01
The Program
Ars Poetica Western Washington pairs poets with visual artists. Poets submit through an open call. The Ars Poetica Coordinators (David Stallings and Tamarah Rockwood) screen the submissions, and the selected poems go out to participating venues as a portfolio of screened poems. Artists choose a poem and make new work in response.
The pairings of art and poetry are exhibited together, and each venue hosts a reading where the poet reads and the artist speaks about the piece the poem produced, with both in front of the audience.
Now in its fourteenth year, the program runs across Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson, and Clallam counties, plus Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula. Participating venues shift from year to year.
The Coordinators oversee the program and convene the Ars Poetica Committee. The Ars Poetica Committee includes a representative from each venue. Venues run their own exhibitions and events, as well as the artist/poet pairing process. The Coordinators handle the poet call, the portfolio, communications, and the season calendar.
02
Common Questions
Filter by who is asking.
PoetWhen does the call open and close?
The call opens in mid-September, around the 12th, and closes at midnight on December 31. There are no late entries.
PoetWho can submit?
Residents of Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson, and Clallam counties, Gig Harbor, and the Key Peninsula.
PoetHow many poems, how long, how much?
Up to three poems. Each poem can run to 26 lines, counting the title and the spaces between stanzas. The reading fee is $15, non-refundable, paid through Submittable. Any subject, any style.
PoetCan I submit a poem that has already been published?
Yes, with a citation at the foot of the poem. The citation does not count against your 26 lines.
PoetDo I put my name on the poem?
No. Keep your name out of the body of the poem entirely. The screen is blind, and Submittable already has your details.
PoetHow do I find out whether my poem was chosen?
Two ways, and they carry the same information.
Email. From January through April 1 we send an update to every poet on the list every two weeks. It reports which poems have been chosen since the last message. If yours has been picked, you will also get a note telling you which gallery, which artist, and the date of the event.
The website. The list of selected poems is updated at the same time as the email, so you can check between messages.
The portfolio page is also worth watching. Claimed poems come off that page as they are taken, updated once a day by hand. If your poem has disappeared from the portfolio, it has been claimed.
PoetWhat happens if no artist chooses my poem?
It stays in that season's archive and does not appear in the April exhibitions. Selection closes March 31.
We write to poets whose work has been chosen. We do not send a separate note to poets whose work was not, so if you have heard nothing by April 1, no artist claimed your poem this year. It is worth submitting again next season.
PoetDo I have to attend the reading?
We hope you will, since the whole point is the two of you standing together in front of the work. If you cannot make it, send a friend to read your poem, or the coordinator will read it. An absence does not break the event.
PoetWhat actually happens at the event?
Two hours, about ninety minutes of it running. The gallery owner welcomes everyone and the coordinator introduces the program. Then each pair is called up by name. You read your poem, the artist talks about the piece your poem produced, and the audience sees both together. Afterwards people mingle and spend time with the work on the walls.
PoetArtistWho owns the poem and the artwork?
You do. Poets keep all rights to their poems and artists keep all rights to their work. Taking part in Ars Poetica changes nothing about that.
Artists are free to sell the piece they make.
Poets are free to publish the poem elsewhere, with a citation noting its appearance in Ars Poetica.
ArtistHow do I get the portfolio?
Your gallery sends it to you in the second week of January. It will also be available on the Ars Poetica WA Portfolio page on the website. Each gallery gets its own shuffle of the same poems, so the order you see is not the order anyone else sees.
ArtistHow do I claim a poem?
Submit the Artist/Poem Confirmation Form. It asks for your email, your gallery, your name, and the title and poet of the poem you chose. The poem is yours from the moment the Artist Form arrives. You do not need to have started the piece.
ArtistThe poem I want is still on the website. Is it definitely available?
Not necessarily. The portfolio page is updated by hand once a day, so a poem showing in the morning may already have been claimed. If two forms come in for the same poem, the earlier timestamp keeps it, and we will ask the second artist to consider another choice.
ArtistCan I change my mind after submitting the Artist Form?
