Poetry in Palo Alto

Palo Alto has no poetry bookstore and no weekly reading series of its own. What it has is better than it sounds. Stanford runs one of the oldest creative writing programs in the country and stages an annual spoken word night in the room under Bing Concert Hall. The county names a poet laureate and a youth poet laureate who give readings and lead workshops. And a 25 minute drive south, Poetry Center San José keeps open mics, slams and a reading series going every month of the year.

This guide is about poetry alone. For author talks, book clubs and the Kepler's series, see our guide to readings and literary events. Dates below come from each organizer's own pages as of November 1, 2026. Small series change often, so confirm before you go.

Poetry around Palo Alto at a glance

Poetry at Stanford

Stanford's Creative Writing Program was founded by Wallace Stegner in 1946. Poetry has been half of it from the start. Each year the program awards five Stegner Fellowships in poetry and five in fiction. It also brings a visiting poet to campus every year. Most of its public events are free. The audience mixes students, faculty and people from town.

Poetry Live!

The liveliest poetry night of the Stanford year is Poetry Live!, a spoken word evening now in its fifth year. The 2027 edition is on Thursday, January 14, 2027, from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Bing Studio, the flexible room under Bing Concert Hall at 327 Lasuen Street. Its curators are Creative Writing lecturer Hieu Minh Nguyen and Sam Sax, a poet who lectures in Stanford's ITALIC program. This year's guests are poets and scholars Cameron Awkward-Rich and Franny Choi. Seats in the Studio are limited, so register as soon as the listing opens.

The Mohr Visiting Poet

Each year the Mohr Visiting Poets program brings a distinguished poet to teach a small undergraduate seminar of no more than 15 students. The visitor also gives a public reading. The 2026 to 2027 poet is Robin Coste Lewis, who won the National Book Award for her first collection, Voyage of the Sable Venus. She teaches a winter 2027 seminar on the practice of poetic erasure. Watch the program's events page in January for her reading date.

Stegner Fellow readings

Every first-year Stegner Fellow gives a public reading, usually paired with a second fellow. The 2026 to 2027 readings have moved to the Terrace Room (Room 426) of Margaret Jacks Hall, Building 460, at 450 Jane Stanford Way. Listed dates are November 4, 2026 with Daniel Lurie and Katerina Ivanov Prado, January 27, 2027 with Cheyenne Fletcher and Yi Jiang and February 10, 2027 with Priscilla Wathington and Jonathon Atkinson. Each runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. These evenings are the best chance to hear poets before their first books come out.

Lane Lecture readings

The Lane Lecture Series brings major writers to campus each year. Its fall reading is by poet Martín Espada on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Cedar Room of the Faculty Club, 439 Lagunita Drive. Our literary events guide covers the series in more detail.

Stanford Live also books poetry in its own season. In October 2026 it presented poet and filmmaker Chinaka Hodge in the Studio and a Bing concert called Let the Poets Speak, which set Allen Ginsberg's poems to music by Philip Glass. Our Stanford Live guide explains tickets and member presales.

Poet laureates: county and youth

We could not find a poet laureate post run by the City of Palo Alto. The title that covers Palo Alto belongs to Santa Clara County. The county poet laureate is an honorary two-year post, formally appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The arts nonprofit SVCreates manages the selection on behalf of the Santa Clara County Library. The laureate leads projects, gives readings and makes poetry part of public life across the county.

Yosimar Reyes is the eighth Santa Clara County Poet Laureate. His term ran from January 2024 to December 2025. He was then reappointed for one more year through December 2026. The application for his successor opened on July 6, 2026, so a new laureate should be named for 2027. The first was Nils Peterson (2009 to 2011), followed by Sally Ashton, David Perez, Arlene Biala, Mike McGee, Janice Sapigao and Tshaka Campbell. San Mateo County, just across San Francisquito Creek, has named its own poet laureate since 2013.

The youth poet laureate

Poetry Center San José runs the Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program for young poets, hip hop artists and spoken word performers. The 2026 to 2027 Youth Poet Laureate is Sierra Elman, with Rohan Mahapatra as vice laureate. Elman leads a free tween workshop for grades 5 to 8 on getting your writing published at Mitchell Park Library. Its November 1 session was canceled and the library now lists it for Sunday, January 31, 2027, from 4 to 5 p.m.

