work with empathy, authenticity, and a commitment to collective healing.

Creative Workshop Rhythm and Words at Fire
2026-04-11 12:00 - 14:00 | Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, 1249 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
Facilitators EgypTrinity and Quincy Ellis lead a creative workshop.
Where poetry meets sound. Where voice meets beat. Where you meet your next level. Join us for an immersive workshop blending spoken word, rhythm, and creative expression_ whether you write, perform or are just getting started, this space is for YOU!

The Fire This Time with jessica Care moore
2026-04-11 11:30 - 13:00 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
REGISTRATION REQUIRED- LINK BELOW
jessica Care moore explores poems and inspires participants to use art for social change. Poetry is resistance art.

The Fire This Time
jessica Care moore explores poems and
inspires participants to use art for social
change. Poetry is resistance art. Come
with your pen ready & heart & mind open.

Let the World Suggest the Poem with Alen Hamza
2026-04-11 10:00 - 11:30 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
REGISTRATION REQUIRED- LINK BELOW
Let the World Suggest the Poem: Use everyday language and surroundings as inspiration to spark poems through curiosity, play, and openness.

Let the World Suggest the Poem
When writing poems, we often begin by engaging with the most intimate parts of ourselves. We rummage through the contents of our lives and minds, waiting for a spark of inspiration to break the blankness of the page. But what if we trust someone/something else to set the stage for our poem? In this workshop, we will experiment with the writing process by letting our surroundings and the words of others be the entry points to our work. In a spirit of receptivity, curiosity, and playfulness, we will engage with the forms of language that we encounter in the everyday and build a bridge between the external and the internal, inviting others to guide us to ourselves.

Your Turn Open Mic
2026-04-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, 1249 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
Emcee Dane joins us again for the Your Turn Open Mic at Fire on Portage Road. We are splitting the open mic up into two weeks this year, because of how popular it was last year! Sign up will be in person at the event, and we welcome all poetry, acoustic music, micro fiction, and fiction excerpts. Each performer will have five minutes on the mic.
There will be refreshments, and good company. Come on out and show Kalamazoo your creativity!
Doors and sign up open: 6:30pm
Show starts:7pm

Celebration of Community Poets
2026-04-09 18:30 - 20:30 | Crawlspace Theatre, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival Celebration of Community Poets is back for 2026! We are excited to welcome the public to this FREE event.
Doors open at 6pm, and show starts promptly at 6:30pm.
Come hear local poets and musicians perform their own work at The Crawlspace Theatre, located inside the KNAC in downtown Kalamazoo.
There will be light refreshments and a DJ for some socializing afterward. Please come out and support local art! Bring a friend or ten, and make an evening of it.
Hope to see you there!
Click the event website link below to be directed to our Facebook event. OR RSVP using this link- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1985237502812?aff=oddtdtcreator

Fire First Friday Open Mic PART ONE
2026-04-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, 1249 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
JOIN EGYPTRINITY AND HOST QUINCY ELLIS
for the Fire First Friday Open Mic, which is the Part One open mic for the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival Week! Doors Open at 5:30pm, and sign up happens in-person. Come on out!
Part Two Open Mic takes place on April 10, at Fire, hosted by Dane Hudson. The Your Turn Open Mic!

The Void Zine Drop
2026-03-29 19:00 - 22:00 | Factory Coffee, 213 E Frank St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Kalamazoo Poetry Festival sponsors a magazine! Come support local artists, musicians, and poets at The Void Zine drop! Featuring local poet and Fire Executive Director, Destine Price. There will be snacks, bands, and a special poetry reading.
Destiné Price (She/They)
Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and raised in both Kalamazoo & metro Detroit area, Destiné plants herself in many spaces as a multimedia artist, writer, a poet, a youth advocate guide, and a healer. Destiné works as the Executive Director of Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative holding a background of being a former fire youth and former program contractor of the organization. They have worked with youth, peers, and other youth development professionals in other capacities such as their previous position as a Volunteer Coordinator at Read and Write Kalamazoo, a Youth Advocacy Consultant at KYDnetwork, and student delegate of the International Congress of Youth Voices. They also uplift their community and practice sound therapy healing as a Sound Bath Practitioner. As a parent of 3, Destiné continues to strive to show up as a critical lover in spaces, a mother, and an advocate.

