Poet’s House (A Low-Income Artist Housing project)

We envision a low-income artist housing space to include 10-12 units, ground floor retail including a café, with soup, sandwiches and some groceries. Ideally, connected to a farm, to the proposed Rainier Beach Food Innovation District and offering as much in locally-grown organic ingredients as possible. The café would be connected to ground floor community space which could host events, poetry readings, provide gallery space, banquets, &c.

Poets who have qualifying incomes and who would be active in the creation of events at the house including, but not limited to weekly critique circles (open to the community), readings, a regular open mic night and other events, would be invited to apply. We envision an international call for potential participants.

This project also could be done as mixed-income and perhaps with condominiums, or as a land trust effort. Art Space Inc. could be a partner and/or the Seattle Social Housing Development Board or SEED.

Such a community of poets would be open to working with all members of the greater community to help event attendees to sharpen their own poetic gesture and said residents would represent the community in an appropriate manner. They could offer classes to high school students, or teach at Rainier Beach H.S. and other nearby high schools.

A studio apartment could be left open for a Poet-in-Residence program, inviting an established poet to live there for a week or two to work with residents and at-large community members. The apartment would also be available for use as a space for writer’s residencies and as a STR (Airbnb) revenue-enhancing effort.

Paul E Nelson
Founding Director
Cascadia Poetics Lab
(206) 422.5002
pen@cascadiapoeticslab.org