Kalamazoo Poetry Collective

Rambling Read Open Mic
2026-03-27 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | 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.

Air Poetry
2025-08-23 16:00 - 18:00 | 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/

"Funeral Parade of Roses" - A film screening in partnership with Monoform Cinema
2025-06-12 19:45 | Doormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
*During the pre-show of this event, you can listen to four local performers share their poetry and music as they represent The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival. There will also be a collaborative poem being written during the run time of this event that will be published on our website after the event! Come and add your voice! Funeral Parade of Roses
Welcome to an unapologetically queer and dizzying pop-art fantasia that evades categorization. Through a rapid-fire combination of melodrama, comedy, horror, documentary and experimental film, director Toshio Matsumoto’s freewheeling approach to both genre and form results in a film that gleefully disorientates without ever feeling disjointed. Made at a point in cinema history when radically-minded filmmakers were testing, breaking and redefining the limits of good filmmaking and taste, Matsumoto’s movie attacks on both fronts with an irrepressible fervor, creating a film that has retained its power to surprise, delight and shock 55 years later. An unknown club dancer at the time, trans actor Peter (from Kurosawa’s Ran) gives an astonishing Edie Sedgwick/Warhol superstar-like performance as Eddie, hostess at Bar Genet—where she’s ignited a violent love triangle with reigning drag queen Leda (Osamu Ogasawara) for the attentions of club owner Gonda (Yoshio Tsuchiya, from Seven Samurai and Yojimbo). Director Toshio Matsumoto’s shattering, kaleidoscopic masterpiece is a key work of the Japanese New Wave and of queer cinema, and one of the most subversive and intoxicating films of the late 1960s.

1969
1h 45min
Director: Toshio Matsumoto
Writer: Toshio Matsumoto
Cast: Peter (Shinnosuke Ikehata), Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshio Tsuchiya
Doors and Pre-show at 7:45pm, Show around 8:45pm PURCHASE TICKETS USING WEBSITE LINK BELOW

Featured Readers Finale & Reception
2025-04-26 17:00 - 19:00 | First Congregational Church, 345 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Featured Poets Aaron Coleman and Denise Miller will each read their work for 25 minutes. The Finale Read will be followed by a reception catered by Kalamazoo local JaRay Reese. Come down, hear some beautiful poetry, and partake in some merry-making and networking after the event.
Accessibility:
– This even strives to be SCENT-FREE. Please consider leaving perfumes and fragrances at home.

Craft Talk
2025-04-26 15:30 - 16:30 | First Congregational Church, 345 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Craft Talk
Featured Poets Denise Miller and Aaron Coleman participate in a Craft Talk moderated by KPF board member Nancy Nott. The poets will discuss their writing process and thoughts on poetry and writing in general. There is no way to describe where the conversation will lead, so come check it out!
Accessibility:
– This even strives to be SCENT-FREE. Please consider leaving perfumes and fragrances at home.

Featured Reader Workshop: Denise Miller
2025-04-26 11:30 - 13:00 | First Congregational Church, 345 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
REGISTER HERE
Sounding the Heart of the poem
Sounding the Heart of the poem is a workshop by The Institute of Public Scholarship poet, playwright, and fiction writer, Denise Miller, that is focused on sound devices like assonance, alliteration, and consonance, combined with the concept of echolocation, to explore how poets can use sound to navigate the emotional and thematic depths of their work. Participants will examine how repeated vowel sounds (assonance), initial consonant sounds (alliteration), and recurring consonant sounds (consonance) create echoes within a poem, much like echolocation helps non-human animals orient themselves in spaceThe workshop emphasizes how these sound devices resonate to reveal the “heart” of a poem—its core meaning or emotional truth. Activities include:

Analyzing Poems: Studying examples where sound devices enhance mood, rhythm, or imagery.
Sound Mapping: Participants create “sound maps” by identifying patterns of assonance, alliteration, and consonance in their own or others’ poems.
Writing Exercises: Revising one of their poems that isn’t quite there yet to identify where sound can be deliberately used to evoke feelings or guide readers toward the poem’s heart.
Echolocation Concept: Drawing parallels between the way sound waves bounce back to reveal unseen spaces and how poetic sounds uncover hidden layers of meaning.

This approach encourages poets to think of sound not just as ornamentation but as a tool for discovery and connection within their work
REGISTER HERE

Featured Reader Workshop: Aaron Coleman
2025-04-26 10:00 - 11:30 | First Congregational Church, 345 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
REGISTER HERE
How We Attune to Gratitude
In this workshop we will explore how poets cultivate an intimate sense of attention: attuning to the complexity of the world around us and the worlds within us. We’ll dwell together with poems and writing prompts that cultivate our sense of careful attention and we’ll contemplate together what that attention makes possible, especially gratitude, especially communal connection and maybe even joy.
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Your Turn Open Mic
2025-04-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, 1249 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
Your Turn Open Mic
Join Fire and Kalamazoo Poetry Festival for The Magic Open Mic, hosted by Great Dane. Come early if you think you want to read!
Accessibility:
– This even strives to be SCENT-FREE. Please consider leaving perfumes and fragrances at home.
– Wheelchair access through the entrance on Portage Street.