Poets in Print- Katy Didden and Samyak Shertok
2026-03-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Poets in Print sponsored by Kalamazoo Poetry Festival
Katy Didden and Samyak Shertok

Saturday, March 28, 2026

In person at the KBAC Gallery 7:00 p.m.

Katy Didden is the author of The Glacier’s Wake (Pleiades Press, 2013) and Ore Choir: The Lava on Iceland (Tupelo Press, 2022). Her poems and essays appear in journals such as Poetry Northwest, Ecotone, 32 Poems, Diagram, The Sewanee Review, and The Kenyon Review, and she is one of the co-creators of Almanac for the Beyond (Tropic Editions, 2019). She is an associate professor at Ball State University where she directs the Creative Writing Program and teaches poetry workshops and Creative Writing and the Environment.

Samyak Shertok’s debut collection, No Rhododendron, was selected by Kimiko Hahn for the 2024 AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry and is forthcoming from the University of Pittsburgh Press (Pitt Poetry Series) in 2025. His poems appear in The Cincinnati Review, The Gettysburg Review, The Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, POETRY, Shenandoah, Best New Poets, and elsewhere. His honors include the Robert and Adele Schiff Award for Poetry, the Gulf Coast Prize in Poetry, and the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize. Originally from Nepal, he was the inaugural Hughes Fellow in Poetry at Southern Methodist University and teaches creative writing at Hendrix College. For more, please visit samyakshertok.com.

Rambling Read Open Mic
2026-03-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Heirloom Arts, 1919 Stearns Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, United States
Rambling Read is truly rambling this month! We are headed to Heirloom Arts near the Maple Street YMCA for this months open mic. Join us to hear local poets Shanna Collins, Devin Bullmer, and Zoe Reyes. Also, stay for the open mic and show us what you have been working on!
Doors Open at 6pm, reading begins at 6:30pm, sign-up is in-person!
Brought to you by Rambling Read and The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival.
Bios:
Shanna Collins is a visual artist, cultural writer, and former music organizer. She has written for VIBE magazine and appeared in the Chicago Reader.
Devin Bullmer is a visual artist and writer currently working as a paraprofessional in special education. His work is often influenced by nature, his queer identity, and acceptance of the frustrating knowledge that nothing ever turns out exactly how you want it to.
Zoe Reyes is a poet whose work centers nature, while also exploring politics, healing, and connection. She has been writing since she could first pick up a pen, using poetry to process emotions and engage with the world around her.

Begin Again: Breath as Becoming with Dr. Tasleem
2026-03-24 18:00 - 19:30 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
Overview- RSVP REQUIRED

Breath-guided poetry workshop exploring renewal, release, and the courage to transform and begin again through generative writing prompts.

