Reminder: Looking For The Next 2026-27 SCC Youth Poet Laureate!
Calling all performers! Poetry, hip hop, and musical theater artists! We are looking for the county's next Youth Poet Laureate!
To submit your application, click here.
Deadline to submit: May 31st, 11:59p.m. (PDT)
Prepare these materials as you submit your application:
General application
Artist Statement/Biography about who you are
Photo for promotional purposes
Three (3) of your poems totaling no more than ten (10) pages. (You can also upload a document with links to online videos)
In 250 words, tell us who you are and what poetry means to you.
The Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program is youth-centered program to celebrate literacy and self-literacy through poetry and connect young writers to opportunities for performances and community collaborations.
Each year, we will accept applications from talented Santa Clara County writers (ages 13-18) to join a community of young poets. The Laureate earns an educational scholarship. The Laureate will, and all the Finalists are invited to, serve as ambassadors for literacy, arts and youth expression with ongoing opportunities for performances, projects, and peer support.
Every applicant will be invited to stay in connection with the SCC Youth Poet Laureate community.
PCSJ Board of Directors Meeting (via Zoom)
Public comment period will be available to begin the meeting, a chance for the public to share feedback on programming, suggestions, and constructive criticism to be considered by board members of PCSJ.
To join and participate in the public comment, please RSVP on Zoom here.
Between 6:30-6:35 is your time to notify that you wish to be heard. Provide your name in the chat to reserve your two minute time-slot.
Agenda and minutes will be provided.
San José Poetry Slam – Zoom Edition
Poetry Center San Jose presents The San Jose Poetry Slam Zoom Edition
We moved days
Come join us for Poetry from the comfort of your own home
Room opens at 6:30p.m. (PST)
Register here through Ticket Tailor
Sign up list will be open from 6:30 to 7:00p.m.
Slam starts at 7:00p.m.
We are on Pacific Standard time, that is 3 hours earlier than east coast time and 3 hours ahead of Hawaii.
This is a free event.
Your host and Emcee will be Scorpiana Xlent!
Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
If you have never been to a Poetry Slam before, a poetry slam is a competition, imagine spoken word poetry as an olympic sport.
The rules are simple:
Poets must use their own poems.
Poet must use only one poem per round.
No musical accompaniment.
No props.
Time limit of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Going over that will result in a time penalty.
Poets must have video on while performing or there will be a 3-point penalty deduction.
This is a two-round slam, poets with the highest scores will move up to round two.
You can sign up to compete via the chat box in the zoom room.
If you're not competing, we could use judges.
Please remember to submit a quick audience survey to help us improve our logistics and content and report to our funders and sponsors. Here is the link to the survey: https://bit.ly/3M63VqH
Poetry Center San José promotes and supports the literary arts in San José. Over the past four decades, PCSJ has brought hundreds of exceptional writers from around the country to read from their works and, in many cases, to conduct workshops for local writers. PCSJ is a nonprofit organization established in 1978. Its base of operations is in the charming turn-of-the-century Victorian home where the renown poet Edwin Markham once lived, now located in San José History Park. Poetry Center San José is a member supported organization and is funded, in part, by grants from Applied Materials Foundation, the City of San José's Office of Cultural Affairs, Knight Foundation, Poets & Writers, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, SVCREATES, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts Council and also supported in part by a SVCreates National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan grant. We also thank Brandenburg Family Foundation and Anne & Mark's Art Party for their generous giving
Well-RED Reading Series featuring Anshu Johri & Monica Korde!
Well-RED Reading Series featuring Anshu Johri & Monica Korde!
Co-sponsored by Works/San José art and performance center!
38 South Second Street, downtown San José
7:00 p.m. PDT
Open mic to start the show!
If you are unable to attend in person, we welcome you to join via Zoom! Register in advance for this event via Zoom. Link: https://bit.ly/Well-RED_June2026
Anshu Johri authors poems, short stories, and plays in Hindi and English. She has published three poetry collections and three short story collections in Hindi and published Scraped, a short story collection in English. Her work in Hindi and English has been continuously published in various reputed literary magazines and journals of India and the USA, and is also available at Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, YouTube, Spotify, and Kindle. She has been a featured reader and guest speaker in various reading series of the San Francisco Bay Area and India. She has been organizing literary events through local non-profit organizations of the San Francisco Bay Area for the past twenty-five+ years. She has curated and directed various experimental poetry projects in collaboration with other art forms, combining theater and classical dance forms with poetry, which were showcased in the San José Poetry Festival and the San Francisco Litcrawl, among many others. Besides writing, her other passions include dabbling in oil painting and theatre, where she has written, directed, and acted in plays in the Bay Area. A recipient of the Kamleshwar Smriti Katha Samman (India) for best story of 2019 and “Glorious India Award 2017” in New Jersey, U.S.A, she is also the program coordinator of Poetry Center San Jose’s monthly reading series in Hindi called “Bauchhaar”. She has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from San José State University and works as a hardware engineer. She lives in San José, California.
Monica Korde is Poet Laureate Emerita of Belmont, California (2021–2025), and the city’s first South Asian immigrant to serve in the role. Her multidisciplinary practice bridges poetry and other arts, inviting audiences to engage deeply with identity, belonging, climate action and collective creativity. Founder of the initiative Project POETRY 360, Monica often holds spaces with BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ AAPI, immigrant and youth voices through collaborative work, workshops and readings. Her interviews and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous publications such as LAdige Review: home of California Poets (2026), Poets for Science (2026), Weavers Literary Review (Weavers Press 2025), Being, Becoming, Belonging Anthology (Pierian Press 2024), World Poetry Day Anthology (Savitri Publications, India), and elsewhere, including various digital venues on podcast, radio, and YouTube. An experienced curator and host of several community poetry series with Open Mic events and editor of the e-book RESONANCE: A Chorus of Response Poems, featuring local poets and guest California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, her work centers on bringing visibility to the literary arts and poets in the community. Among her recently featured creative works is a collaborative poetry installation showcased at the 2026 Legacy Exhibition at Kitsune Art Studio in Half Moon Bay. She is currently an Artist-in-Residence with Government (AIRG) with the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture, supporting creative civic engagement through the arts.
Downtown SJ provides free parking on the street after 6:00 p.m. Available street parking is difficult to find after 6:30 p.m.