Open mics, slams and reading series

For an open mic you will usually drive to San Jose. Poetry Center San José posts a full monthly calendar. Its regular events include:

• Third Thursday Open Mic. A featured reader followed by an open list at the Willow Glen Library. The next listed night is Thursday, November 19, 2026, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., with poet Lawrence Kelly.
• San José Poetry Slam. Founded in 1998 and one of the oldest continuous slams in the Bay Area. It meets at Wheelhouse of Willow Glen, 1173 Lincoln Avenue. Sign-ups open at 6:30 p.m., the slam starts at 7 and nobody is turned away for lack of funds. The next listed slam is Sunday, November 15, 2026.
• Well-RED reading series. Featured readings in downtown San Jose on selected Tuesdays. A November 10 night features contributors to an anthology of poems on the art of Bosch and Bruegel. On December 8 the youth poet laureate and her team take the stage.
• Poetry Lounge Online Open Mic. A Sunday afternoon open mic on Zoom, handy on a rainy weekend.

The center also keeps the Edwin Markham House at History Park, 635 Phelan Avenue, the Victorian home of the poet who wrote "The Man with the Hoe." The house holds a poetry library, opens for drop-in hours on some Sundays and hosts Poets@Play, a monthly writing workshop led by former county poet laureate David Perez. Our History Park guide covers the rest of the grounds.

Closer to home, Red Rock Coffee in Mountain View runs an open mic with a lottery sign-up. Our guide to comedy and open mics has its sign-up rules. Palo Alto also had its own grassroots series for decades. Waverley Writers began in 1981 and held monthly readings with an open mic in Palo Alto, publishing an anthology for its 25th year. We could not confirm a current schedule, so ask at local bookstores if you want to find it.

Library programs for writers

The Palo Alto City Library files poetry under a Writing and Poetry category on its events calendar. In late October 2026 it listed six programs. Writers Helping Writers brings members of the California Writers Club's San Francisco Peninsula Branch to Rinconada Library on third Thursdays, with 2027 dates on January 21, March 18 and May 20, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Registration is required. The Rinconada Book Fair on Saturday, April 10, 2027, from noon to 4 p.m. in the Art Center Auditorium, gives local poets and prose writers tables to show and sell their books.

When poems become music

Schola Cantorum, the Los Altos choir, built its 63rd season around poetry under the title The Poet Sings. Its fourth Poetry to Music competition invites Santa Clara County students in grades 9 to 12 to submit original poems. Composer Maria Thompson Corley will set the winner for choir. Prizes are $600, $350 and $250. Entries close November 16, 2026 at 11 p.m. Pacific time, finalists hear in January and the premiere is at The Poet Speaks concert in Los Altos on May 23, 2027.

The Oshman Family JCC brings poetry and jazz together on Sunday, January 24, 2027, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., when the Guy Mendilow Ensemble presents Different Ships, Same Boat with Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson. Our cultural centers guide covers the JCC's other programs.

The San José Poetry Festival

Each August Poetry Center San José runs a festival, mostly free, centered on Markham House. The 2026 edition, held in mid to late August, brought California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick for a reading and a writing workshop on poems about place and displacement. It also included a festival edition of the slam, a multilingual open mic on Zoom and the commencement of the new youth poet laureate on the Markham House lawn. Expect 2027 dates in early summer.

Planning a poetry evening

For a Stanford night, eat early downtown and arrive 15 minutes before a reading to find the room, since venues move around campus. For the Willow Glen open mic or slam, plan dinner on Lincoln Avenue first. Without a car, you can rent a car for the evening or ride Caltrain to San Jose Diridon and take a short rideshare. Out-of-town visitors coming for Poetry Live! or a Lane reading can look for hotels near Stanford.

One more tip: sign up for mailing lists. The Creative Writing Program, Poetry Center San José and the library all announce readings by email before they reach the calendars most people check.

Frequently asked questions