Sat Mar 14: POETRY ON THE SALISH SEA at Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park
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March 14, 2026 - Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park
7:00 pm – Poetry Reading
An open reception follows the reading at Taps at the Guardhouse, across the street from Wheeler Theater. Food provided by Centrum and Taps. Cash bar with alcohol and nonalcoholic beverages.
Poetry on the Salish Sea is celebrating Spring’s beauty and promise with a poetry reading on March 14, at 7 pm, at Fort Worden State Park. Free admission; donations gratefully accepted at the door.
The reading will feature acclaimed poets Rena Priest, a Fellow of the Academy of American Poets, a Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writer award winner, and former Washington State Poet Laureate; Tamarah Rockwood, author of the poetry collection A, B. and founder of Bainbridge Island Press; and Kim Trainor, whose most recent book, Blue thinks itself within me: Lyric poetry, ecology, and lichenous form was published by University of Regina Press, in 2026, and follows her poetry collection A blueprint for survival, from Guernica Editions, in 2024.
Each poet brings to Port Townsend a distinct and resonant voice. Their work explores land, memory, loss, and relationships and offers meditations on how we may root ourselves in place and community.
In a time when connection matters deeply, we invite you to listen, reflect, and share inspiration. Please join us after the reading at a reception in honor of our poets. All are welcome. Where? Taps, directly across from Wheeler Theatre. Come share laughter and the simple pleasure of being together, a chance to turn introductions into friendships.
POET BIOS
Rena Priest is a citizen of the Lhaq’temish [Lummi] Nation. In a historic appointment, Priest was named Washington State’s sixth Poet Laureate (2021-2023), becoming the first Indigenous person to hold the position. In this role, she championed poetry that celebrated the ecological gifts of her ancestral homelands, the bioregion. She is an Academy of American Poets Fellow, a Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writer, and a winner of a Washington State Book Award for poetry. Her new essay collection, Positively Uncivilized, was published as the winner of the 2025 Keepers of the Fire Award from Raven Chronicles Press. She is also honored to be a Seattle City of Literature grantee, selected to participate in an international literary exchange co-sponsored by the Melbourne City of Literature and the UNESCO City of Literature Network.
Tamarah Rockwood is a writer, speaker, educator, leader, and mother. She obtained her degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University and is the Founder and CEO of Bainbridge Island Press, an independent poetry publishing house. A prolific poet, Tamarah's work has appeared in numerous literary journals including Brattle Street Review, New Verse Review, The Galway Review, Paddler Press, One Art, and Ultramarine Literary Review, among others. Her poem "Coyotes Laughing" was longlisted for the 2019 University of Canberra Vice Chancellor's International Poetry Prize, and she is the author of the poetry collection A, B. Tamarah is a leader in Western Washington's literary community, currently serving as Chair of Ars Poetica, which brings poets and artists together in collaboration. She previously led Poetry Corners, an annual celebration of poetry and poets on Bainbridge Island. She has served as Chairwoman of the Literary Committee at the prestigious Rainier Club in Seattle and as President of ANHW, the Alumnae/i Network of Harvard Women through the Harvard Club of Seattle.
Kim Trainor's most recent book of poetry, Blue thinks itself within me: Lyric poetry, ecology, and lichenous form was published by University of Regina Press, in 2026, and follows her poetry collection A blueprint for survival, from Guernica Editions, in 2024. Her poetry-films have been screened in Berlin, Athens, Dublin, Copenhagen, and elsewhere. She also co-curated the eco-installation “walk quietly / ts’ekw’unshun kws qututhun,” a guided walk at Hwlhits’um (Canoe Pass) in Delta, British Columbia, at the mouth of the Sto:lo (Fraser) River, featuring contributions from artists, scientists, and Hwlitsum and Cowichan knowledge holders. She lives in Vancouver, ancestral, unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ Nations.
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