It is a tradition that I first encountered at the Taos Poetry Circus in New Mexico. The democratic component of that fest and of the Cascadia Poetry Festival is Living Room. Poets gather in a circle and read their own work and listen to each other. The event is free. Ntozake Shange was one of the many renowned poets I had a chance to hear in the intimate setting of the Living Room. I first heard Amalio Madueño‘s work in the courtyard of the café where Living Room was held the three years I attended. George Stanley attended the Living Room one of the days the fest happened in Seattle in May 2014. It occurs to me that Canadians are more likely to understand the egalitarian nature of the event, so who knows who we’ll see in the Living Room in Nanaimo during the 3rd Cascadia Poetry Fest. That it’s happening in the Nanaimo Museum is a bonus.  (poster)