If you are unable to find parking on the street, there are two parking garages of note:
1.) 25 S. 3rd Street PARKSJ Garage (located underground, under The Globe Apartments), about 300 meters from Works/San José;
2.) 2nd & San Carlos PARKSJ Garage (first 90 minutes are free). This is a 5-10 minute walk to Works/San José
TO SUBMIT EVENT FEEDBACK, visit: https://bit.ly/4dBnxR2
Submissions Open for Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
This year, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick with make the final selection!
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
Final Judge: Lee Herrick!
Three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250.
Five finalists published in 2026 red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
Letterpress broadside of winning poem printed by Gary Young, Greenhouse Review Press!
The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026 will be open for submissions on April 1, 2026. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work!
To submit your manuscript, visit: https://redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit
Submit up to three unpublished poems in a single manuscript.
Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page;
Do not include any personal identifiers in the manuscript, manuscript file name, and the title line when submitting;
Short bio acceptable, not required;
Deadline to submit: 31 July 2026;
Fee per manuscript is $15.00;
Simultaneous submission OK but please notify immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The contest is open to all styles of poetry from national and international participants writing in English except individuals who are employees and/or board members for Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Poetry Center San José.
The 2025 winners: 1st prize: Emily Pease, "Veer" (Williamsburg, VA); 2nd prize: Michele Parker Randall, "Mother Lode" (Sanford, FL); 3rd prize: Melissa McKinstry, "Once Opened" (San Diego, CA).
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize is sponsored by Poetry Center San José and Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
For information about Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, visit https://www.deanza.edu/english/creative-writing/red-wheelbarrow.html
Submissions Open for Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
This year, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick with make the final selection!
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
Final Judge: Lee Herrick!
Three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250.
Five finalists published in 2026 red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
Letterpress broadside of winning poem printed by Gary Young, Greenhouse Review Press!
The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026 will be open for submissions on April 1, 2026. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work!
To submit your manuscript, visit: https://redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit
Submit up to three unpublished poems in a single manuscript.
Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page;
Do not include any personal identifiers in the manuscript, manuscript file name, and the title line when submitting;
Short bio acceptable, not required;
Deadline to submit: 31 July 2026;
Fee per manuscript is $15.00;
Simultaneous submission OK but please notify immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The contest is open to all styles of poetry from national and international participants writing in English except individuals who are employees and/or board members for Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Poetry Center San José.
The 2025 winners: 1st prize: Emily Pease, "Veer" (Williamsburg, VA); 2nd prize: Michele Parker Randall, "Mother Lode" (Sanford, FL); 3rd prize: Melissa McKinstry, "Once Opened" (San Diego, CA).
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize is sponsored by Poetry Center San José and Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
For information about Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, visit https://www.deanza.edu/english/creative-writing/red-wheelbarrow.html
Deadline: Submit to Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
Final Judge: Lee Herrick!
Three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250.
Five finalists published in 2026 red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
Letterpress broadside of winning poem printed by Gary Young, Greenhouse Review Press!
The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026 will be open for submissions on April 1, 2026. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work!
To submit your manuscript, visit: https://redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit
Submit up to three unpublished poems in a single manuscript.
Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page;
Do not include any personal identifiers in the manuscript, manuscript file name, and the title line when submitting;
Short bio acceptable, not required;
Deadline to submit: 31 July 2026;
Fee per manuscript is $15.00;
Simultaneous submission OK but please notify immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The contest is open to all styles of poetry from national and international participants writing in English except individuals who are employees and/or board members for Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Poetry Center San José.
The 2025 winners: 1st prize: Emily Pease, "Veer" (Williamsburg, VA); 2nd prize: Michele Parker Randall, "Mother Lode" (Sanford, FL); 3rd prize: Melissa McKinstry, "Once Opened" (San Diego, CA).
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize is sponsored by Poetry Center San José and Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
For information about Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, visit https://www.deanza.edu/english/creative-writing/red-wheelbarrow.html
San José Poetry Slam – Zoom Edition
Poetry Center San Jose presents The San Jose Poetry Slam Zoom Edition
We moved days
Come join us for Poetry from the comfort of your own home
Room opens at 6:30p.m. (PST)
Registration through Ticket Tailor coming soon!
Sign up list will be open from 6:30 to 7:00p.m.
Slam starts at 7:00p.m.
We are on Pacific Standard time, that is 3 hours earlier than east coast time and 3 hours ahead of Hawaii.
This is a free event.
Your host and Emcee will be Scorpiana Xlent!
Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
If you have never been to a Poetry Slam before, a poetry slam is a competition, imagine spoken word poetry as an olympic sport.
The rules are simple:
Poets must use their own poems.
Poet must use only one poem per round.
No musical accompaniment.
No props.
Time limit of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Going over that will result in a time penalty.
Poets must have video on while performing or there will be a 3-point penalty deduction.
This is a two-round slam, poets with the highest scores will move up to round two.
You can sign up to compete via the chat box in the zoom room.
If you're not competing, we could use judges.
Please remember to submit a quick audience survey to help us improve our logistics and content and report to our funders and sponsors. Here is the link to the survey: https://bit.ly/3M63VqH
Poetry Center San José promotes and supports the literary arts in San José. Over the past four decades, PCSJ has brought hundreds of exceptional writers from around the country to read from their works and, in many cases, to conduct workshops for local writers. PCSJ is a nonprofit organization established in 1978. Its base of operations is in the charming turn-of-the-century Victorian home where the renown poet Edwin Markham once lived, now located in San José History Park. Poetry Center San José is a member supported organization and is funded, in part, by grants from Applied Materials Foundation, the City of San José's Office of Cultural Affairs, Knight Foundation, Poets & Writers, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, SVCREATES, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts Council and also supported in part by a SVCreates National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan grant. We also thank Brandenburg Family Foundation and Anne & Mark's Art Party for their generous giving
Poets@Play Creative Writing Workshop with Joyce Lee (Ages 18+ Recommended)
Note: Due to themes of sexuality, we recommend participants ages 18 and up. See workshop description.
Poets@Play is a monthly creative writing workshop hosted by Robert Pesich, Brandon Luu and former Santa Clara County Poet Laureate David Perez. Each session features a different guest facilitator leading hands-on exercises to inspire creativity and new ideas.
