From September 2014 to June 2019, WordsWest Literary Series was a monthly series that invited writers, readers, and the West Seattle community to take literary joyrides as passengers and drivers. It took place every third Wednesday, 7pm, at C & P Coffee Company. WordsWest hosted literary events that ranged from readings by published local and national authors, to craft discussions and guided writing explorations for every experience level. Local community members joined each event by reciting a Favorite Poem. Sponsors supported local business and stimulated the West Seattle literary ecosystem.

WordsWest was founded and curated by West Seattle writers Katy E. Ellis, Susan Rich, and Harold Taw. See below for a complete list of WordsWest authors and participants in the Favorite Poem Project.
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In addition to serving beer and wine, C & P Coffee Company  features coffee from Lighthouse Roasters, baked goods from Essential Baking Company and Little Rae’s, and vegan goodness from Mighty-O Doughnuts. Out back are a community P-Patch ad poetry pole; inside are musicians, grad students, artists, community organizers, and families all doing their things.

WordsWest Sponsors

C & P Coffee Co. | Seattle Office of Arts & Culture | Poets & Writers, Inc. | Isthmus | Hedgebrook

WordsWest Readers (Sept. 2014 - June 2019)

  1. Karen Finneyfrock
  2. Elissa Washuta
  3. Rick Barot
  4. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
  5. Kate Lebo
  6. Molly Wizenberg
  7. Frances McCue
  8. Jennie Shortridge
  9. Jennifer D. Munro
  10. Sarah Steinke
  11. Elizabeth Austen
  12. Michelle Peñaloza
  13. Kelli Russell Agodon
  14. January Gill O'Neil
  15. Allen Braden
  16. Lyanda Lynn Haupt
  17. Sundee T. Frazier
  18. Charles & Elisheba Johnson
  19. Nicole Hardy
  20. Jourdan Imani Keith
  21. Ruby de Luna
  22. Stephanie Timm
  23. Allison Green
  24. Hannah Faith Notess
  25. Christine Deavel
  26. J.W. Marshall
  27. Kathleen Flenniken
  28. Stephanie Kallos
  29. Claudia Castro Luna
  30. Oliver de la Paz
  31. Jenifer Browne Lawrence
  32. Lana McMullen
  33. Kelly Jones
  34. Dana Simpson
  35. Christopher Robinson & Gavin Kovite
  36. Michael Schmeltzer
  37. Tod Marshall
  38. Kathleen Flenniken, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Claudia Castro Luna, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
  39. Quenton Baker
  40. Lori A. May
  41. Alma García
  42. Imani Sims
  43. Claudia Rowe
  44. Anastacia Renee Tolbert
  45. Sierra Nelson
  46. Ann Teplick
  47. Donna Miscolta
  48. Shankar Narayan
  49. Terrance Hayes
  50. Jane Wong
  51. Laura Da'
  52. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
  53. Sundee T. Frazier
  54. Kazu Kibuishi
  55. Daemond Arrindell
  56. Jeanine Walker
  57. Roberto Ascalon
  58. Robert Frances Flor
  59. Sharon Bryan
  60. Gretchen Schrafft
  61. Susan Landgraf
  62. Nancy Pearl
  63. Elizabeth Bradfield
  64. Lyanda Lynn Haupt
  65. Dianne Aprile
  66. Melinda Mueller
  67. Aimee Nezhukumatathil
  68. Susan Rich
  69. Rachel Kessler
  70. Matthew Zapruder
  71. Suzanne Selfors
  72. Dana Simpson
  73. Greg November
  74. Joannie Stangeland
  75. Stacey Levine
  76. Anca L. Szilágyi
  77. Bruce Beasley
  78. Carol Guess
  79. Susanne Paola
  80. E. J. Koh
  81. Juan Carlos Reyes
  82. Michele Bombardier
  83. Natasha Kochicheril Moni
  84. Catherine Barnett
  85. Renee Simms
  86. Mark Doty
  87. Ilya Kaminsky
  88. Erica Bauermeister
  89. Alan Chong Lau
  90. Elizabeth Austen, Quenton Baker, Rick Barot, Claudia Castro Luna, Christine Deavel, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rachel Kessler, John Marshall, Greg November, Renee Simms, and Ann Teplick

WordsWest Favorite Poems (Sept. 2014 - June 2019)