Begin Again: Breath as Becoming with Dr. Tasleem
What does it mean to begin again and again and again? This poetry workshop explores the power of breath as a doorway into transformation and renewal. Together, we’ll write into the truth that it is never too late to transition into a new version of yourself — to step up, expand, and grow beyond who you thought you had to be. Through guided breathwork and generative prompts, participants will explore release, rebirth, and the courage to begin again. As long as there is breath in the body, there is room to transform.
Biography
Tasleem Jamila is an International Poet, Vocalist, Author, Speaker, Educator and Holistic Health Advocate. She is CEO of My Soul Speaks, a company that creates interactive workshop/ presentation/performances across the world. Her work highlights the way hip hop, culture and spoken word theater can contribute to freedom, justice and equality for all people.
As an advocate for women and children’s rights with a universal approach her programs have been utilized in detention centers to universities across the globe. With performances that include The Kennedy Center, Excel London, Columbia University (NYC) and the African World Festival of the Arts, just to name a few. She has performed her works across the US as well as the UK, Africa, and Canada and continues to tour worldwide.
Tasleem recently published a book of poetry, Black Baptist Muslim Mystic which is receiving critical acclaim in addition to her album “Tasleem” and live and unplugged DVD “My Soul Speaks”. She is sought after for her captivating energy as a host, professional skills as a cultural producer and educating activist as a workshop facilitator. Tasleem is pushing the boundaries with her new book of poetry, Black Baptist Muslim Mystic: From the Cosmos which is also a multi-media show, art exhibit with original musical composition (Reginald Robinson) to tour. She won a fellowship traveling to London, England to perform and participate as a performance artist at events with Prince Charles, Mayor Boris Johnson of London and many Prime Ministers.
Tasleem Jamila is also a featured artist for her poem , “I AM” from her book Black Baptist Muslim Mystic: From the Cosmos with the International Women’s Museum breaking down stereotypes of women. She has shared the stage with such artists as The Last Poets, Rakim, Yuna, KRS-1, Vieux Farka Toure,Brother Ali, Tinariwen, Tiraline, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Lupe Fiasco, Rock Steady Crew, Kindred and the Family Soul, Jurassic 5 among others.
As an activist poet Tasleem has written and performed special poetry for The Cancer Society of Chicago, Domestic Violence Programs, Peace in Streets Campaign and Youth Peace Summit. Along with her training in voice, Tasleem studied in a special class entitled “Music and the Cosmos” with Master Kelan Phil Cohran (Sun-Ra) and Composition with Reginald R. Robinson, Kerwin Young (Public Enemy, Angie Stone, Rakim) and Khari Lemuel. Tasleem Jamila’s talents doesn’t stop at poetry, music, production and design, she also has her hand in acting. She has appeared in a documentary film about domestic violence which was showcased at The New York Cultural Museum. Tasleem has also appeared in the following movies: “Love Jones”, “A Hip-Hop Journey with the Ancestors”, (a film about Oscar Brown Jr,), and a cameo in the film “New Muslim Cool”.
As a cultural producer, Tasleem utilizes her skills working with the youth conducting workshops on self-esteem, Hip-Hop and Poetry/Spoken Word and more. She is the creative mind behind many festivals, events and productions. Tasleem has acted as Head Coordinator, Stage Manager and Host for IMAN (Inner-city Muslim Action Network) Taking It to the Streets World Festival from 2005-2016. As a writer, director and choreographer for productions, her youth advocacy has allowed her to work with organizations such as Kuumba Lynx, Little Black Pearl, Family Matters, After School Matters and Cease Fire as well. For ten years Tasleem hosted and produced a weekly radio show (Radio Islam) in Chicago giving her the opportunity to meet and interview 100’s of artists, activists, scholars and historians from across the world. Of the most notable icons she has interviewed: First Lady Michelle Obama, Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, Public Enemy, Dead Prez, KRS-1, Black Sheep and more. She has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Muslim Journal, Chicago Daily, and on BBC, WBEZ (NPR), WKKC (Chicago), ABC-Channel 7 (Chicago) and many internet and cable stations across the world.
She has also toured extensively and made numerous appearances on other artist’s albums and pages, including Kuumba Lynx “El Barrio Clocks Our Beats and Rhymes” album, Sound Mindz Music “The Attack of the Waybacks” album, Vent Movements “Let the Movement Began” album and Floyd Boykin Jr, “No More Silent Cries” anthology book. In 2009 she was asked to join a group of artist from around the world for a compilation CD dedicated to the legacy of Malcolm X “Necessary” to be released with three unpublished chapters of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. Currently Tasleem is an editor for the project “Crossing Limits” which brings Muslim American and Jewish American Poets together. A full documentary about her life as an artist by Lunar Butterfly Productions was just released. She is also currently on tour promoting her book, BLACK BAPTIST MUSLIM MYSTIC: From the Cosmos. Tasleem also continues to study to complete her degree in Naturopathy. As she grows so does her art…