Please treat this as a last resort. Submitting the Artist Form triggers the poet notification, so by the time you have second thoughts the poet has already been told their work was chosen and given the gallery and date. Changing means writing to un-inform them. The Artist Form is a commitment.
ArtistDoes the work have to be new?
Yes. The premise of the program is work made in response to a specific poem. There is some room for recent work that genuinely answers the poem you chose, but the expectation is that you make something for it.
ArtistWhen does selection close?
March 31. Nothing can be claimed from the portfolio after that.
ArtistAre there restrictions on medium or size?
That is a venue-by-venue answer. Each gallery has its own wall space and its own way of hanging a show, so ask the gallery you are working with before you start.
ArtistDo I meet the poet before the event?
That is up to you. Galleries receive contact details for the poets paired with their artists, and you are welcome to get in touch if you want to talk before the event. Some pairs correspond for months. Others meet for the first time on the night. Both work.
PoetArtistWhere are the venues, and when are the events?
Every participating venue, with its address and its April event date, is listed on the Galleries page. Dates are confirmed by each gallery in December, so the page is complete before the biweekly poet emails begin in January.
GalleryHow does a venue join?
There is no application form. Most venues arrive through a local connection or because poets in their area are already involved. Get in touch with the coordinators. The one firm requirement is a community of available artists ready to answer the portfolio. Tamarah and David make the final call each year.
GalleryWhat are we committing to?
An April exhibition with wall space for the paired work all month, at least one live reading with poets and artists appearing together, forwarding the portfolio to your artists with the Artist Form link, acting as liaison during selection, and making sure your artists know the work must be new.
GalleryWhen do we have to give you our event date?
December 1. The date goes into the biweekly poet emails from January onward, so it needs to be settled before those start.
GalleryWho runs the event, and who MCs?
You run it. Setup, timing, refreshments, seating, audience outreach, and the feel of the evening are yours. The coordinator usually MCs because they hold the roster and running order, but if you would rather MC your own event, that is entirely your call.
GalleryDo we need a sound system?
No. The program brings a microphone. If you already have audio, we will use yours.
GalleryCan we do our own publicity?
Please do. Feature your artists and your space. The Ars Poetica website and social media cover the season and each event within it, and your own identity stays fully visible inside that.
GalleryDo we have to take part every year?
Participation rolls over, so you are in unless you tell us otherwise. If you want to sit a season out, or step back permanently, just let the coordinators know. Coming back after a pause is always welcome.
03
Season Calendar
The year runs September to July. All exhibitions and events happen in April, which is National Poetry Month.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Mid-Sept | Poet call opens on Submittable, approximately September 12 |
| November | Optional Ars Poetica Committee meeting |
| Dec 1 | Galleries confirm their April event dates |
| Dec 31 | Submissions close at midnight. No late entries |
| Early Jan | Coordinators screen submissions |
| Jan, wk 1 | Portfolio posts to the website and goes to galleries |
| Jan – Mar 31 | Artists claim poems |
| Jan – Apr 1 | Biweekly poet notifications |
| March | Optional Ars Poetica Committee meeting |
| Mar 31 | Artist selection closes |
| April | Exhibitions and readings at every participating venue |
| May | Thank-you cards to poets, artists, and hosts |
| May – June | Reports, financial summary, follow-up |
| May | Year-end meeting, Tamarah and David |
| July | Coordinator stipend paid |
| August | Dormant |
04
Galleries
Joining
There is no application. Galleries come in through local connections, a pitch, or poets already active in the area. Tamarah and David decide who participates each year, and participation is never guaranteed. Poets travel real distances for these events, sometimes a four-hour round trip, and the program only adds venues it trusts to honor that.
Requirement
The venue must have a community of available artists ready to respond to the portfolio. Beyond that, fit is judged case by case on geographic reach and the strength of the local poet and artist network.
