Kalamazoo Poetry Festival

Air Poetry
2025-08-23 16:00 - 18:00 (America/Detroit) | Kazoo Books, 2413 Parkview Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, United States
THIS EVENT IS FREE!
What is Air Poetry?
A poetry and music performance event, complete with open mic, DJ, and refreshments.
The event takes place outdoors at Kazoo Books located at 2413 Parkview Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 on August 23, 2025 from 4-6pm.
Featured performers are local musician Jessica Ivey, local poet Markeva Love, and local flash fiction writer Laura Citino.
This event is hosted by The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival in partnership with Kazoo Books.
The event will also feature the unveiling of a limited run of t shirts, featuring poetry written by clients and staff at YWCA Kalamazoo. All proceeds from the t shirt sales will be donated to the YWCA.
Kalamazoo Poetry Festival- https://kalamazoopoetryfestival.com/
Kazoo Books- https://kazoobooks.com/
Performer Bios:
Jessica ‘Jess’ Ivey is a vocalist, songwriter, teaching artist, DJ and vocal producer from the West side of Detroit. Jess’ vocal style is an expressive blend of alternative R&B, gospel and melodic Hip-Hop. A classically trained vocalist and student of Black music, Jess blends her various musical influences in a multi-faceted one woman show with vulnerability at the center of all her live performances. She got her start performing live shows and recording music with Last Gasp Collective and just released a single entitled “Winter Bourbon”. For more information visit singgjess.com
I’m Markeva Love. I Graduated from Adrian College Spring of 2021 where I obtained my dual bachelor’s degree in Biology & Philosophy. I am a Health Educator for the Kalamazoo County Health Department. Born and raised in Kalamazoo MI, I am an avid reader, who enjoys fitness, travel and the occasional game night with family and friends. I’m passionate about quality, innovation and creativity that helps to improve both community as well as the lives of those that make it. I’ve had the pleasure of partnering with several organizations here in South West Michigan through featuring and emceeing. I love the performing arts and being an artist who embraces vulnerability and has found my voice and strength in it. I look forward to continuing my writing and sharing it with the world.
Laura Citino is a writer and book artist from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her work explores regional identity, surrealism, rural mythologies, and the mundane apocalypse in the Great Lakes and American Rust Belt. http://www.topophiliacproject.com/

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.

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

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!
