Q: How long has the festival been going on?
Our bi-annual festival has existed since 1998.
Q. How do I get tickets for the 2012 festival?
There are two ways to get tickets. Go online to brownpapertickets.com or go the The Next Chapter Bookstore and Café in La Conner and purchase them there (see ticket information on this website).
Q. How can I learn more about the poets at the festival?
We have biographies for all the poets on this website and also links to their homepages if they have one.
Q. How does the selection committee pick the poets who appear? What do the poets do?
The poet selection committee looks at past festival participants and balances who has not been to the Skagit Valley Poetry Festival with our needs as a community audience. Our first consideration comes from our mission: “Students at the Heart.” Poets need to represent the community of students we teach, so we look to our population and select accordingly. We also look for the poetic voices that the students have studied in classes, or poets that will excite their imaginations.
It is a remarkable opportunity for students to connect with living poets whose names they have seen in their textbooks. Some poets return each year, and they are the poets who do the groundwork for our school residency programs, which have brought an estimated 500 poets to more than 300,000 students.
We feel fortunate that we are able to bring many acclaimed poets to our corner of the Pacific Northwest. Our generous support base and educated community make this possible.
The poets we bring to La Conner do many things. They work in week-long residencies in area schools throughout the year and biennially they come to La Conner for our four-day festival. During the festival, poets do readings, panel discussions, interviews and workshops.
Q. What is the Poet’s Table dinner and the Celtic Night? How do I get tickets for that?
The Poet’s Table Dinner, 5:30-7:30 May 17, is one of our opening events. Poets and patrons share local food and hearty wine sitting side-by-side with celebrated poets. This is a fundraising event for the Festival and seats are limited. Tickets are $75 (see ticketing information on website). We recommend you reserve now. Last year’s event was a sell-out.
Celtic Night: An Evening of Poetry, Storytelling and Music follows the Poet’s Table dinner, from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m., and is a separate ticket ($25). We are featuring popular Dublin-born poet Tony Curtis and storyteller Will Hornyak, along with the remarkable music of Randal Bays, for an evening of lively Irish entertainment. You can attend either opening night event – or both.
Q. Which Festival days are for students, and which for adults?
Thursday evening is open to the general public. Friday 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. is “Students Only” Day. This year it is May 18. After the students leave, the Festival becomes open to the public , with a Friday night reading by Carolyn Forche’, Patrick Lane, and a performance by the B.C. group The Fugitives. The Festival runs through all of Saturday and, for workshops, on Sunday.
Q. I heard there were going to be workshops with poets at the Festival this year. Can you tell me who is leading them and how I might attend?
This year we have separated the workshops from the general Festival readings and panel discussions and scheduled them for Sunday. Anyone interested in the skill-building side of poetry can stay for the extra day and sign up for one of these 3-4 hour workshops at an extra charge. This year we have several exciting workshops to offer. Some of the poets leading workshops are: Ellen Bass, Jericho Brown, Tony Hoagland, Mark Schafer, and Lorraine Ferra. Stay tuned.
Q. How did the Poets-in-Schools program start? Who pays to put poets into the classrooms?
Back in 1997, a group of teachers and administrators in Skagit County got together and decided that student literacy could be increased by using poetry. They looked at programs around the country and especially the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in New Jersey for guidance. These other programs had a long track record of providing great services to their area schools and increasing literacy. So it was decided to give it a try.
Our poets are paid in part by contributions from school districts that are members of the Skagit River Poetry Project. Funds from other sources such as Humanities Washington, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Swinomish Tribe, and the Riverstyx Foundation all contribute to off-set costs not covered by local schools.
Q. Who organizes the school program and the festival?
The Skagit River Poetry Project is governed by a board and each board member wears several hats. They organize various aspects of the festival, from poet selection to programming, from fundraising to media. We begin work on the next festival as soon as we say good-bye to the current festival.
The Poets-in-the-Schools program is also on-going. Each year we begin the school year with a teacher inservice for teachers who will host poets in their classrooms. We place poets in over 200 classrooms every year for more than 80 days.
Q. How do the program and the festival get their funding?
Funding for the festival and schools project comes from many sources. We write grants to state, federal and private organizations, we organize fundraising events, and we get support from area school districts funds and individual donors.
Q. If I write a check to donate to the Skagit River Poetry Project, where does the money go?
Your tax-deductible donation goes into a budget that has been approved by our board and is used to fund all aspects of the project, including the Poets-in-the-Schools program, the festival, advertising, and honorariums for poets from around the world, including their food and transportation. Contributions help us pay to have our posters and programs printed, and to cover all the expenses for services related to everything that goes into putting on a world-class event.
