San Diego Poetry Annual

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

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.

May 2, 8-9:00pm, doors open at 7:30, SDPA authors + Poets Underground combo event 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_

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

May 17-26, all day, CECUT, Elixir, 2024 Bilingual Edition of SDPA, Feria del Libro at the Tijuana Cultural Center. Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

May 26, 2-4:00pm, last Sunday, Poets at the Grove in Balboa Park, SDPA and community reading with host Deborah Ramos. (Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

June 7, 5:15 – 6:45pm, SDWI/Inspirations Gallery in Liberty Station, SDPA authors open reading at San Diego Writers, Ink (SDWI) First Friday Reading. Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sandiegopoetryannual

June 12, 7pm, Wandering Words: SDPA’s Executive Editor Michael Klam joins San Diego Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez and USD professor/poet Leonora Simonovis for Wandering Words – San Diego’s only reading series devoted to place-based writing.

June 29, 3:00pm, SDPA Veterans Reading, San Diego Writer’s, Ink, hosted by veteran and SDPA Veterans Section editor Billiekai Boughton. Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

July 21, 2:00 – 5:00pm, La Jolla / Riford Library Community Room, 7555 Draper Ave. La Jolla, CA 92037. San Diego Poetry Annual open reading. Host: Seretta Martin, SDPA Managing Editor. Open to the Public — Published readers followed by Open Mic. Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

August 6: Poetry In Ocean returns with featured local artists and authors panel, music, nosh, prizes, and ocean-themed open mic. Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

August 25, 2-4:00pm, last Sunday, Poets at the Grove in Balboa Park, SDPA‘s Karla Cordero and Michael Klam Prose + Poetry and community open reading with host Deborah Ramos. (Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

Sept 8, 3:00pm, @ Spacebar with host Jim Moreno in person and on Zoom. (Sign up or get involved by email: sdpoetryannual@gmail.com) Instagram: @sdpoetryannual

Sept. 24, 7:00pm, multilingual Zoom reading, SDPA’s bilingual edition, Elixir, authors from San Diego/Tijuana/Mexico/Spain (Galicia). Zoom link and details forthcoming.

———————–Past Events, 2023-24————————–

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 SDPA authors, 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.

March 9, 5:30-7:30 International Women of Poetry, Join us at Encinitas Art Night free poetry reading, workshop, and open mic. Our Director of Partnerships, Ukrainian-born poet, Jane Yevgenia Muschenetz, will lead an “International Women of Poetry” workshop along with fellow award-winning writers Ari Honarvar, winner of the Nautilus Book Award for A Girl Called Rumi, Leonora Simonovis, Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Literature at USD, and Katie Manning, Editor-in-chief of Whale Road Review and Professor of Writing Emeritus at PLNU. The workshop will focus on global female voices across the field of poetry. Participants will also be invited to write and perform their own poems.

October 12, 7-9PM, San Diego Central Library, *Poetry to the People Event*: Hafez Day in the Neil Morgan Auditorium. Register HERE. Hafez Shirazi (1315-1390 CE) is one of the most beloved and influential poets in the world and is especially revered in his home country of Iran. His legacy of inspiring love, joy, justice and peace with his beautiful words is celebrated in Iran and many other countries on Hafez Day with poetry recitals, music, food, art, and community. Organized with the San Diego Iranian Community and SDPL, this event is FREE and open to all. FEATURED POETS & MUSICIANS: Kazim Ali, Carly DeMento, Zoe Ghahremani, Adam Greenfield, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Ari Hornarvar, Michael Klam, Katie Manning, Jane Muschenetz, Robt O, San Diego Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez, Margarita Pintado, Gill Sotu, and Namaad Ensemble of Persian Classical Music.

October 3, 6:30-8PM, San Diego Central Library, *Poetry to the People Event*: Doggerel Workshop + Share in the Shiley Event Suite. Register HERE. (Close the pop-up window that comes up when you click the link). Poetry doesn’t have to be serious! A “Doggerel” (comic verse in an irregular pattern) is a great excuse for literary silliness. Come for some ridiculous fun, pranks, prizes, chuckles and guffaws. Family friendly, open to all, FREE.

September 28, 6:30-8:30PM: Poetry Day at Point Loma Nazarene University. Our Partners in Poetry, PLNU Writing Department, presents a “Speed Poetry Reading” of the One Poet/One Poem variety in honor of the 25th anniversary of the university’s Poetry Day. FREE Registration and open to all!

September 27, 6:30-8:30PM: Open Mic at Libélula Books Want to submit to the San Diego Poetry Annual but still have some questions? Join us for a quick information session in Barrio Logan with Regional Editor Karla Cordero, Bilingual Editor Olga Garcia, and Executive Editor Michael Klam. FREE and open to the public!