Our Facilitator: Joyce Lee
Poet and performer, Joyce Lee, has toured the United States and been featured at the Nuyorican Poetry Café, Yoshi’s of San Francisco, 1st Annual Oakland Gay Pride Parade, and many other spoken word events. As the winner of the 2009 and 2010 Oakland Grand Slams, she speaks with Michelle Flowers of Orijin Culture’s Indigo Thread about her influences, art as testimony and her need to grow beyond boundaries of time and space.
Questioning is how Joyce Lee grows, learns, writes, and teaches. Joyce Lee has over thirteen years of classroom experience teaching everything from erotic poetry to ESL in four countries with ages ranging from 5 to 88. She has been a paid speaker and freelance instructor for over a decade now in places such as (but not limited to) Facebook Headquarters, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, Google Headquarters, and Third World Press. Joyce is the founder of JL Soul Camp in Sonoma County, California. JL Soul Camp is an annual, all expenses paid, Black and Indigenous womyn/non-male, five-day healing retreat that utilizes creativity and community to inform, heal, and support. Black and First Nation healers and those healing conduct paid workshops and facilitate internal and outdoor reconnections with nature. Joyce is a professional storyteller on WNYC’s Snap Judgment (one of the top five storytelling podcasts in the nation) and has spent the pandemic midwifing others in the completion of their literary projects, as well as teaching college students Oral Interpretation of Literature as an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Jamestown University. Among other things, Joyce is also a mentor and volunteer at the Minnesota Prison Writing Program and the Minnesota Book Festival. She will graduate with her MFA in poetry and creative writing from Hamline University this coming May (2023).
Workshop Description: Uses of the Erotic
Based on Audre Lorde's essay, "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power." Ms. Lee assures a fun exploration into words, sense, and sensuality.
Lorde’s essay argues that the erotic is a profound, spiritual, and creative life force, not just sexual pleasure, used to empower women by connecting them to their deepest feelings and desires, enabling them to reject oppression and live more fully and authentically
Paper and pens are available. The internet connection is unreliable.
No RSVP required. Just show up at 1:00pm
Admission: Free (donations welcome)
📍Location: Markham House @ History Park
635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA.
Free parking right outside of the main gate or in the lot at the end of Phelan Avenue (except during some History Park events.)
Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road dead ends, then make a left. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There will be a flag over the steps that reads OPEN.
Reminder: Submit to Cæsura 2026!
The theme for this year’s Cæsura is LIFELINE.
What helps you feel grounded? How do you remember what you know? We live life with a constant sense of urgency and it is hard to filter through the chaos. What or who is your filter to calm, inspiration, and or radical joy?
We accept submissions of poetry, fiction and art from March 15th–June 1st 2026 for the general public, June 15th 2026 for Poetry Center San Jose Members.
Click here to read our complete submission guidelines.
We have a print and online edition. During the submission process, you will be asked if you want to be considered for print, online or both. Submissions may be published on one format or the other. We rarely print pieces in both editions.
¡Cultura Poetry Night! with Open Mic • Featuring Montezuma III & Sammy Herrera (via Zoom)
¡Cultura Poetry Night! with Open Mic
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
6:30-8:30pm Pacific Time via Zoom
Registration link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/larazmagazine/2191833
¡Cultura Poetry Night! celebrates the culture of people who identify as Raza, Chicana/o, Indigenous, or from their country of origin, whose heritage is rooted in areas that are now Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. A multilingual event with two featured poets, guest poets, and open mic!
Everyone is welcome at this inclusive event presented by Poetry
Center San José, hosted by Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo, in partnership with La Raíz
Magazine.
Free tickets are available. Donations are appreciated.
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About the Featured Poets
Sammy Herrera is a Mexican-American educator, poet, spoken-word-artist, and zine queen
from the La Puente. She writes on feminism, racism, working with children, mental health,
love, and heartbreak. She’s placed 1st in both the OC Poetry Slam and Pomona Slam. She is
currently working on her debut poetry collection, Empty Fields of Sunflowers.
www.prettypetitepoems.com IG: @prettypetitepoems
Montezuma III Zepeda, a Caxcan artist from Ameca, Jalisco, creates powerful, multi-disciplinary
art that challenges colonialism and affirms Indigenous sovereignty. Through raw expression and
cultural memory, M3 reconnects the Native diaspora with ancestral pride, weaving art as resistance,
medicine, and a call to rise across stolen lands. http://linktr.ee/moctezumaiii IG: @montezuma_iii
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La Raíz Magazine: www.laraizmagazine.com
IG: @laraizmagazine / FB: @laraizmag
La Raíz Magazine expands culturally-relevant arts engagement opportunities to create, present, publish, and experience poetry and visual art that celebrate shared culture and inspire conversations on important issues. La Raíz offers free, bilingual generative workshops, creative showcases, and an annual, multilingual literary journal to create space for the publication and presentation of creative work.
Events: www.laraizmagazine/events
Email list: http://bit.ly/laraizlist
After registering for the event, you will receive emails from La Raíz Magazine, about once monthly when there are events or Calls for Entry. You can unsubscribe at any time.
#laraizmagazine#poets #writers #poetryworkshop#writersconference#writers#raza#spanglish#publishers#bookfair#poetryshowcase#artshowcase#openmic
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The views presented by La Raíz Magazine in showcases, events, publications, social media, our website, and other places are those of La Raíz Magazine or of the contributors and does not necessarily reflect the views of any of our partners, sponsors, their employees, board, or affiliates.
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Issues of La Raíz Magazine can be purchased with your ticket! Discounts on sets and contributor copies. Tax and shipping are included for addresses in the continental United States only. Additional shipping per copy for addresses outside the continental U.S, can be ordered at http://www.laraizmagazine.com Get the lowest price on current and future issues by subscribing on our website!
Reminder: Looking For The Next 2026-27 SCC Youth Poet Laureate!
Calling all performers! Poetry, hip hop, and musical theater artists! We are looking for the county's next Youth Poet Laureate!
To submit your application, click here.
Deadline to submit: May 31st, 11:59p.m. (PDT)
Prepare these materials as you submit your application:
General application
Artist Statement/Biography about who you are
Photo for promotional purposes
Three (3) of your poems totaling no more than ten (10) pages. (You can also upload a document with links to online videos)
In 250 words, tell us who you are and what poetry means to you.
The Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program is youth-centered program to celebrate literacy and self-literacy through poetry and connect young writers to opportunities for performances and community collaborations.
Each year, we will accept applications from talented Santa Clara County writers (ages 13-18) to join a community of young poets. The Laureate earns an educational scholarship. The Laureate will, and all the Finalists are invited to, serve as ambassadors for literacy, arts and youth expression with ongoing opportunities for performances, projects, and peer support.
Every applicant will be invited to stay in connection with the SCC Youth Poet Laureate community.
San José Poetry Slam – Live at Wheelhouse with Protected Poet
Poetry Center San José presents San José Poetry Slam – Live In Person!
Come join us for poetry and some of the most delicious pizza in San José at our new venue in Willow Glen:
Wheelhouse of Willow Glen
1173 Lincoln Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Doors open and the sign up list goes out at 6:30pm
The Poetry Slam starts at 7:00pm
Admission is $5–10 sliding scale; no one turned away for lack of funds.
Hosted by Scorpiana Xlent.
Our Featured Poet is Julian “Protected Poet” Blackmon!
Julian Blackmon, known to the world as Protected Poet, was born in Marion, Indiana, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. A dynamic force in both music and spoken word, he is a Gold-certified recording artist, international spoken-word poet, actor, published author, and a commanding voice of purpose, healing, and truth.
His journey in poetry is marked by a defining early victory—on May 14, 2023, he won his very first poetry slam at the San Jose Slam, on a night headlined by Brandon Leaks. That moment ignited a trajectory that would quickly establish him as a force in the spoken-word world.
Protected Poet has built a powerful presence on stages across the globe. In 2024, he gained national recognition joining the Berkeley Slam Team and competing in the National Bigfoot Poetry Festival in Portland, earning 2nd place. He is also a Berkeley Slam Grand Slam Champion, further solidifying his dominance within the Bay Area poetry scene. He was invited to perform in the 2024 ILL List Invitationals at the Modesto Theatre and has been featured twice in the Modesto View newspaper. That same year, he toured 8 states and 23 cities, followed by an even greater run in 2025—17 states, 44 cities, and an international performance in the Bahamas. In 2025, he was crowned the Fort Worth, Texas Harambee Festival Poetry Grand Slam Champion and winner. That same year, he was nominated for Best Poet of the Year at the Spoken Word Awards Show in Chicago, where he also took the stage as a featured performer. A 5-time Grand Slam Champion, his performances are known for their electrifying energy, emotional depth, and unforgettable delivery—where every line lands like a gem.
Expanding his artistry beyond poetry, Protected Poet is also making his mark as an actor. In 2026, he is currently performing in the hit musical stage play Back in the Day in Las Vegas, directed by Eugene Parker—who is widely known for his role as Mr. Keys on the BET hit Tyler Perry’s Sistas.
As an author, he has published the book Peace of Me, with a new release titled A Walking Lighthouse set to be released soon. He is also preparing to release a new poetry album under the same title, continuing to expand his voice across multiple creative platforms.
He is currently touring the Bay Area ahead of his 2026 national book tour, continuing to build momentum across stages, cities, and audiences worldwide.
Poetry Slam Competition Info
Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
If you have never been to a Poetry Slam before, a poetry slam is a competition, imagine spoken word poetry as an olympic sport. The rules are simple:
1.) Poets must use their own poems.
2.) poet must use only one poem per round.
3.) no musical accompaniment.
4.) no props.
5.) there is a time limit of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. going over that will result in a time penalty.
This is a two-round slam, poets with the highest scores will move up to round two.
If you're not competing, we could use judges.
Please remember to submit a quick audience survey to help us improve our logistics and content and report to our funders and sponsors. Here is the link to the survey: https://bit.ly/3M63VqH
Poetry Center San José promotes and supports the literary arts in San José. Over the past four decades, PCSJ has brought hundreds of exceptional writers from around the country to read from their works and, in many cases, to conduct workshops for local writers. PCSJ is a nonprofit organization established in 1978. Its base of operations is in the charming turn-of-the-century Victorian home where the renown poet Edwin Markham once lived, now located in San José History Park. Poetry Center San José is a member supported organization and is funded, in part, by grants from Applied Materials Foundation, the City of San José's Office of Cultural Affairs, Knight Foundation, Poets & Writers, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, SVCREATES, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts Council and also supported in part by a SVCreates National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan grant. We also thank Brandenburg Family Foundation and Anne & Mark's Art Party for their generous giving.
Poetry Lounge Online Open Mic
POETRY LOUNGE ONLINE OPEN MIC!
Sunday, May 17, 1:00 p.m. (PST) via Zoom
Poetry Lounge is held twice a month on the first and third Sunday.
Hosted by Lesa Medley! Contact Lesa Medley to receive your Zoom link: lcmedley016@gmail.com.
Poetry Center San José's mission is to nurture and promote diverse literary expression in our community as a means of exploring, defining, and enriching the human experience. We offer programs and services to stimulate passion for the literary arts and to inspire and support emerging and established writers.
Writers’ Cafe at Markham House
You're invited to a gathering for those looking for a supportive writing community that focuses on the social aspects of being a writer and a space to discuss any and all disciplines of writing.
We welcome writers from all disciplines to hang out, work, then hang out some more.
This isn't a workshop, but a work time in a workspace with other writers.
This event is free and no registration necessary. Just show up with something to write.
We will meet at 11:30am for pastries, snacks, coffee and tea. Some will be provided, but more is welcome. If you do bring pastries, please only bring enough to share with one or two others.
Approximate Schedule
11:30am: Conversation over coffee and tea.
12:30: Quiet work. There are quite a few places to work quietly inside Markham House. Find your nook and write, or explore the books in our library upstairs, or continue your conversation outside, on the porch, or somewhere in History Park. We'll keep the coffee and kettle hot while you work.
2:45–3:15pm: Optional sharing and conversation. Writers are not expected to share what they’ve written, but if you’d like feedback, this would be the time for it.
Keep in mind, Markham House will be open to the public, so visitors will be coming in to peruse, but we will let them know that the house is infested with writers writing!
Admission: Free, but donations are welcome!
