Something’s blossoming in Tacoma – something with meter, imagery and rhyme. Tacoma’s poetry scene is on the upswing, with a poet laureate position into its second year, a new local anthology, two recent published books and one to come, and a calendar of readings that would make any bigger city proud.
“Tacoma’s one of the most exciting places to be in the Northwest” for poetry, says William Kupinse, English professor at the University of Puget Sound, published poet and Tacoma’s first poet laureate.
“The scene is absolutely vibrant and thriving. There’s lots of talent, and more openings for new artists than in more established scenes.”
Kupinse ought to know what talent is out there. He’s the co-editor of a just-published anthology of Tacoma poetry, “In Tahoma’s Shadow,” as well as a book of his own poems, “Fallow.”
Both were published with Tacoma Arts Commission grants by Exquisite Disarray Publishing, a small nonprofit set up recently by Kupinse to highlight Northwest poets.
“In Tahoma’s Shadow” contains the work of 77 local poets, weeded down by editors Kupinse and Tammy Robacker from more than 300 entries.
That so many poets answered a monthlong call for submissions is itself an indication of a strong Tacoma taste for poetry; the quality of those chosen, says Kupinse, is another. They include published poets such as Josie Emmons Turner and Jean Musser, playwrights such as Nick Stokes and Rosalind Bell, students, teachers, consultants, retirees.
The poems travel from Tacoma to Venice to Cambodia, from the ethereal to the political.
“I was meeting so many talented people at readings,” says Kupinse of the decision to publish an anthology. “This seemed a good way to highlight them to the community.”
Kupinse’s own book “Fallow” ranges through wistful memories, ironic observations (like a curse on those who use leaf blowers) and lush lovemaking. It follows on the heels of another Tacoma poetry book, Kevin Miller’s “Old Town Poems,” with Tammy Robacker’s “The Vicissitudes” to be published soon.
Nor is the city’s literary activity just in books. The position of poet laureate, inaugurated last year by Urban Grace Church to cultivate the poetry community and filled until last month by Kupinse, has been the catalyst for workshops and readings at many venues.
The new laureate, announced April 30, is popular spoken word artist Antonio Edwards, whose rhythmic, irregularly rhyming poems celebrate his Puerto Rican-German heritage and Christian faith, and take issue with political and social injustices.
Edwards brings poetry into schools, community groups and even bus stops, breaking up fights and showing kids that the spoken word can give them a future.
He intends, as the new laureate, to emphasize the performance aspect of poetry, and to take it into the urban community which, he says, is sometimes ignored by the literary community.
Then there’s the local reading scene. The 18-year-old Puget Sound Poetry Connection attracts around 40 people each month at its open mike at King’s Books – outstanding even for a bigger city than Tacoma, says president Connie Walle.
The Puyallup-based A River and Sound Review has grown during the last four years to include a podcast and a recent appearance at Seattle’s Richard Hugo House.
The Tacoma Area Literary Enthusiasts Group lists 290 members on its meetup.com Web site. The annual Showcase Tacoma festival includes an all-day poetry session, the Broadway Center features spoken word in productions, and poets read at dance concerts and libraries.
“We have a healthy scene here in Tacoma,” says Walle.
But why is it such a good thing to have a poetry-filled city?
“Poetry develops good personal skills and good literary skills,” says Edwards, “especially in schools where kids are stuck watching TV. And if you have a political agenda, it’s more digestible, more acceptable in a poem.”
Says spoken word poet Lucas Smiraldo: “Poetry is saving lives in the United States right now. (It) provides that venue – a statement to people that ‘I, too, matter.’”
Rosemary Ponnekanti: 253-597-8568
rosemary.ponnekanti@ thenewstribune.com
Express yourself: A list of local poetry groups. where to hear or read local poetry
Tacoma anthology readings
When/where: 7 p.m. May 21 at King’s Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma; 7 p.m. May 28 at Tacoma Public Library, 1102 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma
Information: www.kingsbookstore.com, www.tpl.lib.wa.us
Puget Sound Poetry Connection
When: 7 p.m. second Friday of the month
Where: King’s Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma
Information: www.kingsbookstore.com
A River and Sound Review public reading series
When: Three times a year, also podcasts
Information: www.riverandsoundreview.org
Spoken word artists
Information: www.speakyoursoul.org
Poet Laureate readings/workshops
Where: Urban Grace church, 902 Market St., Tacoma
Information: www.urbangracetacoma.org
The Tacoma Area Literary Enthusiasts Group
Information: www.meetup.com/Tacoma-Area-Literary-Enthusiasts-Writers
Vashon Poetry Fest
When: May 21-25
Information: www.vashonpoetryfest.com
Also: Local poetry books “Old Town Poems” by Kevin Miller, “Fallow” by William Kupinse and local anthology “In Tahoma’s Shadow” are all available at King’s Books.
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