Poetry has a special place in Madison. The city was one of the first in the nation to have a poet laureate, which leads various initiatives to add more wordy wonders to our daily lives.
It’s not hard to find poetry around town, from open mics to readings, and even on our buses, Madison is full of resources and events to feed the creativity of local literaries.
Get your black berets and turtlenecks ready, here’s a look at some of what the city has to offer when it comes to poetry.
Events and Open Mics
We’re currently in the middle of the 2024 Winter Festival of Poetry. Run by the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, it’s Wisconsin's longest continuously running poetry program of its size. Readings are held weekly at the Arts + Literature Laboratory through March 10 and the next event will be Feb. 18.
North Street Cabaret will host an open mic event this week for poets, storytellers, and beyond. First-time performers are encouraged. The event kicks off Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
A Room of One’s Own bookstore hosts a queer and trans open mic the last Wednesday of each month. Allies are welcome in the audience but performance is limited to those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Other local establishments with ongoing open mic nights include Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse, Mom’s Bar, Mickey’s, and Java Cat Coffee.
Poetry in the City
Beyond regular events, you can find poetry all over the city — literally. Many of these out-in-the-wild literary sightings can be credited to Madison’s Poet Laureates program, an honorary position founded in 1977 that nurtures Madison’s poetry community.
One of the program’s projects includes sidewalk poetry. These poems printed on sidewalks can be found in many Madison neighborhoods, including along Monroe Street, Atwood Avenue, and in the Marquette neighborhood. Poet laureates also run the Bus Lines program, an initiative that displays poems from local residents on Metro Buses.
Occasionally, Madison’s poet laureate will open city council meetings with a reading. According to the city, this “act reinforces a mood of civility in discourse. Reading a poem prior to the meeting acknowledges and reminds us of the complexities of experience, language, and truth, heightening everyone's consciousness of the potency of their words.
In 2022, former Poet Laureate Angela Trudell Vasquez launched the Madison Youth Poet Laureate Program. The program is the first of its kind in Wisconsin and provides opportunities for Madison youth to showcase their literary skills on the regional and national stage.
If you’re a budding poet or want to brush up on your writing skills, the Madison Public Library offers plenty of helpful resources.