September 18, 7-9PM, Zoom, *Poetry to the People Event*: Imagine SDPA Bilingual Volume Reading, co-hosted by SDPA Executive Editor, Michael Klam, SDPA Bilingual Volume Editor, Olga Garcia, and SDPA Marketing Coordinator, Alana Contreras-Rodriguez. Spanish/English poets and works from the SDPA will be presented. Contact Michael, sdpoetryannual@gmail.com, to be added to the lineup. Free and open to all. Register to attend HERE.

Este proyecto fue posible con el apoyo de California Humanities, un asociado sin fines de lucro del National Endowment for the Humanities. Visite www.calhum.org.

September 16th, 11AM-12PM, Kids! SDPA Workshop – Calling all young poets! The Kids! SDPA will be hosting a workshop in Mission Hills Library. Learn about poetry and how to write poems! All participants can submit their poems for publication in the 2023 Kids! San Diego Poetry Annual. FREE Registration is required as space is limited. (Please close the pop up window that comes up with the link.)

September 10, 3-5PM, Spacebar, *Poetry to the People Event*: SDPA Reading + Open Mic – with Jim Moreno, 7454 University Ave A, La Mesa, CA 91942. East County, here we come! FREE and open to all. Priority at the Mic for SDPA published poets.

August 26: *Poetry to the People Event*: Kids! SDPA Workshops – Calling all young poets! The Kids! SDPA will be hosting workshops in North and South County. Learn about poetry and how to write poems! All participants will have an opportunity to submit their poems for publication in the 2023 Kids! San Diego Poetry Annual. Registration is required as space is limited.

August 19: San Diego Union-Tribune’s Festival of Books – For book lovers of all ages, the 7th Annual Festival of Books will be happening Aug. 19th at the University of San Diego campus. Come visit the SDPA booth with Bethel Swift at Author Alley (see map). Our Director of Partnerships Jane Muschenetz will have a panel at the Poetry Stage at 11:45AM! Friends of the SDPA, Katie Manning and SD Poet Laureate Jason Magabo-Perez will also take the stage (see schedule). See you there!

August 5, 10AM, Zoom: *Poetry to the People Event*: SDPA Submission Tutorial + Submission Party in partnership with Women Who Submit Lit (WWS). Led by SDPA Regional Editor, Karla Cordero, and SDPA Director of Partnerships, Jane Muschenetz, Co-founders of the San Diego Chapter of WWS. Open to women/nonbinary writers and allies.

Thursday, July 13 @ 5:30 p.m. Poetry to the People Event at the Centro Cultural in Tijuana:

Lit fans, writers, and translators unite! Come join hosts Mónica Morales and Michael Klam in Tijuana as we celebrate Imagine, the 2023 bilingual edition of San Diego Poetry Annual. The reading and events will take place during the Feria del Libro Tijuana @ CECUT. Find all the details below in the posters and HERE (Feria del Libro Website) and HERE (SDPA Instagram). Special thanks to SDEAG and, in part, California Humanities for programming support! Click HERE to submit to SDPA – FREE for both English or Bilingual!

Este proyecto fue posible con el apoyo de California Humanities, un asociado sin fines de lucro del National Endowment for the Humanities. Visite www.calhum.org.

June 14th: Wandering Words

SDPA’s Executive Editor, Michael Klam, and Director of Partnerships, Jane Muschenetz, will join Katie Manning for Wandering Words – San Diego’s only reading series devoted to place-based writing.

June 3 @ La Jolla Library, in the Community Room from 1-3 pm, 7555 Draper Ave.La Jolla, CA 92037. All the details on the groovy poster below:

Sunday, May 7th., 1:00 p.m.: The EAP Gallery is pleased to host Bill Harding, staff & authors of the San Diego Poetry Annual at 1pm on Sunday, May 7th.

April 7 @ Central Library: San Diego Poetry Annual, San Diego Writers Festival, Library Foundation SD, and San Diego Central Library proudly present an evening of inspiration and celebration in honor of the city’s vibrant poetry community and seminal poet, Steve Kowit. Taking place on April 7^th, 6:30-9:00PM at Central Library, the free and open-to-the-public event will feature a mini-book-fair reception, music, food, and, of course, poetry. Keynote speaker and California’s newest Poet Laureate, Lee Herrick, will be joined on the awards stage by San Diego Poet Laureate, Jason Magabo Perez and local poets of note, including the 2023 Kowit Award winner, Julia Levine, Ron Salisbury, Jeff Walt, Gill Sotu, among others. The event organizers and supporters include representatives from Write Out Loud, San Diego Writers, Ink, Friends of SD Public Library. Sponsorship opportunities available. Contact us at sdeag1@gmail.com to learn more. Click here to register!

_____________________________________