Bigfoot Poetry Festival
The Bigfoot Poetry Festival, an annual series of open mics, themed
readings, and a poetry slam tournament, will bring top poets from across the country to perform and compete in Downtown Portland this summer.
The festival will feature three days of free events and poetry readings open to the public, including writing workshops, a literary market, the Nerd Slam (a reading celebrating all forms of nerd culture,) and an extensive list of themed open mics, celebrating identity, community, and creative expression from a wide range of poets.
The festival’s schedule of events is available at
https://www.bigfootpoetry.com/event-schedule
The main event of the Bigfoot Poetry Festival is a regional poetry slam tournament, featuring 16 teams made up of over 50 of the country’s best performance poets, representing cities such as
Portland, Las Vegas, Berkeley, San Diego, Phoenix, Kansas City, and more, in a poetry battle royale. The tournament will consist of multiple preliminary bouts on June 13th and 14th, hosted by two of
Portland’s most recognized literary institutions – Powell’s City of Books and Literary Arts. The top four teams will advance to the tournament’s Finals Stage on June 15th to see who will be
crowned champions of the Bigfoot Poetry Festival and receive the cash grand prize!
Tickets for Finals Stage (the only ticketed event of the festival) and the festival schedule of events are available at
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bigfoot-poetry-festival-finals-stage-tickets-892573721027
For those unfamiliar with the sport, poetry slam is a competition where poets perform their own original work for a panel of five judges that are randomly selected from the audience. Poets are
judged on a scale of one to ten, based on the poem’s composition and performance.
Portland has been a long-established host for poetry slams since the documentary Slamnation! was filmed here in 1996 during the National Poetry Slam. Since then, Portland has become home to
several poetry slam communities, including the Portland Poetry Slam and Slamlandia. The city also hosts Verselandia every spring, a tournament for the best of Portland’s youth poets.
Join our poets and fans of poetry from all over, as they converge this summer in Portland for the Bigfoot Poetry Festival! Cheer on the poets, sign up to read at an open mic, be a judge for the slam
tournament, and help us figure out what teams will perform on Finals Stage. Come poem with us.
Hourly Schedule
Thursday, June 13
- 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
- Persona Poems Mic
- This reading will spotlight persona poetry - a literary form in which poems are written from someone else’s perspective, usually a character from popular culture or history. You might hear a poem in the voice of Cleopatra, Nintendo’s Luigi, or even your cat. Come watch poets throw their voice and read from a different point of view. If you have a persona poem you’d like to share, we’ll have a sign-up sheet at the reading. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Tomi Simmons. It is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) on June 13th at 10:00am.
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
- The Body As A Tool - Performance Workshop
- Evris Oake leads a performance workshop centered on using the body as a tool to enhance your abilities on stage. It focuses on how eyes, hands, breath, feet, and posture all work together to enhance your poetry. This performance workshop is FREE, and it is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) in their Meadow room on June 13th at 10:00am. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Meadow event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
- AANHPI Poets Mic
- This event is part of our Affinity Open Mic Series, spotlighted poetry events for our community members who intersect with these identities to share their art with us as we actively listen, hold, and celebrate the space we inhabit together. Everyone is welcome to enjoy this open mic. If you are a member of the Asian, Hawaiian, and/or Pacific Islander community and would like to share your art, sign-ups will be available before this event begins. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Christopher Diaz. It is taking place at the Multnomah County Central Library on June 13th at 11:00am.
- 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
- Liberation Poetry Mic
- This reading will feature poems that call for and move toward the collective liberation of any & all marginalized communities. All power to the people. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Alone ft. Company. It is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) on June 13th at 12:00pm. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Grove event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
- Invisible / Visible Disabilities Mic
- This event is part of our Affinity Open Mic Series, spotlighted poetry events for our community members who intersect with these identities to share their art with us as we actively listen, hold, and celebrate the space we inhabit together. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy this open mic. If you are a member of the Invisibly or Visibly Disabled community and would like to share your poetry, sign-ups will be available before this event begins. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Cylie Naylor. It is taking place at the Multnomah County Central Library (801 SW 10th Ave) on June 13th at 1:00pm.
- 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
- Haiku Death Match!
