Poetry in Parks offered Aug. 22
An Afternoon of Poetry, Art, Music, and Nature in Tahoe City
The Tahoe Literary Festival is proud to partner with California State Parks to present Poetry in Parks, a special afternoon celebrating the connection between literature, art, music, and the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe on Aug. 22 from 3-5 p.m.
Set against the stunning backdrop of William B. Layton State Park in Tahoe City, this free community event invites attendees to slow down, connect with nature, and experience the power of the spoken word in one of California's most inspiring landscapes.
Guests will enjoy readings from an exceptional lineup of acclaimed poets and writers including:
Kim Shuck, San Francisco Poet Laureate Emerita
Jen Cheng, West Hollywood Poet Laureate
Jesse James Ziegler, Reno Poet Laureate Emeritus
Karen Terrey, Nevada County Poet Laureate
José Rios
John Merryfield
Bridey Thelen-Heidel
Kim Culbertson
Priya Hutner
J. Macon King
Adding another creative dimension to the afternoon, artist Sarah Smith will create a live painting inspired by the poetry and performances, capturing the spirit and emotion of the event as it unfolds.
As well, Winter Grain will perform during the event.
Poetry in Parks is part of an award-winning California State Parks program created to bring literature into public spaces while encouraging visitors to experience parks in new and meaningful ways. The program was developed by Scott Green, recipient of the 2026 California State Parks Director's Trailblazer Award for his leadership in creating Poetry in Parks.
Whether you're a lifelong poetry lover or simply looking for a unique way to spend an afternoon in Tahoe, this event offers something for everyone. Bring a chair or blanket, relax beneath the trees, and enjoy an inspiring celebration of creativity, community, and the outdoors.
The event is free and open to the public.
We look forward to welcoming you to William B. Layton State Park for an unforgettable afternoon where poetry, art, music, and nature come together in the heart of Lake Tahoe.
Follow our Facebook event page for updates.
Featured poets & writers
Kim Shuck
San Francisco Poet Laureate emerita
Kim Shuck is widely published in journals, anthologies and a couple of solo books. She enjoys volunteering in SFUSD elementary school classrooms to share her love of origami, poetry and basket making ... in other words, math of various kinds. In 2019, Shuck was awarded an inaugural National Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets, and a PEN Oakland Censorship Award. | https://poets.org/poet/kim-shuck
Jen Cheng
West Hollywood Poet Laureate
Jen Cheng (she/ella/kir) is the fifth West Hollywood City Poet Laureate (2023-2026) and author of “Braided Spaces.” She is a Poet Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets with her project for high school students “Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks.” Cheng is a Macondista, a California Arts Council Fellow, and a Tin House Writers Workshop alumni. Cheng’s writing is published in poets.org, Passengers Journal, Colossus:Current, Altadena Poetry Review, and elsewhere. She is the publisher and co-editor of a forthcoming immigrant rights anthology “Butterflies Over Land.” If you catch her talking about her poet dog, she might sing you his song parody. Online @JenCvoice or www.JenCvoice.com.
José Rios
Poet & educator
José Rios is a poet and educator living above the hills of the high desert of Palmdale, Calif. His forthcoming chapbook, “Saliendo Adelante,” is the winner of USC's Gold Line Press Nonfiction Chapbook Contest. His poems are found in Catamaran, San Pedro River Review, and elsewhere. He's been part of two exorcisms, his ranch hosts Southern California's only biweekly birdless cockfight, and is the last person to have seen the Taco Bell chihuahua alive. Online as @Papapicante and joseriospoet.blogspot.com.