Gwen Frostic Reading Series- Poetry Reading by Iliana Rocha, March 18-19
2026-03-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Brown Hall, WMU, 1903 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, 49008, United States
CHECK OUT THE FLYER FOR MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATOIN ON THE READER THIS MONTH!
About the Series
The Gwen Frostic Reading Series brings acclaimed authors of poetry, prose, and drama from across the nation to Kalamazoo and the surrounding community. All readings are free and open to the public. The series is made possible by a generous gift from Gwen Frostic, a distinguished artist, author, naturalist, and entrepreneur who earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in 1929.

Son of The White Mare Film Screening
2026-03-12 19:00 - 22:00 | Doormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
Thanks to Kalamazoo Poetry Festival for sponsoring this film!
Arrive when doors open for a pre-show that mixes poetry and film, just like Son of the White Mare! Thanks to our collaboration with Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, we’ll have a celebration of both art forms, including live performances and collaborative writing of poems by attendees.
Purchase tickets using the link.

Readers:
Mia Hawkins
Bio: Hello, I am Mimi Hawkins, a poet and writer, who weaves the dramatic lens of life I live into everything I write. My style is a stream of consciousness style, jumping through vivid daydreams as a way of understanding, which is paired with bluntness that rips through the figurative language, grounding everything.

Elizabeth Bullmer
Bio: Elizabeth Bullmer is a poet/writer/spoken word and visual artist working as a self-employed, licensed massage and sound therapist, in Kalamazoo. She also facilitates writing workshops and small sharing circles for all ages. Bullmer’s most recent publication is a poetry chapbook, Skipping Stones on the River Styx.

One of the great psychedelic masterpieces of world animation, Son of the White Mare is a swirling, color-mad maelstrom of mythic monsters and Scythian heroes, lit by jagged bolts of lightning and drenched in rivers of blue, red, gold and green. A massive cosmic oak stands at the gates of the Underworld, holding seventy-seven dragons in its roots; to combat these monsters, a dazzling white mare goddess gives birth to three heroes – Treeshaker and his brothers – who embark on an epic journey to save the universe. Directed by Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics (famed for his 1974 Oscar-nominated short Sisyphus), Son of the White Mare has been restored in 4K using the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements by Arbelos in collaboration with the Hungarian National Film Institute.
“Once upon a time, at the doors of Hell, there stood a tall turkey oak. It had 77 roots and 77 branches. On the 77 roots stood 77 dragons. On the 77 branches sat 77 crows. Let the one who doesn’t listen to this tale have their soul stolen by the 77 dragons, and their eyes pecked by the 77 crows!”
Son of the White Mare
1981
1h 26min
Director: Marcell Jankovics
Writer: Laszlo Gyorgy, Marcell Jankovics
Cast: Gyorgy Cserhalmi, Vera Pap, Gyula Szabo

Roots & Wings: Stories of Survival and Soaring
2026-03-05 18:00 - 19:30 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
SIGN UP USING THE EVENTBRITE LINK BELOW:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/roots-wings-stories-of-survival-and-soaring-tickets-1980840583508?aff=oddtdtcreator

Paint + write poems on “Beyond Resilience,” creating a split-canvas of roots (strength) and wings (future growth).

This 2-part workshop series meets twice- March 5 &19, 2026, hosted in the new Kalamazoo Poetry Festival space at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition in downtown Kalamazoo. Sessions run 6pm–7:30pm.
*PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP IF YOU CANNOT MAKE BOTH SESSIONS.
March 5, 2026 at 6pm, doors at 5:30pm
March 19, 2026 at 6pm, doors at 5:30pm
This workshop blends painting and poetry to explore the theme of ‘Beyond Resilience.’ Participants will reflect on their personal journeys, creating poems that capture their ‘roots’ (sources of grounding and strength) and their ‘wings’ (aspirations and thriving futures). Through guided writing prompts and painting, each person will design a split-canvas artwork that visually represents both resilience and growth beyond it. The session closes with an optional share-circle where participants can read excerpts of their poems or describe their artwork, fostering community connection and collective inspiration. By the end, participants will leave with both a written and visual representation of their journey from survival toward soaring.
Bio:
Erica Smith is a creative wellness practitioner and founder of Fortunate Fourth Creations & Media, where art meets healing. She empowers communities through therapeutic art, storytelling, and transformative art experiences.
Headshot Photo Credit:
Hananiah Harden, Black Magic Media
Social Media (with space for clickable links):