A participating gallery commits to
- An Ars Poetica exhibition in April, with wall space for the paired work all month
- At least one live reading during April, poet and artist appearing together
- Forwarding the portfolio PDF to its artists with the link to the Artist/Poem Confirmation Form
- Acting as liaison between its artists and the coordinators through the selection period
- Making clear to its artists that the work must be new, made in response to the chosen poem
The program provides
- The screened portfolio
- Contact details for the poets paired with the gallery's artists
- Publicity through the Ars Poetica website and social media
- Coordination across the Ars Poetica Committee
New work
The premise depends on artists making new work for the poem they chose. There is some room for recent work that genuinely responds to a poem. If the expectation slips at scale, the exhibition loses its reason for being, so galleries state it to their artists at the start of the selection period.
Ars Poetica Committee and renewal
Each gallery names its own representative. The Ars Poetica Committee runs by email, with two optional meetings a year, and most seasons run without them. Participation rolls over automatically. Galleries that want to step back, for a season or permanently, tell the coordinators. Galleries returning after a pause are welcome.
05
Poets and the Portfolio
The call
Opens mid-September, closes midnight December 31, hosted by Bainbridge Island Press on Submittable.
Eligibility
Residents of Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson, and Clallam counties, Gig Harbor, and the Key Peninsula.
Requirements
- Up to three poems per poet
- Any subject, any style
- 26-line maximum per poem, including title and stanza breaks
- 12pt Times Roman, flush left preferred
- $15 reading fee, non-refundable
- Previously published poems accepted with citation. Citations sit at the foot of the poem and do not count against the line limit
- No poet name anywhere in the body of the poem, to preserve the blind screen
Screening
Tamarah and David screen independently over about a week, marking each poem 1 (yes), 2 (maybe), or 3 (no). They then meet and go through everything together. If either coordinator marks a poem yes, it is accepted after brief discussion. Most poems are accepted on the first pass.
This is a screen, not a competition. Poems are set aside only for exceeding the line limit, offensive content, or clearly poor quality. In a typical year more than 100 poets submit, and the large majority of the work goes into the portfolio.
The portfolio
Selected poems are compiled with names restored and each poem labeled (1a, 2b, and so on). No cover letters necessary. Every gallery receives a different shuffle of the same poems, so that no single poem sits at the top of every artist's pile. The shuffle is one of the mechanisms that spreads selection across the portfolio.
It posts to the portfolio page in the first week of January. Each gallery gets its shuffled PDF and forwards it to its artists with the Artist/Poem Confirmation Form link.
06
Artists
How it works
Artists read the portfolio, choose a poem, and submit the Artist Form. The Artist Form asks four things: artist email, gallery, artist name, and the title and poet of the chosen poem.
When a poem is claimed
A poem is claimed the moment the Artist Form is submitted. The artist does not need to have started the piece. The Artist Form is the commitment.
Updating the page
The coordinator removes claimed poems from the portfolio page manually, once daily. A poem visible in the morning may already be claimed; the page catches up at the next update.
Duplicates
First timestamp keeps the poem. The coordinator asks the second artist to consider another choice. This is almost always resolved amicably. When an artist cannot easily choose again, usually because of age or health, the coordinators do not force it. Inclusion is the priority.
Changing a poem after submitting
Strongly discouraged. A last resort. The Artist Form triggers the poet notification, so the poet has already been told their work was chosen and given the gallery and date. A change forces the coordinator to write and un-inform them. Galleries state this to their artists before selection opens: the Artist Form is a commitment, not a placeholder.
Closing
Selection closes March 31. Unclaimed poems stay in the archive and do not appear in the April exhibitions.
07
Records and Communications
The master record
A spreadsheet on the coordinator's computer holding every artist-poem-gallery pairing for the year. It is the single source of truth. Two other sources sit alongside it: Submittable, holding poet submissions and payments, and the Artist Form Google Sheet, holding artist selections as they arrive. When the three disagree, the master record wins.
Channels
All program email runs through one account controlled by the coordinator, with David copied on everything outgoing, so both have full visibility. Galleries communicate with the coordinator, not each other; the Ars Poetica Committee contact list circulates at the start of each season. The Artist Form is the only intake channel for selections. Nothing enters the master record by any other route.