- This event is an American Street-Style Haiku head-to-head bracket tournament, where the can be ONLY ONE! We acknowledge that the original haiku format is not the 5-7-5 structure taught in our public school classrooms, but rather a suggested 20 syllabes or less, to honor the artform within an “American” context. We love short poems & welcome all to share their micro-work in the tournament. Anyone is welcome to compete. Participants must bring a minimum of 30 haiku in order to compete to become the Bigfoot 2024 Haiku Deathmatch Champion! So come watch the ultimate battle of micro-poems. If you’d like to participate in the event, sign-ups will be available at the door. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Ember Matthews. It is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) on June 13th at 2:00pm. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Grove event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
- Make It Gay: Tropes & Cliches Writing Workshop
- Rylan Scott Keeling will be teaching this generative writing workshop about flipping the narrative and owning our stories. This writing workshop is FREE, and it is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) in their Meadow room on June 13th at 2:00pm. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Meadow event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 1
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Literary Arts while a different set of teams compete at Powell’s City of Books. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Boombox Poetry Salon, Berkeley Slam, The Biddies Strike Back, & Route 666. This event is FREE. It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) on June 13th at 5:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 3
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Powell’s while a different set of teams compete at Literary Arts. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Fountain City Poets, Ghost Spectre, Mindwell Poetry, & Loud Mouth Poetry Jam. This event is FREE. It is taking place on the top floor of Powell’s City of Books (1005 W Burnside St) on June 13th at 5:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 2
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Literary Arts while a different set of teams compete at Powell’s City of Books. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Portland Poetry Slam, San Diego Poetry Slam, Get Lit, & Voices of the Village. This event is FREE. It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) on June 13th at 7:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 4
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Powell’s while a different set of teams compete at Literary Arts. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Slamlandia, Gibson Family Slam, Ghost Phantom, & Love is Louder. This event is FREE. It is taking place on the top floor of Powell’s City of Books (1005 W Burnside St) on June 13th at 7:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 9:30 PM - 11:00 PM
- Feel Good Mic
- Ode to the velvet voice. Ode to the wide smile. Ode to small joys that spark the light in your eyes. Ode to the ode & all the poets who write them. Ode to feeling good. This is a FREE EVENT, and we would love to see you in the audience! If you want to share any poems, there will be a sign-up sheet at the event. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Cynthia French & Adriana Ramirez. It is taking place at Moxy (585 SW 10th Avenue) on June 13th at 9:30pm.
- 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM
- Erotica Open Mic
- You know what time it is. If you have an erotic poem you’d like to share, we’ll have a sign-up sheet at the reading. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Devin Devine. It is taking place at Moxy (585 SW 10th Avenue) on June 13th at 11pm.
Friday, June 14
- 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
- Slam Family Map Reading
- Tell me where you’re from! This reading will feature poems rooted in the places we call home. Come paint the scene of your local stomping grounds and pay homage to the place that raised you. If you’d like to sign up to read, a list will be available at the show. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Jane Belinda. It is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) on June 14th at 10:00am. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Grove event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
- Chaos As Craft Writing Workshop
- A generative writing workshop with Brennan DeFrisco on embracing poetic chaos, nearly infinite writing prompts, and methods to navigate the illusion of writer's block. This writing workshop is FREE, and it is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) in their Meadow room on June 14th at 10:00am.
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- Mental Health Mic
- This event is part of our Affinity Open Mic Series, spotlighted poetry events for our community members who intersect with these identities to share their art with us as we actively listen, hold, and celebrate the space we inhabit together. This reading is specifically focused on the brain's inner workings, a place to commiserate, contemplate, and celebrate how our neurons and synapses fire. If you would like to share your poetry on mental health, sign-ups will be available before this event begins. This event is FREE and will be hosted by the Poets Underground collective. It is taking place at the Multnomah County Central Library (801 SW 10th Ave) on June 14th at 11:00am.
- 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
- Nerd Poetry Slam
- The Nerd Slam is a space for you to hear poetry we can all geek out about! Any poems about a facet of pop culture (television, film, literature, podcasts, gaming, anime, etc.) or with a science-minded voice are welcome! This slam will also have a competitive element - folks who come up to the mic will be asked trivia in their Nerd Area of Expertise. We will attempt to get as many folks on the mic to share a poem - whether they get their trivia correct - depending on the number of sign ups! If you want to share a poem and flex your geek muscles, there will be a sign-up sheet at the event. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Stephen Meads & Julia Gaskill.It is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) on June 14th at 12:00pm.
- 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
- Energy Skills For Poets Workshop
- Learn how to tap acupressure points to release stuck energy, as well as special techniques to help sensitive people release fight/flight/freeze reactions. Techniques can be used before, during, and after slams to move through the experience with more balance. This workshop will be led by Cheryl Maddalena. This is a FREE event, and it is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) in their Meadow room on June 14th at 12:00pm. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Meadow event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
- Black Poets Mic
- This event is part of our Affinity Open Mic Series, spotlighted poetry events for our community members who intersect with these identities to share their art with us as we actively listen, hold, and celebrate the space we inhabit together. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy this open mic. If you are a member of the Black community and would like to share your poetry, sign-ups will be available before this event begins. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Camille McDaniel. It is taking place at the Multnomah County Central Library (801 SW 10th Ave) on June 14th at 1:30pm.
