CPF2

The largest single event SPLAB has ever done starts Thursday, May 1, at 7:30PM at Spring Street Center. The 2nd Cascadia Poetry Festival happens there and at Seattle U. There will be 6 poetry readings, 3 Living Room (free, democratic, open) reading sessions, five morning panels, one workshop and one talk given by an expert on Cascadia and bioregionalism.

There are many Facebook event pages for specific events and panelists are blogging about their participation: http://daily.sightline.org/2014/04/24/events-sightline-on-regional-fossil-fuel-activism/

Poets are blogging about their Poets Cruise from Victoria: http://pigsquash.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/poets-cruise-to-cascadia-poetry-festival-2014/

& about the Beer Slam: http://pigsquash.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/beer-slam-cascadia-poetry-festival/

and there’s at least one review of a reading staged by a co-curator of the Saturday night all women poets reading: http://www.poetrynw.org/afterwords-achoo-local-feminist-readings-combine-poetry-and-activism/

The whole schedule is on the main page of the festival website.

For the 1st Casacdia Poetry Festival, we were hoping for 30 Gold Passes sold in advance. For 2014, our goal was 300 and we have surpassed that. Capacity in the Pigott Auditorium is 411 and in the Spring Street Center Reception Hall, it’s about 90. Get to the venues early for a good seat.

The festival organizing committee has been amazing and many people are stepping up, including graphics whiz Philip Brautigam and my wife, Meredith, who LOVES planning. Sharon Cumberland at Seattle U was the one who made it possible for us to be at the university and huge thanks is due her and to Michelle Pelletier, who is an extraordinary facilities and events manager. I am grateful to all these people, to participating poets and speakers, to the Small Presses participating in the Small Press Fair, to our sponsors, to Poets & Writers, 4Culture and Humanities Washington  for the grants, to the IndieGoGo campaign contributors and to all those who have already purchased Gold Passes to the Fest.

This cultural investigation is an effort designed to know better the place in which we live and learn how to be better stewards of the bioregion, but also to understand our place in the world, that is how Cascadia can demonstrate how life in this technological era can be just and sustainable. If the poets don’t have any ideas, we’re in trouble, but I suspect we’ll get an earful next weekend. Online registration ends Thursday, but Gold Passes will be available at the registration table. I hope to see you there.

Paul Nelson
SPLAB Founding Director