Postcards from Mapes Creek on June 8! Join us on June 8, 2025 from 4-7 PM at Mapes Creek for a community poetry...
splab archive blog

Cascadia Poetics LAB was known as SPLAB prior to September 2021. Here you will find past SPLAB blog articles going back to 2009.
Sam O’Hana on How to Support Working Class Poets
When I said that what’s good for general society is also good for poets, I’m talking about a series of cultural opportunities where a much wider stretch of people are allowed to take the opportunity to become writers. I came back from a conference last week where I presented some research on the demographic aspects of the New American poets. The poets that were born and came to maturity in the early to mid-20th century were beneficiaries of broad national scale longevity gains. This [includes] things like pushbacks against tuberculosis, against polio, against poor nutrition and infant mortality. These are gains that were made by the medical and scientific institutions, but also by general prosperity, by making more food available to more people and making that food shelf stable for longer. So, when you talk about what might make it possible for poor people to do more creative work, you could start by saying well we should just give people more money, but the fact of the matter is that plenty of people already have the wealth they need, they just don’t actually have any time.
Podcast (prophets-podcast): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:28 — 81.7MB)
Winter in America (Again Audio from Seattle Feb 5, 2025
Audio from February 4 2025 Winter in America (Again at Seattle U with Jason Wirth, Paul E Nelson, Catalina Cantú, Stacey Jones, Zach Charles, Terran Campbell, Deborah Bacharach, Matt Trease, Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs.
Cascadia Poetics Lab Supports Open Books
Open Books is moving to Pioneer Square and needs your support
Seriality (A 2022 Workshop:
In this workshop we take the methods and the organismic stance toward poetics (& life) and continue to investigate...
Sharon Thesen Testimonial
We had a remarkable and deeply soulful Founding Supporters reading last night, Friday, November 5, 2021. Huge thanks...
Poems for Peace with Andrew Schelling
Andrew Schelling reads for the SICA-USA ZOOMUSE POEMS FOR PEACE.
Founding Supporters Reading
We are delighted to present four master poets for our Founding Supporters, those who have contributed at least $100 to...
Poetry Postcard Fest: A Tribute to di Prima and McClure
Registration for the 15th Poetry Postcard Fest ends July 18, 2021.
Poetry Postcard Fest Orientation
An orientation for the 15th Poetry Postcard Fest via Zoom, Saturday, June 19, 2021, 10am PDT.
New SPLAB Board Members
Two new members of the SPLAB Board of Directors. A treasurer is still needed on the board.
Cate Gable on Police Poetry
SPLAB's own Cate Gable, intrepid columnist for the Chinook Observer, observes the (ahem) "poetry" of the Minneapolis...
Please Give Big to SPLAB in 2021
Case for supporting SPLAB during Give Big 2021
The Challenge of Editing a Beat Legend
A wonderful look at the working style of one of SPLAB's poetry heroes, Michael McClure, as described by his last...
Kubota Garden Poems
From Lola Peters: Kubota Garden Revealed Your Kubota Garden Poem Open, online, poetry reading Monday, April 12,...
Richard Hugo House and the Writing Community
It is with great sorrow that I sit to compose this post about the Seattle writing community. For many years now,...
(Indigenous) Cascadian Zen
SPLAB Board Member Jason Wirth and I had the good fortune to interview Wedlidi Speck about an indigenous perspective...
Christine Lowther’s Tree Anthology
Christine Lowther, the Poet Laureate of Tofino, BC, and a Make it True poet, had a call for poets who love TREES. IT...

