Parking: There is a parking strip on Phelan Avenue at the park gate. If there is no space available, there is a lot at the end of Phelan Ave.
Location: Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road veers left with the firehouse on the right, then follow the left turn. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There should be an OPEN flag out on the porch.
Here is a map of History Park’s parking options:
Markham House & Library Open Hours with Barry Endick
Looking for a cozy spot to read, write, or just unwind? Stop by Markham House from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while you browse our library, chat with our friendly docent, and take in some dedicated poetry appreciation time.
Barry Endick will perfom a short reading of Edwin Markham's poems at 2:00 pm. He will have copies of other Markham poems that anyone who attends can get up and read.
📍Location: Markham House @ History Park • 635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA.
Free parking right outside of the main gate or in the lot at the end of Phelan Avenue (except during some History Park events.)
Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road dead ends, then make a left. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There will be a flag over the steps that reads OPEN.
Submissions Open for Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
This year, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick with make the final selection!
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
Final Judge: Lee Herrick!
Three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250.
Five finalists published in 2026 Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
Letterpress broadside of winning poem printed by Gary Young, Greenhouse Review Press!
The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026 will be open for submissions on April 1, 2026. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work!
To submit your manuscript, visit: https://redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit
Submit up to three unpublished poems in a single manuscript.
Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page;
Do not include any personal identifiers in the manuscript, manuscript file name, and the title line when submitting;
Short bio acceptable, not required;
Deadline to submit: 31 July 2026;
Fee per manuscript is $15.00;
Simultaneous submission OK but please notify immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The contest is open to all styles of poetry from national and international participants writing in English except individuals who are employees and/or board members for Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Poetry Center San José.
The 2025 winners: 1st prize: Emily Pease, "Veer" (Williamsburg, VA); 2nd prize: Michele Parker Randall, "Mother Lode" (Sanford, FL); 3rd prize: Melissa McKinstry, "Once Opened" (San Diego, CA).
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize is sponsored by Poetry Center San José and Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
For information about Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, visit https://www.deanza.edu/english/creative-writing/red-wheelbarrow.html
Well-RED features Open Mic Night celebrating Poetry Month
Well-RED features Open Mic Night celebrating Poetry Month!
Tuesday, May 12th, 7:00 p.m. (PDT)
Co-sponsored by Works/San José art and performance center!
Address: 38 S. 2nd Street, San José.
Come share your own new or favorite works. Did you create something during a Poets@Play Creative Writing workshop or Writers' Cafe at Markham House? Come share it live in-person or via Zoom!
We will have appetizers and beverages available!
Click here to register in advance for this event via Zoom.
TO SUBMIT EVENT FEEDBACK, visit: https://bit.ly/4dBnxR2
Reminder: Looking For The Next 2026-27 SCC Youth Poet Laureate!
Calling all performers! Poetry, hip hop, and musical theater artists! We are looking for the county's next Youth Poet Laureate!
To submit your application, click here.
Deadline to submit: May 31st, 11:59p.m. (PDT)
Prepare these materials as you submit your application:
General application
Artist Statement/Biography about who you are
Photo for promotional purposes
Three (3) of your poems totaling no more than ten (10) pages. (You can also upload a document with links to online videos)
In 250 words, tell us who you are and what poetry means to you.
The Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program is youth-centered program to celebrate literacy and self-literacy through poetry and connect young writers to opportunities for performances and community collaborations.
Each year, we will accept applications from talented Santa Clara County writers (ages 13-18) to join a community of young poets. The Laureate earns an educational scholarship. The Laureate will, and all the Finalists are invited to, serve as ambassadors for literacy, arts and youth expression with ongoing opportunities for performances, projects, and peer support.
Every applicant will be invited to stay in connection with the SCC Youth Poet Laureate community.
Markham House & Library Open Hours with Barry Endick
Looking for a cozy spot to read, write, or just unwind? Stop by Markham House from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while you browse our library, chat with our friendly docent, and take in some dedicated poetry appreciation time.
Barry Endick will perfom a short reading of Edwin Markham's poems at 2:00 pm. He will have copies of other Markham poems that anyone who attends can get up and read.
📍Location: Markham House @ History Park • 635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA.
Free parking right outside of the main gate or in the lot at the end of Phelan Avenue (except during some History Park events.)
Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road dead ends, then make a left. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There will be a flag over the steps that reads OPEN.
The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society's Annual Spring Reading
The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society’s
Annual Spring Reading
May 9, 2026
Michael Henry Lee, St. Augustine FL
Beverly Acuff Momoi, Mt. View CA
Helen Ogden, Monterey CA
Wakako Rollinger, Topanga CA
Joan Zimmerman, Santa Cruz, CA*
*read by Alison Woolpert, Santa Cruz CA
We invite you to join us for this free event.
Works/SAN JOSÉ
38 South Second Street
San José, California 95113
Program also on Zoom: tinyurl.com/yths26
Doors open at 4:30 pm. Program 5:00-7:00 pm with one intermission.
Light snacks and beverages with be served.
90 minutes free parking—auto entry at 25 South 3rd Street
Reminder: Looking For The Next 2026-27 SCC Youth Poet Laureate!
Calling all performers! Poetry, hip hop, and musical theater artists! We are looking for the county's next Youth Poet Laureate!
To submit your application, click here.
Deadline to submit: May 31st, 11:59p.m. (PDT)
Prepare these materials as you submit your application:
General application
Artist Statement/Biography about who you are
Photo for promotional purposes
Three (3) of your poems totaling no more than ten (10) pages. (You can also upload a document with links to online videos)
In 250 words, tell us who you are and what poetry means to you.
The Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program is youth-centered program to celebrate literacy and self-literacy through poetry and connect young writers to opportunities for performances and community collaborations.
Each year, we will accept applications from talented Santa Clara County writers (ages 13-18) to join a community of young poets. The Laureate earns an educational scholarship. The Laureate will, and all the Finalists are invited to, serve as ambassadors for literacy, arts and youth expression with ongoing opportunities for performances, projects, and peer support.
Every applicant will be invited to stay in connection with the SCC Youth Poet Laureate community.
Poetry Lounge Online Open Mic
POETRY LOUNGE ONLINE OPEN MIC!
Sunday, May 3, 1:00 p.m. (PST) via Zoom
Poetry Lounge is held twice a month on the first and third Sunday.