- 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
- Ethically Writing About Yourself Workshop
- In this workshop, Canadian poet Nisha Patel will explore the responsibilities we have to truth, but also to the burden of care we carry to ensure our own safety when choosing which stories about ourselves belong on stages. This writing workshop is FREE, and it is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) in their Meadow room on June 14th at 2:00pm. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Meadow event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
- Poetry Team Showcase
- This reading will feature a flight of poets from all over the country who are competing in the festival’s Poetry Slam Tournament. Come sample a wide range of spoken word artists from local and visiting poetry teams before they head into their second night of tournament bouts. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Brianna Renae. It is taking place in the lobby of the Ace Hotel (1022 SW Harvey Milk Street) on June 14th at 2:30pm.
- 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
- Wide Open Mic
- Anything goes! This reading welcomes all genres of spoken word performance: poetry, comedy, fiction, music on pre-tuned instruments, three minutes of your unpublished sci-fi novel, whatever you got for us. Performers will have 4 minutes to share whichever way they move the words. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Adam Barentine. It is taking place at the Woodlark Hotel (813 SW Alder St) on June 14th at 3:00pm. This event takes place on the basement floor of the Woodlark in the Grove event room. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 1
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Literary Arts while a different set of teams compete at Powell’s City of Books. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Mindwell Poetry, Love is Louder, Voices of the Village, & Gibson Family Slam. This event is FREE. It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) on June 14th at 5:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 3
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Powell’s while a different set of teams compete at Literary Arts. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: San Diego Poetry Slam, Ghost Phantom, Loud Mouth Poetry Jam, & The Biddies Strike Back. This event is FREE. It is taking place on the top floor of Powell’s City of Books (1005 W Burnside St) on June 14th at 5:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 2
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Literary Arts while a different set of teams compete at Powell’s City of Books. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Ghost Spectre, Slamlandia, Get Lit, & Boombox Poetry Salon. This event is FREE. It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) on June 14th at 7:00pm. We would love to see you there!
- 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Bout 4
- In this THREE NIGHT EVENT, poets from all over the Pacific Northwest, the country, and beyond will compete in a battle of words & the way they move. Four teams of poets will compete in this bout at Powell’s while a different set of teams compete at Literary Arts. The rankings of this bout will help determine who moves forward to our FINALS STAGE on June 15th. The teams competing at this event are: Berkeley Slam, Fountain City Poets, Portland Poetry Slam, & Route 666. This event is FREE. It is taking place on the top floor of Powell’s City of Books (1005 W Burnside St) on June 14th at 7:00pm. We would love to see you there!
Saturday, June 15
- 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- Poetry Market
- Heard a poem the other night and need to buy the rest of the book? Did you talk with a poet and they mentioned they have stickers for sale? Want to check out some sweet poetry and artist wares? Now is your chance! Come out to the Bigfoot Poetry Festival's Poetry Market on Saturday morning! We’ll have a market full of chapbooks, broadsides, and other literary goodies, such as buttons, pins, and more from poets and volunteers at the festival. There will be free coffee (courtesy of the Ace Hotel Stumptown!) and snacks while you meet and mingle with poets. This event is FREE to attend (though hopefully you'll spend some money supporting a poet!). It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) on June 15th from 8:00am - 12:00pm. This venue is ADA a This event takes place on the ground floor of Literary Arts.
- 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
- Latinx & Indigenous Poets Mic
- This event is part of our Affinity Open Mic Series, spotlighted poetry events for our community members who intersect with these identities to share their art with us as we actively listen, hold, and celebrate the space we inhabit together. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy this open mic. If you are a member of the Latinx and/or Indigenous community and would like to share your poetry, sign-ups will be available before this event begins. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Susanna Gibson. It is taking place at the Multnomah County Central Library (801 SW 10th Ave) on June 15th at 12:00pm.