Facebook: Fortunate Fourth Creations — https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560172731523
Instagram: @fortunatefourthcreations — https://www.instagram.com/fortunatefourthcreations/
TikTok: @fortunatefourthcreations — https://www.tiktok.com/@fortunatefourthcreations
LinkedIn: Erica Smith — https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-smith-67038a362/

Ekphrastic Art Event
2026-02-21 13:00 - 16:00 | Move With Joy, 1103 Portage St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
We are thrilled to welcome you to our third annual Ekphrastic Art Event, presented in partnership with Move With Joy!
This is a relaxed, come-as-you-please gathering, with doors open for three hours. We invite you to drop in, create, and explore. All participants are encouraged to make their own visual artwork inspired by our 2025–2026 festival theme, “Beyond Resilience.” Art supplies will be provided, and local artist Aerick Burton will be on site to guide and facilitate.
Expect music, poetry readings, art-making, and snacks, a warm, creative space to connect, unwind, and show us what “Beyond Resilience” means to you.
After the event, you’ll have the option to donate your artwork to inspire the 2026 Community Poem, written by Friends of Poetry. They will reflect on your pieces and craft a collective poem that will be performed at our 2026 Celebration of Community Poets in April.
Come make art, be in community, and help shape the poetry of next year’s festival!

Concomitant: Reflections on Grief and Loss Through Monoprinting and Poetry
2026-02-12 18:00 - 19:30 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
SIGN UP USING THE EVENTBRITE LINK:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1980838197371?aff=oddtdtcreator

Printmaking + tanka poetry to explore grief, loss, and intimacy through guided prompts, reflection, and structured creative practice.

This 2-part workshop series meets twice- February 12 & 19, 2026, hosted in the new Kalamazoo Poetry Festival space at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition in downtown Kalamazoo. Sessions run 6pm–7:30pm.
*PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP IF YOU CANNOT MAKE BOTH SESSIONS.
February 12, 2026 at 6pm, doors at 5:30pm
February 19, 2026 at 6pm, doors at 5:30pm
This workshop will focus on the roles poetry and printmaking can play in processing complex emotions related to grief, loss, and intimacy. I focused on post-modern models of grief like the Dual Process Model and meaning reconstruction theory. Each model suggests that grief is always present, occupying varying amounts of space in our lives. I will have participants create monotypes for a prompt on silicone mats and we will print them onto paper. Then we will write corresponding tanka poems while reflecting on the artwork. During the art-making process, we will focus on specific questions like: What emotions, words, ideas, and sensations arise when thinking of the prompt? How do these ideas connect to my experience of grief? I chose the specific processes of printmaking and poetry because they both have defined structures that may help individuals who struggle with interoception and alexithymia. I think this workshop very clearly correlates to the theme of beyond resilience.
Bio:
Hali is a papermaker and printmaker based in Southwest Michigan. Their creative work, driven by a passion for fiber and book arts, explores themes of storytelling, liminality, folk life, and the environment, often utilizing natural and found materials.
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/bunzine/?hl=en

8 Part Poetry Workshop Series With Scott Bade
2026-01-14 17:30 - 19:30 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
Join poet Scott Bade for an 8-part KPF workshop series Jan–Apr 2026. Write, learn, and grow in community. In partnership with KPF.