Hosted by Lesa Medley! Contact Lesa Medley to receive your Zoom link: lcmedley016@gmail.com.
Poetry Center San José's mission is to nurture and promote diverse literary expression in our community as a means of exploring, defining, and enriching the human experience. We offer programs and services to stimulate passion for the literary arts and to inspire and support emerging and established writers.
Reminder: Submit to Cæsura 2026!
The theme for this year’s Cæsura is LIFELINE.
What helps you feel grounded? How do you remember what you know? We live life with a constant sense of urgency and it is hard to filter through the chaos. What or who is your filter to calm, inspiration, and or radical joy?
We accept submissions of poetry, fiction and art from March 15th–June 1st 2026 for the general public, June 15th 2026 for Poetry Center San Jose Members.
Click here to read our complete submission guidelines.
We have a print and online edition. During the submission process, you will be asked if you want to be considered for print, online or both. Submissions may be published on one format or the other. We rarely print pieces in both editions.
Submissions Open for Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
This year, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick with make the final selection!
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
Final Judge: Lee Herrick!
Three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250.
Five finalists published in 2026 red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
Letterpress broadside of winning poem printed by Gary Young, Greenhouse Review Press!
The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026 will be open for submissions on April 1, 2026. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work!
To submit your manuscript, visit: https://redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit
Submit up to three unpublished poems in a single manuscript.
Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page;
Do not include any personal identifiers in the manuscript, manuscript file name, and the title line when submitting;
Short bio acceptable, not required;
Deadline to submit: 31 July 2026;
Fee per manuscript is $15.00;
Simultaneous submission OK but please notify immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The contest is open to all styles of poetry from national and international participants writing in English except individuals who are employees and/or board members for Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Poetry Center San José.
The 2025 winners: 1st prize: Emily Pease, "Veer" (Williamsburg, VA); 2nd prize: Michele Parker Randall, "Mother Lode" (Sanford, FL); 3rd prize: Melissa McKinstry, "Once Opened" (San Diego, CA).
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize is sponsored by Poetry Center San José and Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
For information about Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, visit https://www.deanza.edu/english/creative-writing/red-wheelbarrow.html
PCSJ Board of Directors Meeting (via Zoom)
Public comment period will be available to begin the meeting, a chance for the public to share feedback on programming, suggestions, and constructive criticism to be considered by board members of PCSJ.
To join and participate in the public comment, please RSVP on Zoom here.
Between 6:30-6:35 is your time to notify that you wish to be heard. Provide your name in the chat to reserve your two minute time-slot.
Agenda and minutes will be provided.
Markham House & Library Open Hours with Barry Endick
Looking for a cozy spot to read, write, or just unwind? Stop by Markham House from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while you browse our library, chat with our friendly docent, and take in some dedicated poetry appreciation time.
Barry Endick will perfom a short reading of Edwin Markham's poems at 2:00 pm. He will have copies of other Markham poems that anyone who attends can get up and read.
📍Location: Markham House @ History Park • 635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA.
Free parking right outside of the main gate or in the lot at the end of Phelan Avenue (except during some History Park events.)
Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road dead ends, then make a left. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There will be a flag over the steps that reads OPEN.
San José Poetry Slam – Live at Wheelhouse with Cadence McCracken
Poetry Center San José presents San José Poetry Slam – Live In Person!
Come join us for poetry and some of the most delicious pizza in San José at our new venue in Willow Glen:
Wheelhouse of Willow Glen
1173 Lincoln Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Doors open and the sign up list goes out at 6:30pm
The Poetry Slam starts at 7:00pm
Admission is $5–10 sliding scale; no one turned away for lack of funds.
Hosted by Scorpiana Xlent.
Our Featured Poet is Cadence McCracken!
Cadence McCracken a sweet and fierce trans woman, poet and artist surviving and thriving with grit and grace in San Francisco, CA. Her work grapples with themes of gender, mental health, radical politics, and recovery, interrogating and deifying the body, soul and collective unconscious simultaneously. She is a grand slam champion and four-time National Poetry Slam competitor. In 2014, Cadence and her team ranked 8th out of 72 teams at the National Poetry Slam. Cadence has been published in Ink & Marrow and Agapanthus. She is currently an MFA candidate at The Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.
Poetry Slam Competition Info
Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
If you have never been to a Poetry Slam before, a poetry slam is a competition, imagine spoken word poetry as an olympic sport. The rules are simple:
1.) Poets must use their own poems.
2.) poet must use only one poem per round.
3.) no musical accompaniment.
4.) no props.
5.) there is a time limit of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. going over that will result in a time penalty.
This is a two-round slam, poets with the highest scores will move up to round two.
If you're not competing, we could use judges.
Please remember to submit a quick audience survey to help us improve our logistics and content and report to our funders and sponsors. Here is the link to the survey: https://bit.ly/3M63VqH
Poetry Center San José promotes and supports the literary arts in San José. Over the past four decades, PCSJ has brought hundreds of exceptional writers from around the country to read from their works and, in many cases, to conduct workshops for local writers. PCSJ is a nonprofit organization established in 1978. Its base of operations is in the charming turn-of-the-century Victorian home where the renown poet Edwin Markham once lived, now located in San José History Park. Poetry Center San José is a member supported organization and is funded, in part, by grants from Applied Materials Foundation, the City of San José's Office of Cultural Affairs, Knight Foundation, Poets & Writers, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, SVCREATES, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts Council and also supported in part by a SVCreates National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan grant. We also thank Brandenburg Family Foundation and Anne & Mark's Art Party for their generous giving.
Poetry Lounge Online Open Mic featuring Veronica Kornberg!
POETRY LOUNGE ONLINE OPEN MIC!
Featuring Veronica Kornberg!
Sunday, April 19, 1:00 p.m. (PST)
via Zoom
Hosted by Lesa Medley!
Poetry Lounge is held twice a month on the first and third Sunday.
Contact Lesa Medley to receive your Zoom link: lcmedley016@gmail.com.