Karen Terrey
Nevada County Poet Laureate
Karen Terrey serves as the Poet Laureate for Nevada County. She's a writer, editor, and writing coach, offering writing services, developmental editing, publishing guidance, and creative writing workshops in Truckee through her business Tangled Roots Writing for clients of all ages. An alumni of Community of Writers, she teaches at Sierra College and has served as a poetry editor for the literary journals Pitkin Review and Quay. She is a recipient of a Sierra Arts Endowment Grant, the John Woods Scholarship to Prague Summer Program, the Steve Turner Scholarship to Surprise Valley Writers Conference, and a scholarship to the Vermont Studio Center. Her poems have appeared in Rhino, Edge, Meadow, WordRiot, Puerto Del Sol, Wicked Alice, Canary, and Gray Sparrow Journal, among others. Her poetry chapbook “Bite and Blood” is available from Finishing Line Press and local bookstores, including Word After Word in Truckee, Calif. | www.tangledrootswriting.com
Jesse James Ziegler
Reno Poet Laureate emeritus
Jesse James Ziegler is Poet Laureate Emeritus for the City of Reno. He is the Vice President of Spoken Views Collective and the Creative Director for Monday Night Poetry (Voted 2024 and 2025 Best Open Mic - Reno News & Review), True Colors Poetry and Collective Breath Poetry Book Club. He is a member of the Sierra Literary Cooperative, Sierra Arts Literary Community and the Tahoe Poetry Collective. He is the newly appointed President of the Nevada Poetry Society within the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. He is also the Spoken Word/Poetry contributor to Reno Arts News. He was the first Poet in Residence for the Bruka Theatre and held that position for three consecutive seasons. His first collection of poetry “FIVE” (2019) was published and brought to life through their annual New Works Festival. https://linktr.ee/SidewaysEight
Bridey Thelen-Heidel
Memoirist & TEDx speaker
Bridey Thelen-Heidel is an award-winning memoirist, TEDx speaker, and teacher whose work explores resilience, identity, and the stories that shape our lives. She is the author of Bright Eyes, recipient of the Zibby Award for “Best Story of Overcoming,” a NYC Big Book Award, and a San Francisco Book Festival Award. A passionate advocate for courageous storytelling, Bridey has spent more than 25 years helping young writers find their voice, and her work with LGBT+ youth has been celebrated by the California Teachers' Association. | https://bridey-thelenheidel.com
Kim Culbertson
Author & Flash Fiction Institute founder
Kim is the award-winning author of five YA novels with Sourcebooks and Scholastic. Her first novel for adults “Other People’s Kids (Sibylline 2025)” was named a finalist for the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) 2025 Golden Poppy Award in Fiction. Kim is a founder of the Flash Fiction Institute, sits on the Writers Council for National Writing Project, and works as a fiction mentor with Dominican University of California’s MFA in Creative Writing. Her book “100-Word Stories: A Short Form for Expansive Writing” (Heinemann 2023) blends her two professional loves: teaching and writing. | www.kimculbertson.com
Priya Hutner
Author & Tahoe Literary Festival co-founder
Priya Hutner is an author, journalist, and storyteller whose work spans memoir, food writing, environmental journalism, and spiritual exploration. Her writing has been featured in Moonshine Ink, Nevada County Arts' Muse Magazine, Tahoe Guide, and numerous other publications. She is known for her evocative storytelling and in-depth features on food culture, environmental issues, wildfire and arts and culture in Northern California. A passionate advocate for the arts, Priya is the co-founder and program director of the Tahoe Literary Festival, and the Truckee Literary Crawl. | https://www.priyahutner.com
J.Macon King
Poet, writer & journalist
J.MACON KING is the award-winning poet, writer, and journalist who has published Mill Valley Literary Review online since 2012. His novel Circus of the Sun received enthusiastic reviews. King has performed poetry at numerous Bay Area venues, is featured at Sierra literary festivals and was recently nominated for Reno poet laureate. His work and accomplishments are published in numerous literary journals and periodicals. | https://millvalleylit.com
John Merryfield
Poet & author
John Merryfield is a poet, surfer, and co-author of the book, “Vegan 1 Day: Stories of Living the Good Life, and Fish Out Of Water: Writings from the Edge.” He has appeared on Outside TV, and Tahoe TV, and is also a contributor to Moonshine Ink, Sierra Sun, Simply Haiku journal, Notes from the Gean journal, and the Elephant journal. He lives with his wife Carol in Kings Beach and Buenavista, Baja, Mexico.
Scott Green
Host, Poetry in Parks, California State Parks
Scott Green is an archaeologist and Tribal Liaison for California State Parks. Scott created the Poetry in Parks special event series in 2015 bringing free spoken word and performance art shows to parks throughout California. Scott was the recipient of the 2026 California State Parks Director’s Trailblazer Award for developing the Poetry in Parks program. In 2022, he started the Tahoe Poetry Collective. The collective is made up of poets and writers whose purpose is to foster community-based literary expression in the form of poetry, prose and spoken word. The Tahoe Poetry Collective meets on the second Wednesdays of the month throughout the summer at the Tahoe Backyard in Kings Beach, California. Scott lives in North Lake Tahoe with his family.
