SDPA Readings with Poets Underground (5/2) and Poets INC (5/5) + National Poetry Month (in review)

Our Poetry to the People outreach events over the 2023-24 year were made possible with generous support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org. We are grateful for their work on behalf of the local arts community!

*Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of California Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

***Save The Dates! 2024 Upcoming Events/Readings: Instagram for updates: @sdpoetryannual

May 2, 5-8:00pm, SDPA authors + Poets Underground combo event at Template in Ocean Beach, open reading with hosts Sunny Rey, Anthony Azzarito, and Michael Klam. Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com, SDPA Instagram: @sdpoetryannual and Poets Underground Instagram: @poets_underground_

Headliners:

Madison Victoria (SDPA and Poets Underground anthologized author and performer, 2023-24)

Valarie Hastings (Kowit Prize Coordinator, award-winning poet, and OB resident)

Billiekai Boughton (poet and SDPA Veterans Section Editor)

Margarita Pintado (PLNU professor and author of Ojo en Celo, The University of Arizona Press, 2023)

Janice Zhang (poet, SDPA, 2023-24)

May 5, 1-3:00pm, Escondido Municipal Arts Gallery, SDPA authors featured at Poets INC, Inland North County with host Robt O. Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

***Past April Events***

April 6, 12:45-3:15pm, San Diego Writers Festival Reading and Open Mic: Poetry to the People event. Coronado Island, 650 D Avenue, Multipurpose Room, Building 400. Join current and former SDPA authors and editors as we celebrate local poets! Featured SDPA readers will be followed by a community open mic. Bring a poem to share and/or grab a seat to hear work by renowned poets Kazim Ali, Carly DeMento, reg e gaines, Katie Manning, Margarita Pintado, Leonora Simonovis, Ted Washington, SDPA bilingual edition editor Olga García, and inaugural San Diego Poet Laureate Ron Salisbury. Hosted by SDPA execs Michael Klam and Jane Muschenetz, this event highlights SDPA authors and is open to all. To read, email sdpoetryannual@gmail.com To volunteer and join the team, sign up here.

April 8, 6:30-8:00, SDPA Book Launch and Celebration our last Poetry to the People event, featuring 2024 SDPAauthors, community readers, and community leaders, Point Loma Library, 3701 Voltaire St, San Diego, CA 92107, SDPA Book Launch and Celebration featuring 2024 SDPA authors, community readers, and community leaders. Email sdpoetryannual@gmail.com to sign up early or sign up in the library on the evening of the event. 

Thank you Jennifer Chung, for the cover art! Check out the PDFs of the new SPDA editions here.

Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

April 13, 3:30-5:30, Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Knox Branch Library: SDPA authors and community open reading with hosts Charlie Berigan, Adam Greenfield, and Michael Klam. (Sign up or get involved by email or @sdpoetryannual)

April 16, 6:30 – 8:00pm, The Annual Steve Kowit Poetry Prize Celebration honoring the winners and honorable mentions with hosts Bill Harding, Marc Chery, Valarie Hastings, Anthony Blacksher, and Michael Klam. Central Library, Downtown San Diego. Winning poets will read their poems and receive their cash awards and special gifts. Music by professor Brandon Cesmat. Open to all, community event. See the winners on SDPA Instagram @sdpoetryannual More about the Kowit prize here.

April 23rd, 6:30-8pm, Doggerel is back and better than never! San Diego Central Library in the Mary Hollis Clark room. Take a break from the hustle of National Poetry Month and enjoy an evening of low-brow, overly-contrived, and badly constructed poetry! Win unforgettable prizes for your lack of eloquence or surprise your audience with something approaching a cohesive thought! Register here. It will change your life.