Veronica is a San Francisco Bay Area poet who splits her time between Portola Valley and Pescadero, a small coastal town on the Central Coast. She is a recipient of the Wandering Aengus Book Award in Poetry, and the Morton Marcus Poetry Prize. Veronica's poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Poet Lore, New Ohio Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, RHINO Poetry, Plume, Calyx, Salamander, Indiana Review, Rattle, and Catamaran Literary Reader. She is a Peer Reviewer for Whale Road Review. At her home in Pescadero, she can be found happily exploring the tidepools or on her knees in the dirt in her habitat garden of coastal scrub. Veronica’s debut poetry collection, Strange Gift, will be published by Wandering Aengus Press in April, 2026.
Submissions Open for Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
This year, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick with make the final selection!
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize
Final Judge: Lee Herrick!
Three prizes: $1,000, $500, $250.
Five finalists published in 2026 red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
Letterpress broadside of winning poem printed by Gary Young, Greenhouse Review Press!
The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize 2026 will be open for submissions on April 1, 2026. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work!
To submit your manuscript, visit: https://redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit
Submit up to three unpublished poems in a single manuscript.
Each poem must fit onto one 8.5 x 11 inch page;
Do not include any personal identifiers in the manuscript, manuscript file name, and the title line when submitting;
Short bio acceptable, not required;
Deadline to submit: 31 July 2026;
Fee per manuscript is $15.00;
Simultaneous submission OK but please notify immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
The contest is open to all styles of poetry from national and international participants writing in English except individuals who are employees and/or board members for Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Poetry Center San José.
The 2025 winners: 1st prize: Emily Pease, "Veer" (Williamsburg, VA); 2nd prize: Michele Parker Randall, "Mother Lode" (Sanford, FL); 3rd prize: Melissa McKinstry, "Once Opened" (San Diego, CA).
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize is sponsored by Poetry Center San José and Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine.
For information about Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine, visit https://www.deanza.edu/english/creative-writing/red-wheelbarrow.html
Well-RED features Open Mic Night celebrating Poetry Month!
Well-RED features Open Mic Night celebrating Poetry Month!
Tuesday, April 14th, 7:00 p.m. (PDT)
Co-sponsored by Works/San José art and performance center!
Address: 38 S. 2nd Street, San José.
Come share your own new or favorite works. Did you create something during a Poets@Play Creative Writing workshop or Writers' Cafe at Markham House? Come share it live in-person or via Zoom!
We will have appetizers and beverages available!
Register in advance for this event via Zoom.
Link: https://bit.ly/Well-RED_April2026
TO SUBMIT EVENT FEEDBACK, visit: https://bit.ly/4dBnxR2
Beautiful Black Books presents Tiny Room Poetry Series featuring Saul Williams, Derrick Sanderlin and Mona Webb
Tiny Room Poetry Series | Special Edition | Presented by Listen Different and Poetry Center San José
Join us for an intimate evening of poetry, music and community! This special edition offers a rare chance to connect with poets and musicians up close, meet fellow lovers of the art, and experience a vibrant local space in a fresh new way.
With performances by the legendary Saul Williams, San Francisco poetess Ramona Webb and local hero Derrick Sanderlin.
Reserve your seat here!
Choose a donation priced ticket or a free ticket—no one turned away for lack of funds. Any support you can offer helps us pay our guest performers. There are a limited number of free online tickets, but more are available at the door. We ask that those who claim a free ticket to wait for available seating at show time.
Saul Williams will also participate in a Q&A after the show.
Tiny Room Poetry Series is supported by SVCreates, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Our performers:
Saul Williams
Saul Williams came to worldwide attention as a writer and performer with his debut film, SLAM (dir. Marc Levin) winning Sundance's Grand Jury Prize and Cannes Camera D'Or in 1998, introducing the world to the phenomenon of slam poetry competitions and Saul as a global ambassador of modern poetry. Saul holds a BA in Theater and Philosophy from Morehouse College and MFA in Acting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
As a musician, Saul's albums have featured genre-bending collaborations with producers, such as Rick Rubin and Trent Reznor, that helped usher in Brooklyn's Afro-Punk movement. Saul has also collaborated with “Contemporary Music” composers, writing the libretto for Ted Hearne's LA Philharmonic produced oratorio “PLACE” and two symphonies by the late Swiss composer, Thomas Kessler, based on two books of Saul's poetry, “,said the shotgun to the head.” and “The Dead Emcee Scrolls. Overall, Saul has released six studio albums and five books of poetry, translated into multiple languages. His latest album “Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño and Friends Live at Treepeople” was nominated for a Grammy for best Spoken Word Poetry Album and is out now on International Anthem Records.
In 2022, Saul wrote, composed the soundtrack/score, and co-directed the science-fiction musical Neptune Frost, alongside his co-director and creative partner, Anisia Uzeyman. Neptune Frost made its world debut as part of Cannes Film Festival's “Director's Fortnight” and was selected by NYT's film critic A.O. Scott as the #2 film of the year.
As an actor Saul has worked in theater, film and television. He was a series regular on the sitcom “Girlfriends.” He is the first African-American to win Best Actor in Africa's largest film festival FESPACO for his work in the Senegalese film TEY (“Aujourd'hui”) directed by Alain Gomis and his 2020 performance in “Akilla’s Escape” earned him a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor.
He was the lead in Broadway's first Hip Hop musical, “Holler If You Hear Me”, based on the lyrics of Tupac Shakur and directed by Kenny Leon. Saul also starred in the two final campaigns of Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton, appearing in “Peculiar Contrast, Perfect Light” (F/W 2021) and “Amen Break” (S/S 2022). Most recently, Saul appears as the preacher “Jedidiah Moore” in Ryan Coogler's “Sinners”.
As a performer, Saul has toured in over forty countries, lectured in hundreds of universities, and served as a guest professor of poetry and performance at Stanford University.
Derrick Sanderlin
Derrick Sanderlin is a musician, writer and organizer who lives, works and loves in the city of San Jose. They grew up in a diversity of sound, singing in convalescent homes, churches, and performing with local punk rock and metal bands. Derrick’s first EP Ghetto blends jazz, punk, folk, and R&B to communicate the complexity of family, love life, and identity as a young black kid in a dominant and oppressive culture. Derrick went on to open up sounds and conversations around toxic masculinity, mental health, the power of story, and the art of resilience through their project Sine Wave, a band borne out of an artist residency. While Derrick is not a native, he has experienced a deep love for San Jose, collaborating with local artists such as former poet laureate Mighty Mike McGee, singer/songwriter Noñameko, and rapper Latoya Fernandez.