- 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
- So You Want To Be A Writer? Workshop
- Ready to make your mark in the literary world? Join us for "So You Wanna Be a Writer" workshop—an epic adventure into the realm of publishing! Whether you're a rookie wordsmith or a seasoned scribe, this immersive session is your backstage pass to literary stardom. From crafting killer content to cracking the submission code, our team at Poets Underground Press will drop some serious knowledge and insider hacks to level up your writing game. Don't miss out—get ready to turn your writing dreams into blockbuster reality! This workshop will be led by the Poets Underground collective. This event is FREE, and it is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) in their board room on June 15th at 12:30pm. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
- Youth Poetry Slam
- 14 youth poets will compete in a two round poetry slam. Winner gets the opportunity to perform a poem in the showcase that same evening at the Bigfoot Poetry Festival's Finals Stage event (happening at 7:00pm at the United Church of Christ). Plus they will also win a $50 gift card to Powell's Books. Everyone is welcome to attend this poetry slam as it is a FREE event. Poets must be 19 or younger to take part. Poets must have 2 poems (they do not need to be memorized), and both poems must be 3 minutes or less. The slam's first round will contain 14 poets, and the second round we will cut down to 7 poets. To sign up to be in the poetry slam, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/JQFAR2jFJP6YJLPR8 If we receive more than 14 sign ups, there will be a randomized draw to determine the participants in this event (as well as a calibration poet). Some priority will be given to poets who are in Portland specifically for the Bigfoot Poetry Festival. We will do our best to have multiple schools are represented. Poets will be emailed at the start of June with more information. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
- From Trauma To Triumph Workshop
- This will be a workshop on how we usually leave audiences in grief and trauma after reading poems and how to begin leaving audiences in triumph. Revisiting works that feel extremely sad and finding ways to elevate them and ourselves in the process. This writing workshop will be led by Alont ft. Company. This event is FREE, and it is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) in their board room on June 15th at 2:00pm. This venue is ADA accessible. This event takes place on the ground floor of Literary Arts.
- 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
- Queer Poets Mic
- This event is part of our Affinity Open Mic Series, spotlighted poetry events for our community members who intersect with these identities to share their art with us as we actively listen, hold, and celebrate the space we inhabit together. Everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy this open mic. If you are identify as a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and would like to share your poetry, sign-ups will be available before this event begins. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Raina Funston & Jae Nichelle. It is taking place at the Multnomah County Central Library (801 SW 10th Ave) on June 15th at 2:30pm.
- 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
- Catharsis & Revenge Poetry Workshop
- In places around the world, there are scribes who will pen a love sonnet for your beloved. Copywriters will help you bring your ideas to life on websites and blogs. But nowhere is there a service for those who've been screwed over. Until now. Eric will help you pen a response to the unresolved parts of your life so that you can finally, really tell them how they were and with panache. In Catharsis and Revenge Poetry, there are so many options: greetings cards, un-love sonnets, eulogies for jerks (don't wait for them to die! it could happen at any time), bitingly sarcastic thank you letters, etc. (Note: while we will be petty and bent on revenge, this is actually a light-hearted endeavor with a bit of space to make fun of your own petty part in whatever happened to you. If you're interested in real revenge, we suggest you try the Bible; specifically, the Old Testament and good luck to you.) Whether with us or elsewhere, Happy Revenging! This writing workshop is FREE and hosted by Papasquatch (aka Eric Fair-Layman). It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) in their board room on June 15th at 3:30pm. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
- New Sh*t Mic
- This will be the last poetry open mic of the festival, so what better way to close the afternoon out than with a space to share entirely new work! Come share a poem you were inspired to write at some point during Bigfoot, or maybe a poem you’ve been working on for a long while but haven’t spoken to a room of strangers yet. Preferably all poetry shared at this event is relatively new and has never been read on a mic before! If you wish to share a poem, there will be a sign-up sheet at the event. This event is FREE and will be hosted by Stephen Meads. It is taking place at Literary Arts (925 SW Washington St) on June 15th at 4:00pm. This venue is ADA accessible.
- 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
- Poetry Slam Tournament: Finals Stage
- Come out on Saturday, June 15th, for the culmination of the 2024 Bigfoot Poetry Festival to find out who's taking home first place this year! Sixteen teams of poets will compete the nights of June 13th and 14th to determine which four teams will advance towards winning the title of the Bigfoot Poetry Slam Champions!! At our finals stage, these teams will take part in a four round poetry slam and bring their best and brightest work out. Along with the competition, there will be a musical opener (TBA) and a short Bigfoot Poetry Festival Showcase at the top of the evening. Tickets available here: (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bigfoot-poetry-festival-finals-stage-tickets-892573721027) Doors open at 6:30 PM. Show starts at 7:00 PM. This event is recommended for all ages - though we will not censor the poets, so be advised that there will be some mature content heard in their work. There will also be food and drinks for purchase. If you are a volunteer or festival registered poet, you do not have to purchase a ticket to come to Finals. Just bring your lanyard / badge for free door entry. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Discounts are available for students. If you are a teacher looking to bring a large group of students out, or if you are someone who would like to attend but can't afford tickets, please email [email protected]. This event takes place on the 2nd floor at the UCC. This venue is ADA accessible - there will be gender neutral bathrooms, and there is an elevator to take attendees to Finals / the bathroom. Don't miss out on this chance to see the 2024 Bigfoot Poetry Slam Champions crowned!