Celebrate Salem’s Poetry Scene this April

Is Salem known for its poetry scene? Probably not, but perhaps it’s time to change that perception, particularly with April being National Poetry Month.

Ask Salem Poetry Project (SPP) founder and poet Marc Janssen about poetry in Salem. He’s hosted more than 350 weekly poetry readings since 2016. “Salem is a great center of poetry. It’s underground. The rest of the state doesn’t think about us being a center of poetry, but we are,” he said.

Salem Poetry Project founder Marc Janssen. Photo by Gil Nicholson-Nelson

Regular poetry readings, artist collaborations, poetry boxes, performances, calendars and anthologies are just a few ways to plug in. The SPP and Mid-Valley Poetry Society (MVPS) work hard to bring poetry to the community.

Amalie Rush Hill at Salem Poetry Project. Photo by Gil Nicholson-Nelson

Steve Penner at Salem Poetry Project. Photo by Gil Nicholson-Nelson

Renee Rowan Nose at Salem Poetry Project. Photo by Gil Nicholson-Nelson

Charles K Carter at Salem Poetry Project. Photo by Gil Nicholson-Nelson

Plenty of local poets read at SPP readings, but poets from Portland, Corvallis, Eugene, Tillamook, and even further away travel here to read their poems. Poets read 7 p.m. every Thursday at the Bush Art Barn Annex, 900 Mission St., with a live stream on the SPP Facebook page. Featured readers are followed by an open microphone.

In April, the weekly readings will temporarily be at Marco Polo Global Restaurant, 300 Liberty St. SE, before returning to the Bush Art Barn Annex in May. In April, featured poets Colette Tennant will read on April 4, Stephanie Lenox on April 11, Caroline Holm on April 18 and Sue Lick on April 25.

Also promoting Salem poetry is the Mid-Valley Poetry Society, a unit of the OPA, led by poet Eleanor Berry, no stranger to Salem and the region’s art and poetry life. At monthly meetings, poets and poet activists plan a variety of projects to enrich the local and regional poetry culture

Bush Park walkers can find the MVPS outdoor poetry box, near the Bush Art Barn entrance, full of locally-written poems free for the taking. A second poetry box is inside Taproot Lounge & Café, 365 State St. The poetry boxes led to the Poems out of the Box anthology, and the group put out the 2024 Voices and Visions engagement calendar featuring 12 poem-artwork compositions.

Mid-Valley Poetry Society Poetry box at Bush Park

Mid-Valley Poetry Society Poetry box inside Taproot

MVPS also posts a Statesman Journal monthly poetry column, and poet Steve Slemenda will continue his “Poetry on the Air” KMUZ Radio broadcast with occasional podcasts. In addition, poetry performances are staged annually. In December, “Poetry Spoken & Signed: Works by Deaf Poets” took place at Camp Taloali with Portland poet Suzy Harris on her deaf experiences. More performances are on tap for 2024.

At the Englewood Forest Festival (August 10, 2024), the MVPS will have a booth where poet Juniper Moon will demonstrate letterpress printing. And each summer poets take part in the Artists in Action’s Paint/Write The Town project which culminates in an art and poetry show, and poetry reading.

That’s a lot of poetry enriching Salem; and does Marc Janssen ever worry about finding poets for the Salem Poetry Project weekly reading? Never. “There are always more poets. Always. It’s exciting,” he said. “Poetry is for everybody.”

Salem Poetry Project

When: Colette Tennant, April 4; Stephanie Lenox, April 11; Caroline Holm, April 18; and Sue Lick, April 25.
Where: Marco Polo Global Restaurant, 300 Liberty St. SE