“A word after a word after a word is power.”

-Margaret Atwood

Upcoming Events!

Join our Poetry Open-Mic!

Happens every 3rd Wednesday of every month at the I.O.OF Hall from 7pm-8:30pm.

Creative Writing Festival

April 18 9:30am-3:30pm

Join us at the Shasta College Creative Writing Festival for a day that celebrates inspiration, creativity, and the joy of storytelling. Whether you're an aspiring or seasoned writer, this event is perfect for anyone looking to enhance their writing skills and share the power and joy of language with other writers.

Free and open to the community! Breakfast and lunch provided.

Choose from a variety of creative writing workshops taught by Shasta College faculty and guest authors: fiction, poetry, songwriting, and nonfiction. Featuring a workshop led by guest author Luis Alberto Urrea, who will also be doing a reading the night before to kick off the festival.

Ignite your passion for writing and be a part of our local literary community!

Schedule:
9:30am-10am: Check-in, Breakfast, and Welcome!
10am-12pm: Creative Writing Workshops
12pm-1pm: Lunch
1pm-2pm: Creative Writing Workshops
2:15pm-3:30pm: Concluding Remarks and Open Mic

Our next Poetry Slam is June 13th

Doors will open at 7pm and the slam runs from 7:30pm-9pm. Location is at 1313 Market Street, Redding CA. Tickets are $5 at the door. If you want to participate, make sure to get there early to sign up! Judges will be selected from the audience and we will also be selling beer, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks. The dates for the next slams will be September 19th and November 7th.

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Helpful Resources & Links

Did you know that you can also find short videos that illustrate short poems? A delightful collection can be found at Poetry Films by the On Being Project
Interesting People Reading Poetry is a short, sound-rich podcast created by Andy & Brendan Stermer. They ask artists and luminaries to read us a favorite poem interestingpeoplereadingpoetry.com/episodes-2/
Poets.org, an offering of the Academy of American Poets. Find or discover poems, poets, essays, and themes collections.
The Moth: link.chtbl.com/themothpodcast On Tuesdays and Fridays The Moth’s podcast feed presents episodes of the Peabody Award winning Moth Radio Hour and original episodes of The Moth Podcast. Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.
The Poetry Foundation is a great web source for discovering new poets, finding poems, and exploring collections of poems by themes. To check out the different collections offered: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections
Did you know we have left poetry books at The Art Hunger in the sofa/lounge area? Check them out next time you’re hanging out there.
The Slowdown: Poet Major Jackson is your guide on the pathways to feel and understand our common journey – through poetry. In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery. Join The Slowdown for a poem and a moment of reflection in one short episode, every weekday. Produced by APM Studios in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.https://www.slowdownshow.org/
Poetry Unbound: Short and unhurried, Poetry Unbound is an immersive exploration of a single poem, hosted by Pádraig Ó Tuama. https://onbeing.org/series/poetry-unbound/
Slam Poetry: The 2023 Teen Poetry Slam Semifinals; Grand Slam Poet Harry Baker with a TED Talk love poem about prime numbers. Seriously. And it's funny. Also check out Harry on Substack.
If you are wondering now about Slam Poetry, you can check out this site for information and a range of examples: https://powerpoetry.org/actions/best-slam-poetry-5-top-works-master-slam-poets.
September Prompt

Searching for Quiet
Dance, dance the revolution
Coming soon.