Three decades of Petaluma poetry
The Petaluma Poetry Walk turns 29 this weekend.
The annual tradition brings 24 poets to eight venues on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Audiences are encouraged to walk from one reading to the next, discovering poets from throughout the Bay Area, including local favorites from Petaluma and elsewhere in Sonoma County.
Founded in 1996 by the late poet Geri DiGiorno, the Petaluma Poetry Walk has grown into one of Petaluma’s distinctive annual literary traditions, said Kary Hess, director of the Petaluma Poetry Walk.
“The Poetry Walk offers a day where people can enjoy poetry, read live by the authors, in a variety of settings,” Hess said in a news release. “Hearing the voice that created the poem adds a dimensionality to the experience of the work.”
The event is free to the public, true to its mission of bringing poetry to the community in an “accessible, lively setting where readers and poets connect,” Hess said.
“We are lucky to have the support of a community that embraces the literary arts like this,” she said. “Every year we bring together voices from our own backyard with poets whose work reaches much farther afield, enhancing the experience for everyone.”
The lineup includes 2025 Berkeley Poetry Festival Lifetime Achievement Award winner Maw Shien Win; former Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate Farnaz Fatemi; current Sonoma County Poet Laureate Claire Drucker; Marin Youth Poet Laureate Elizabeth Foster; Geri DiGiorno Multi-Genre Prize winner Ellen Kombiyil of New York; 43rd Annual Northern California Book Award winner in Poetry Cintia Santana; and Lourdes Figueroa, winner of the 2024 Beyond Baroque International Poetry Film Festival Award for Best Narrative.
Hess has expanding the Poetry Walk’s reach, adding an annual anthology magazine in its second year called "The Walk." In addition, a Poetry Walk Substack newsletter keeps readers connected between events and helps support the annual celebration. Copperfield's Books also has a display of books for sale by 16 of the participating poets.
The Petaluma Poetry Walk begins with a 45-minute reading at the Hotel Petaluma Ballroom (33 Washington St.), followed by seven more 45-minute readings at additional downtown locations.
This year’s venues include Keller Street CoWork, the Phoenix Theater, Copperfield’s Books, the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, Usher Gallery, Jess Brown Design, and the Big Easy.
For a complete schedule, including participating poets and venue information, visit petalumapoetrywalk.org.
To receive the free Petaluma Poetry Walk newsletter or support the Poetry Walk through a subscription, visit petalumapoetrywalk.substack.com.
Tobias Young is an editor and reporter at Petaluma Voice. He can be reached at tyoung@petalumavoice.org.
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