Celebration of Community Poets
2025-04-24 18:30 - 20:00 | Northside Association for Community Development, 612 N Park St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
The Celebration of Community Poets
The Celebration of Community Poets is a yearly event hosted by the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival as a part of our National Poetry Month Festival Week. The Celebration combines multiple organization partnerships, and ten plus local poets and musicians who share one original piece each. The Celebration is also where the KPF Community Poem is performed. The Community Poem is written by the Kalamazoo Friends of Poetry, and represents dozens of pieces of visual art generated around our 2024/2025 theme of “Gratitude” at our February Ekphrastic Poetry Event. The event will offer light refreshments.
Accessibility:
– This even strives to be SCENT-FREE. Please consider leaving perfumes and fragrances at home.

RAWK and KPF Youth Poetry Workshop
2025-04-05 10:00 - 11:30 | Read and Write Kalamazoo, 802 S Westnedge Ave, KALAMAZOO, MI, 49008, United States
KPF and RAWK join forces to offer a youth poetry workshop based on the theme of “Gratitude”. Details about facilitator coming soon!

This workshop will be facilitated by WMU Graduate Student Hannah Arvanigian, with help from KPF Executive Director Casey Grooten.
Hannah Seelman is a student at Western Michigan University, where she is both earning anMFA in creative writing while teaching writing composition. Her passion for writing extendsbeyond the classroom, as she has been published for her insightful and thought-provoking work.Although she loves writing, her favorite time of day is when she can simply read a book with herdog sleeping on her lap. Her poetry has been published in Wingless Dreamer, Thistle Magazine,and other small journals. She is currently working on a collection of scary short stories shehopes to finish and publish by the end of the year.
Please use the sign up link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2SDMwKYVAImGFCzbWugjkkfrg3UIbjijRb0zS-tLzM5Hxmg/viewform

March Workshop: Markeva Love, Worth The Detour
2025-03-11 18:30 - 20:00 | First Congregational Church, 345 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, United States
Workshop details and facilitator are forthcoming.

March Workshop
Facilitator:
Markeva Love
Workshop Name:
Worth The Detour
Workshop Description:
“Hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to get caught up in the things we think we want/ desire or deserve. “ Attendees will discuss/ write about a time or an event where they did not get what they wanted, but it actually worked in their favor… either to have not received it at all or just received it later. (Ex. First time experiencing love, even though it was toxic, you still wanted it, only to later realize it was never really love). The facilitator will instruct the attendees in how they have turned a situation like this into something constructive through writing. The attendees will have time to write, and will have an opportunity to read their work to the group at the end of the workshop.
Note:
This is an in-person workshop. Writing utensils and paper will be provided. Water and Coffee will also be available at the event. Please arrive several minutes early, so the workshop can start promptly on time.
Accessibility:
– This even strives to be SCENT-FREE. Please consider leaving perfumes and fragrances at home.

Register Here

March Workshop in Partnership With Fire: Tasleem Jamila, Gratitude Through the Divine Lens: Exploring Sacred Poetry
2025-03-08 13:00 - 15:00 | Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, 1249 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001, United States
March Workshop in Partnership With Fire
*The event is meant for individuals 18-25 years of age.
Register for free
Facilitator:
Tasleem Jamila
Workshop Name:
Gratitude Through the Divine Lens: Exploring Sacred Poetry
Workshop Description:
In this workshop, participants will explore gratitude as a spiritual practice by drawing inspiration from writers who view the world through a sacred lens. Through poetry, they will express thankfulness for the divine and sacred aspects of life. The session will encourage participants to craft poems inspired by the mystical poets they are introduced to, with a focus on recognizing the divine both within themselves and in everyday moments.
Activity: Begin with a brief introduction to the theme of gratitude as a spiritual practice. Then, a short grounding exercise.
Introduce participants to a few mystical poets who write from a sacred perspective.
Read several selected poems aloud and discuss how these poets’ express gratitude and spirituality in their work.
Provide participants with several creative prompts inspired by the mystical poets you introduced earlier.
Participants will share their poems.
Note:
This is an in-person workshop. Writing utensils and paper will be provided. Water and Coffee will also be available at the event. Please arrive several minutes early, so the workshop can start promptly on time.
Accessibility:
– This even strives to be SCENT-FREE. Please consider leaving perfumes and fragrances at home.