Ramona (Mona) Laughing Brook Webb
Ramona (Mona) Laughing Brook Webb is an Afro-Creek Muscogee queer poet and performing artist whose intersectional work bridges art, healthcare, and equity. Mina’s the inaugural Poet-in-Residence at the University of California, San Francisco’s the National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, The Black Womxn’s Health and Livelihood Initiative, and The Black Wellness Center.
In her role as Director of Wellness and Art Gallery Curator at the UCSF Black Wellness Center, Mona uses art integration into healthcare practices to tackle racial health disparities and promote cultural transformation. She also proudly serves as Poet Theologian and Coordinator of Arts & Liturgies Ministries at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. A conservatory-trained theater artist, Ramona specializes in docu-ritual-drama , a unique fusion of documentary storytelling, poetry, and ritual performance.
Your host:
Tshaka Campbell is the first black, Santa Clara County Poet Laureate and has authored four books of poetry entitled “TARMAN”, “MUTED WHISPERS”, “STUFF, I will write more”, “TUNNEL VISION'' and is latest book published by El Martilo press entitled “BLOOD AT THE ROOT. ” His words have been featured in Bridges Review, BBC UK, Content magazine, Speakeasy vol 1, Liminal Animals, Rigorous magazine, among others. A city of Milpitas and city of Sunnyvale commendation in the arts award recipient, Tshaka has also collaborated on projects with the World Health Organization (WHO), the De young museum in San Francisco, the NUMU and Triton museums, as well sits on the Board of Directors for Silicon Valley Creates arts council and Poetry Center San Jose. He has partnered with the Silicon Valley Transit Authority and community members to deliver youth programs centered around expanding poetry and literature. He has 4 spoken word albums entitled "ONE", “BLOODLINES”, "SKIN vol.1"; and his most recent release "NKISI" is currently available on all streaming platforms.
Writers’ Cafe at Markham House
The new PCSJ writing project where we all just drink hot bevs and write at Markham House!
You're invited to a gathering for those looking for a supportive writing community that focuses on the social aspects of being a writer and a space to discuss any and all disciplines of writing.
We welcome writers from all disciplines to hang out, work, then hang out some more.
This isn't a workshop, but a work time in a workspace with other writers.
This event is free and no registration necessary. Just show up with something to write.
We will meet at 11:30am for pastries, snacks, coffee and tea. Some will be provided, but more is welcome. If you do bring pastries, please only bring enough to share with one or two others.
Approximate Schedule
11:30am: Conversation over coffee and tea.
12:30: Quiet work. There are quite a few places to work quietly inside Markham House. Find your nook and write, or explore the books in our library upstairs, or continue your conversation outside, on the porch, or somewhere in History Park. We'll keep the coffee and kettle hot while you work.
2:45–3:15pm: Optional sharing and conversation. Writers are not expected to share what they’ve written, but if you’d like feedback, this would be the time for it.
Keep in mind, Markham House will be open to the public, so visitors will be coming in to peruse, but we will let them know that the house is infested with writers writing!
Admission: Free, but donations are welcome!
Parking: There is a parking strip on Phelan Avenue at the park gate. If there is no space available, there is a lot at the end of Phelan Ave.
Location: Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road veers left with the firehouse on the right, then follow the left turn. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There should be an OPEN flag out on the porch.
Here is a map of History Park’s parking options:
Markham House & Library Open Hours with Barry Endick
Looking for a cozy spot to read, write, or just unwind? Stop by Markham House from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while you browse our library, chat with our friendly docent, and take in some dedicated poetry appreciation time.
Barry Endick will perfom a short reading of Edwin Markham's poems at 2:00 pm. He will have copies of other Markham poems that anyone who attends can get up and read.
📍Location: Markham House @ History Park • 635 Phelan Ave, San Jose, CA.
Free parking right outside of the main gate or in the lot at the end of Phelan Avenue (except during some History Park events.)
Once you walk into the park from Phelan Avenue, go straight until the road dead ends, then make a left. Markham House is then the second house on your left. There will be a flag over the steps that reads OPEN.
UPDATE: Poetry Invitational 2026 WILL NOT TAKE PLACE
Please note, due to unexpected circumstances, this event is no longer taking place.
San José Poetry Slam – Zoom Edition
Poetry Center San Jose presents The San Jose Poetry Slam Zoom Edition
We moved days
Come join us for Poetry from the comfort of your own home
Sunday, April 5.
Room opens at 6:30p.m. (PST)
Register here through Ticket Tailor
Sign up list will be open from 6:30 to 7:00p.m.
Slam starts at 7:00p.m.
We are on Pacific Standard time, that is 3 hours earlier than east coast time and 3 hours ahead of Hawaii.
This is a free event.
Your host and Emcee will be Scorpiana Xlent!
Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
If you have never been to a Poetry Slam before, a poetry slam is a competition, imagine spoken word poetry as an olympic sport.
The rules are simple:
Poets must use their own poems.
Poet must use only one poem per round.
No musical accompaniment.
No props.
Time limit of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Going over that will result in a time penalty.
Poets must have video on while performing or there will be a 3-point penalty deduction.
This is a two-round slam, poets with the highest scores will move up to round two.
You can sign up to compete via the chat box in the zoom room.
If you're not competing, we could use judges.
Please remember to submit a quick audience survey to help us improve our logistics and content and report to our funders and sponsors. Here is the link to the survey: https://bit.ly/3M63VqH
Poetry Center San José promotes and supports the literary arts in San José. Over the past four decades, PCSJ has brought hundreds of exceptional writers from around the country to read from their works and, in many cases, to conduct workshops for local writers. PCSJ is a nonprofit organization established in 1978. Its base of operations is in the charming turn-of-the-century Victorian home where the renown poet Edwin Markham once lived, now located in San José History Park. Poetry Center San José is a member supported organization and is funded, in part, by grants from Applied Materials Foundation, the City of San José's Office of Cultural Affairs, Knight Foundation, Poets & Writers, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, SVCREATES, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara and the California Arts Council and also supported in part by a SVCreates National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan grant. We also thank Brandenburg Family Foundation and Anne & Mark's Art Party for their generous giving