Biweekly poet update
Every two weeks, from January to April 1. Four steps, in this order:
- Check the new entries. Open the Artist Form sheet and compare each new entry against the master record. Watch for a poet's name where the artist's name belongs, a gallery you do not recognize, or a poem title that is not in the portfolio. Ask the artist or the gallery about anything that looks wrong.
- Add the checked entries to the master record. Nothing goes in until it has been checked.
- Update the website list of selected poems, copying from the master record.
- Write the email from the master record and read it against the master record once more before sending.
The one rule
The Artist Form sheet is raw input. The master record is checked. Everything emailed or published comes from the master record, never from the form sheet. Almost every mistake starts with copying from the wrong one.
The email reminds poets of the April event dates and reports which artists have chosen which poems since the last update. The website list is updated at the same time, so the two always say the same thing.
Archive
Each season lives in its own folder on the coordinator's computer: the portfolio, artist selections, poet and artist contact lists, event documentation, correspondence, and the year's report. The master record is the archival record of the year's pairings. The archive is reviewed at the year-end meeting.
08
Events
Each gallery hosts a live reading in April. Two hours scheduled, about ninety minutes of running time. Galleries own their events; what follows is the shape the program has found works.
Opening
The gallery owner welcomes the audience. The coordinator gives a short introduction to Ars Poetica.
Pairings
The coordinator usually MCs, calling each poet and artist forward by name. Both stand in front of their paired work. The poet reads. The artist speaks about the piece made in response. Then the next pair. Some galleries prefer to MC their own event, which is their call. The role has fallen to the coordinator because the coordinator holds the roster and running order.
Absences
A poet who cannot attend may send a friend to read, or the coordinator reads it. If an artist cannot attend, the gallery owner can speak for the piece. An absence does not break the event.
Closing and equipment
After the last pairing, the audience is invited to meet the poets and artists and spend time with the work. No formal closing. The program brings a microphone; galleries with their own audio use theirs.
Publicity and authority
Galleries are encouraged to publicize their own events, featuring their artists and their space. The website and social media cover the season and each event within it. Everything reads as Ars Poetica while the gallery's identity stays visible. Once an event is scheduled, the gallery runs it: setup, timing, refreshments, seating, audience outreach, the feel of the evening. The coordinator supports and MCs when invited.
09
Money and Year-End
The program runs on poet reading fees and nothing else.
Income
$15 per poet at submission, collected through Submittable, deposited to the Ars Poetica account at Kitsap Credit Union. The coordinator controls the account and holds the debit card.
Expenses
A post office box for six months of the active season, website hosting, microphone and audio equipment, and the coordinator's stipend.
Stipend
A fixed $500 to Tamarah Rockwood, paid in July once reports are complete and the year-end meeting has happened.
Year-end meeting and reports
Tamarah and David meet once to review the season: what worked, what did not, what to change. No agenda beyond those three questions. A written end-of-year report covers participation, exhibitions, and notable developments. A financial summary shows income and expenses. Both go to David and are available to the Ars Poetica Committee on request. The report may be shared with galleries at the coordinators' discretion.
10
Where Events Happen
Addresses and this season's event dates are on the Galleries page. That page is the one to keep current; this guide does not duplicate it.
Venues that have taken part include Collective Visions, Front Street, Flywheel Fine Art, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, the Bainbridge Island Photography Club, JG Art Gallery+Events, Northwind Art, Ebb-Tide, and Rimbert Illustration. The roster shifts from year to year as partnerships change.
How the program grew
Collective Visions hosted the earliest events alone. Front Street and others joined after a couple of years. The program paused during the pandemic, rebuilt with Collective Visions and Front Street, then expanded outward. Port Townsend and Gig Harbor came in wanting to connect their own artists to the poets already working around them. Hoodsport asked to join and made its own case for it. Every venue has arrived the same way, through a local connection and a real appetite for the work. There has never been an open application.
