Free Winter Poetry Reading at Fort Worden

Featuring: Sherwin Bitsui, Pádraig Ó Tuama & Javier Peñalosa M.
Date: Saturday, December 12, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Wheeler Theater, Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA
Admission: Free and open to the public

Join Centrum and Copper Canyon Press for a winter evening of poetry featuring acclaimed poets Sherwin Bitsui, Pádraig Ó Tuama, and Javier Peñalosa M. as part of Centrum’s Poetry on the Salish Sea reading series.

For decades, Fort Worden has been a gathering place for writers, artists, musicians, and audiences. This special reading celebrates poetry’s enduring connection to this landscape, the longstanding partnership between Centrum and Copper Canyon Press, and the community that has grown around the literary arts in Port Townsend.

Sherwin Bitsui

Sherwin Bitsui (Diné) is the author of Dissolve and Flood Song, published by Copper Canyon Press, and Shapeshift, published by the University of Arizona Press. His honors include a Lannan Literary Fellowship, Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Fellowship for Literature, PEN Open Book Award, American Book Award, and Whiting Writers Award. He teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Northern Arizona University.

Pádraig Ó Tuama

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and conflict resolution mediator whose books include Love Between Men, Poetry Unbound: 44 Poems On Being Together, Kitchen Hymns, Being Here: Prayers for Curiosity, Justice, and Love, and Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World. His work explores language, belonging, conflict, faith, and the ways poetry can help us understand one another.

Javier Peñalosa M.

Javier Peñalosa M. is a poet and writer of children’s literature, film, and television. His poetry collections include Aviario, Los trenes que partían de mí, Los que regresan, H, and Dandelion. Los que regresan (What Comes Back) was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2024 in an English translation by Robin Myers. His work has appeared in anthologies, magazines, films, and plays, and he facilitates creative writing workshops for children and adults.

Reception

Following the reading, the audience and featured poets are invited to a free reception at Taps, across the street from Wheeler Theater. Food will be provided by Centrum, with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase.

Presented by Centrum and Copper Canyon Press as part of Poetry on the Salish Sea. Free and open to the public.

Please note you must have a Discover Pass to park in Fort Worden State Park - for more information please visit: https://parks.wa.gov/passes-permits/get-park-pass