The Healing Power of Poetry Initiative
At Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, we believe poetry is more than a creative tool, it can be life-changing. We’ve seen firsthand how poetry helps people process grief, trauma, and joy, giving them a powerful outlet for healing and self-expression. And research supports what our community already knows: poetry can improve mental and physical well-being, strengthen self-worth, and help people reconnect with their own voice.
But the impact doesn’t stop there. When someone begins to believe in themselves again, it can lead to real-world change- greater stability, stronger relationships, and even steps toward job security, housing security, and a more grounded future. Poetry doesn’t just reflect our community, it helps build it.
For this creative program we collaborate with Second Wave Media, the Edison Neighborhood Association, YWCA Kalamazoo, and the Institute of Public Scholarship to demonstrate the healing power of poetry in all aspects of life.
This Initiative was started with the help of a generous donation from The Poetry Foundation.
Institute of Public Scholarship
The Institute of Public Scholarship partnered with the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival on a three-part poetry workshop series for the unhoused. The Ampersee Advisory Group, which meets at IPS, met with KPF facilitators Lauren Carney and Cameron Decker, and created their own poetry. After the final session, the group was invited to read at the IPS Third Friday Open Mic that happens each month. The group feedback was good across the board, and the partnership is set to happen again in 2026.
Edison Neighborhood Association
Our friends over at the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival have donated numerous protein-packed canned goods to our community cupboard with a little soul food attached as well. Each can comes with a Kalamazoo Parks and Rec “All Things Possible” youth poem sticker so you can lift your spirits while you fill your belly.
2025-2026 Poem: I am from pots and pans, oven and iPad, from barbecue ribs and porches, butterscotch and big oak trees, from waking up to dogs asking to go outside, from the smell of fresh coffee and love you, goodbye.
The Edison Neighborhood Association will also be partnering with Kalamazoo Poetry Festival and a local mural artist to bring the “All Things Possible” youth poem to life as a part of the new Washington Square Gateway Park in 2026!
We are excited to think of how the students will react to seeing their hard creative work out in the real world for all to see!
“Poet’s Press” With Second Wave Media
Poet’s Press is a Second Wave quarterly series, presented in partnership with the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival, that features news poems — an experimental form that examines local people, places, and events through a personal, poetic lens. Paired with original artwork, each piece invites readers to engage more intimately and reflectively with the life of our community. This is our first installment of the series.
Air Poetry in Collaboration With Kazoo Books and YWCA Kalamazoo
This Initiative is Expanding!
We are always looking for ways to demonstrate that poetry can be healing in all aspects of life. If you or someone you know work with a local Kalamazoo organization that focuses on social wellness, KPF would love the opportunity to meet and discuss how a poetic element could be added to some of your pre-existing programming. We are also open to conversations around creating a new program based in social wellness with a poetry component, in collaboration with your organization.