Kalamazoo educator and published poet, Scott Bade, facilitates a poetry writing workshop in partnership with The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival.
This workshop is capped at 10 participants. Please only register if you are able to attend all eight sessions, as signing up and not attending may prevent someone else from joining
The dates of the sessions are as follows, and all sessions go from 5:30-7:30pm:
January 14&28, February 11&25, March 4&18, April 1&15
Do you have work sitting in your head that’s ready to move onto the page? Are you looking for thoughtful feedback from a supportive group, or hoping to learn new poetic tools to take your writing to the next level? Maybe you simply want to explore poetry in community with others who feel the same pull toward the craft.
This 8-part workshop series meets twice a month from January through April 2026, hosted in the new Kalamazoo Poetry Festival space at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition in downtown Kalamazoo. Sessions run 5:30–7:30pm.
The series is facilitated by writer Scott Bade, who will use teaching, prompts and auxiliary materials to help you shape your own work. You can read more about him below.
PLEASE NOTE: Scott has requested that if you have taken any of his workshops in the past year, please refrain from signing up. We want to make sure new community members have the chance to participate.
Scott Bade is the author of Preemptive Elegy (2024 – Kelsay Books) and the chapbook My Favorite Thing About Desire, co-winner of the 2018 Celery City Chapbook contest. He teaches at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Kalamazoo College. Scott Bade’s award-winning poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and his poems have appeared in Fugue, Shadowgraph, Reed Magazine, Foothill and elsewhere.

Mapping your way into the Future- Facilitated by Elizabeth Kerlikowske
2026-01-05 18:00 - 19:30 | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
Explore your past and future through writing and mark-making. Two-part workshop with materials provided. Learn something new about yourself.
Elizabeth Kerlikowske facilitates a 2- part poetry workshop in partnership with The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival. This workshop is free of charge.
This is a 2-part workshop, please do not sign up unless you can make both dates!
January 5, 12, 2025 6-7:30pm
Description:
Recognizing and placing significant moments helps us to see our past and plan our future. This workshop involves writing and basic mark-making. The second half builds on the first. Materials provided. Expect to learn something new about yourself.
Bio:
Elizabeth Kerlikowske is the author of four full-length books and eleven chapbooks. Her poems appeared most recently in Cereal City Review, New Verse News, New World Writing, and Dunes Review. She was awarded the Kalamazoo Community Medal for the Arts in 2017 and currently teaches Ekphrastic Writing at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.
SIGN UP AT THE WEBSITE BELOW!

Rambling Read Open Mic
2025-12-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Kazoo Books, 2413 Parkview Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, United States
This open mic is held in partnership with Sophia Khan and the Rambling Read Open Mic Series. Traditional open mic structure, snacks, good people!

Spooky Open Mic at The Cauldron
2025-10-23 18:30 - 20:30 | The Cauldron, 812 Washington Ave., Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
Join us for our second annual Spooky Open Mic at the new Black Magic Media space, The Cauldron! There will be snacks, prizes, costumes, and of course an opportunity to perform your own work. More details to come. Mark your calendars!

The Void 5th Edition Fundraiser
2025-10-05 19:00 - 22:00 | Factory Coffee, 213 E Frank St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Kalamazoo Poetry Festival now sponsors a magazine! The Void Kalamazoo cohosts the 5th Edition Fundraiser at Factory Coffee on Frank Street, Sunday October 5, 2025! Come out and hear two wonderful poets who will represent KPF, and listen to multiple bands! There will be refreshments, and various venders as well!
The Poets:
Nora Kay is a poet, collage artist, and multi-genre musician with roots in DIY punk, experimental noise, and performance art. Nora Kay’s works often center on themes of emptiness, loss, longing, and self reflection, drawing on her experiences as a queer person from Florida finding her way in the Midwest.
Lipsey is a young artist from Kalamazoo who works 12-hour factory shifts by day while building his reputation as a rising hip-hop name by night. His music blends gritty storytelling with ambition, drawing on his lived experiences.

