Poetry Marathon for Peace 2026

Poetry Marathon for Peace
Saturday, October 24, 2026
10:00am-4:00pm in the Fellowship Hall
at Seattle First Baptist Church

YOU are invited to:

Sign up to “sponsor a time slot” individually or with your family, friend group or organization! Time slots are 30 minutes long. You can have one individual read their own poetry for a half an hour, have several people read poems they like, lead a group poetry exercise, create a video of poetry to share, or even bring an instrument to share poetry through music! It’s up to you how you fill that half hour.

Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054FAAA82EA4FBCF8-64685365-poetry#/

But I’m not a poet…

Good news! You don’t have to be a professional poet or writer to participate! There are many ways to participate, including reading poetry that someone else wrote. We hope that people of all ages will be inspired to share poetry in all its forms with our Seattle community.

What subjects or themes can the poetry be about?

We absolutely welcome poems about peace but they do not HAVE to be, they can be about anything! We believe that sharing poetry is one way to create moments and places of peace in our world.

Content note: We require all poetry shared to refrain from any racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic or ableist language. We respectfully ask that poetry that contains explicit language not be shared. We know that some poetry touches on themes that are most appropriate for adults (i.e. war, violence, sexuality, etc.) and may be included if a content warning is shared. If you have questions about the content of poetry you’d like to share, the organizers would be happy to talk with you, so please note “content question” on your signup.

Is this for all ages?

Yes! We will have specific time slots where there will be child-friendly poetry.

I don’t want to read publicly but I’d like to come and listen: can I?

YES, please do! We need an audience!

Will there be food?

We can’t have a gathering without food! Snacks, drinks and a pizza lunch will be provided. You are also welcome to bring your own food and nonalcoholic beverages.

We hope you will join us and our friends around the globe for the Seattle branch of the Poetry Marathon for Peace, either sponsoring a time slot with an organization or attending as an audience member. We hope that you will participate in creating space for beauty, connection and peace with us.

With gratitude and peace,

Rev. Anita Peebles, Pastor, Seattle First Baptist Church
Janet Hasselblad, Member, Seattle First Baptist Church