  1. Pegasus Book Exchange, Emma (E.M.) Epps - Excerpt from Satire I by Juvenal
  2. Northwest Art & Frame, Jessica Bloch - "The Sugar-Plum Tree" by Eugene Field
  3. Delridge Grocery Co-Op, Jessie Rey Howard - "Poetry" by Pablo Neruda
  4. Twilight Gallery & Boutique, JennaRose Garriton - "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake
  5. M3 Bodyworks, Alison Kennedy - "Herbal Wrap" by Sharon Olds
  6. Carmilia's Boutique, Linda Sabee and her son Carsten Sabee - "The cat's song" by Marge Piercy (Linda); "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley (Carsten)
  7. West Seattle Acupuncture, Paul Nojaim - "How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?" by Dick Lourie, as featured in the film Smoke Signals by Sherman Alexie.
  8. The Office Junction, Eric Jordan - "Aspects of Robinson" by Weldon Kees.
  9. West Seattle Branch of The Seattle Public Library, Leslie Sumida - "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll.
  10. C & P Coffee Company, Peter Moores - "Lost in the Forest" by Pablo Neruda.
  11. Elliott Salon, Carolyn Elliott - "The False Friends" by Dorothy Parker.
  12. West Seattle Food Bank, Jean Manwaring - "Story of Us" by Gardner McFall.
  13. Isthmus, a literary journal, Ann Przyzycki - "Around Us" by Marvin Bell.
  14. Hedgebrook alumna Lena Khalaf Tuffaha - "Precious" by Suheir Hammad.
  15. Vessel Consulting, Annie Von Essen - "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver.
  16. Pathfinder K-8, Victoria Melton - "Praise Song for the Day" by Elizabeth Alexander.
  17. Page 2 Books, Jenny Cole - "Eletelephony" by Laura Elizabeth Richards.
  18. Rain City Forge, Adia Mei Jun Bobo - "Fabric" by Don Blanding.
  19. Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold - "This Be the Verse" by Philip Larkin.
  20. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Sam Lunsdorf - "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear.
  21. West Seattle Food Bank, Jean Manwaring - "Sea Fever" by John Masefield.
  22. Mineral School, Jane Hodges - "Eagle Poem" by Joy Harjo.
  23. Hedgebrook Alumna Susan Rich - "Gate A-4" by Naomi Shihab Nye.
  24. ACLU of Washington, Christie Vukos-Walker - "Human Family" by Maya Angelou.
  25. Open Books: A Poem Emporium, Gabrielle Bates/Billie Swift - "Still When I Picture It the Face of God Is a White Man's Face" by Shane McCrae.
  26. Pathfinder K-8, Kelly Riggle Hower, "The Circus Animals' Desertion" and "Brown Penny" by William Butler Yeats.
  27. Page 2 Books, Jenny Cole - "The Purple Cow" by Gelett Burgess.
  28. Maketa Born Consulting, Maketa Born - "Barefoot Stroll" by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie.
  29. Reading Partners Seattle, Alexis Acciani - "On Turning Ten" by Billy Collins.
  30. West Seattle Food Bank, Liz Heller - "Epilogue" from The Tempest by William Shakespeare.
  31. Allison Green, Hedgebrook alumna - "Astrohearts" by Elba Rosario Sánchez.
  32. Reading Partners Seattle, Taylor Gilliam - "The Land of Happy" by Shel Silverstein.
  33. Glenn Brooks, community member - “This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams.
  34. Open Books: A Poem Emporium, Abi Pollokoff - "Alphabet" by Inger Christensen.
  35. Mud Bay Admiral, Eva Duleba - "Self-Love" by Rupi Kaur.
  36. Page 2 Books, Jenny Cole - "I'm Just No Good at Rhyming" by Chris Harris.
  37. Heidi Seaborn - "Letter to Peterson from the Pike Place Market" by Richard Hugo.
  38. Reading Partners Seattle, Hannah Tyne - "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye.
  39. Maggie Dieringer, Volunteer for West Seattle Food Bank - "The More It Snows"  by A.A. Milne (from Winnie the Pooh). 
  40. Fawn Coussens, MSPT, Kinetic Physical Therapy - "Love After Love" by Derek Walcott. 
  41. Mihna Born, West Seattle High School student - An untitled poem by Rupi Kaur beginning with the line “i want to apologize to all the women i have called pretty…”
  42. Open Books: a poem emporium, Gabrielle Bates - "Scheherazade" by Richard Siken (from the collection Crush​).
  43. Open Books: a poem emporium, Abi Pollokoff - "Alphabet" by Inger Christensen.
  44. C & P Coffee Company, Peter Moores - "Gratitude" by Norah Tunney.
  45. Harold Taw, WordsWest Co-curator - "When My Brother Fell" by Essex Hemphill.