Poetry and Potions
2025-10-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Green Door Distilling Co & Tasting Room, 429 E North St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
The words return, the music flows, and the cocktails are waiting.
Join us at Green Door Distilling for an evening of poetry, live performance, and community connection.
Friday, October 3rd
6:00–8:00 PM
Come ready to share your own work at the open mic, enjoy crafted drinks, and connect with Kalamazoo’s vibrant creative community.

Fire First Friday Open Mic
2025-10-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, 1249 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
It’s that time again! Join us for First Fridays Open Mic in collaboration with @kzpoetryfestival featuring the incredible Sypher as our feature artist! Friday, October 3rd Fire, 1249 Portage St 6–8 PMBring your poetry, your art, your music—or just come enjoy the community vibes. Open to all!

Open Mic at The Institute
2025-09-19 19:30 - 21:00 | The Institute of Public Scholarship, 313 N Burdick St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
This Open Mic sponsored by KPF takes place every third Friday of the month at The Institute of Public Scholarship. September’s feature artist is hip hop musician Lipsey! Come on out, enjoy the creativity, and maybe even add your own into the mix!

Virtual Workshop with Molly Kirschner: Writing For Ourselves and Each Other, Not the Critic
2025-09-18 18:00 - 19:00 | MI
Use the website link below to sign up for free!
Writing For Ourselves and Each Other, Not the Critic
Poetry is a one-way ticket deeper into the moment; into observation, sensation, and interpretation, which are the raw materials of meaning. Too often, our own inner critic arrests us on the surface of experience, begrudging us the voyage into significance. Through a mixture of collaborative and solitary activities, this workshop will focus on firing the critic so that we may inhabit our practice more fully. We will play, exchange inspirations, and enter into a state of heightened concentration. The workshop will close with a sharing component, in which writers will have the opportunity either to read their own work out loud or to hear someone else read it. Because we will have dispensed with the critic, there will be no group critique; rather, we will simply offer our poems to each other as gifts.
About Molly:
Molly Kirschner is a poet, playwright, performer, and educator. Her poems have appeared in journals
including The Southern Review, The New Ohio Review, and One Magazine, and four of her poems
are forthcoming in Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics. Kirschner was awarded the
inaugural poetry residency at The Hundredth Hill: “Resilience: the Poet’s Response to These Troubled
Times.” Her new manuscript was a finalist for the 2021 Four Way Books Levis Prize in Poetry.

WMU Open Monthly Open Mic
2025-09-18 13:00 - 15:00 | Brown Hall, WMU, 1903 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, 49008, United States
Join us at 3025 Brown Hall on the WMU Main Campus for and open mid and refreshments. Open to students and the community!

Poetry and Potions
2025-08-30 18:00 - 21:00 | Green Door Distilling Co & Tasting Room, 429 E North St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
Step into an evening where words and flavors intertwine. Poetry & Potions brings together soulful spoken word, open mic performances, and the art of craft cocktails for a night of creativity and connection.
Featured Poet: Biscuit – known for dynamic delivery and thought-provoking verses that leave audiences moved and inspired.
What to Expect:
Featured performance by Biscuit
Open mic for writers, musicians, and performers
Specialty cocktails crafted just for the event
A warm, welcoming space to connect with artists and art lovers
Whether you’re here to share your voice or simply soak in the atmosphere, this is your night to be inspired.
Admission: Free to attendOpen Mic Sign-Up:Sign up Link:https://docs.google.com/…/1qMGa5nIYBNoBS6BVxP37mit…/editorat the door

KIA Summer Jams
2025-08-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, 314 S Park St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007-5007, United States
Looking for a space to share your music, poetry, or spoken word? Or just want to enjoy a night of local talent, creativity, and community? Summer Jams is a three-part summer series at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA), designed to bring people together through live performances and artistic expression.
Each night will feature a rotating lineup of independent artists, emerging musicians, and spoken word performers, showcasing the diverse rhythms, genres, and voices that shape our community. Whether you’re stepping up to the mic or simply here to enjoy the show, this is a space to connect, inspire, and celebrate creativity.
